Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-five years.

He rebuilt the pagan places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars for the worship of Baal, made images of the goddess Asherah, and worshiped the stars.

In the two courtyards of the Temple he built altars for the worship of the stars.

He placed an image in the Temple, the place about which God had said to David and his son Solomon: "Here in Jerusalem, in this Temple, is the place that I have chosen out of all the territory of the twelve tribes of Israel as the place where I am to be worshiped.

Manasseh led the people of Judah to commit even greater sins than those committed by the nations whom the LORD had driven out of the land as his people advanced.

They live out their lives in peace and quietly die without suffering.

They think there is no need to serve God nor any advantage in praying to him.

These are the ones who rejected God and believed that he could do nothing to them.

And yet it was God who made them prosperous--- I can't understand the thoughts of the wicked.

The wicked do not care about the LORD; in their pride they think that God doesn't matter.

They say to themselves, "We will never fail; we will never be in trouble."

Those who abandon you will certainly perish; you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.

Anyone away from home is like a bird away from its nest.

You are doomed, you sinful nation, you corrupt and evil people! Your sins drag you down! You have rejected the LORD, the holy God of Israel, and have turned your backs on him.

Get out of our way and stop blocking our path. We don't want to hear about your holy God of Israel."

The LORD says: "What accusation did your ancestors bring against me? What made them turn away from me? They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves.

for my people have committed two sins: they have turned away from me, the spring of fresh water, and they have dug cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.

Israel, you brought this on yourself ! You deserted me, the LORD your God, while I was leading you along the way.

Your own evil will punish you, and your turning from me will condemn you. You will learn how bitter and wrong it is to abandon me, the LORD your God, and no longer to remain faithful to me. I, the Sovereign LORD Almighty, have spoken."

The LORD says, "My people, what have I done to you? How have I been a burden to you? Answer me.

But now, in union with Christ Jesus you, who used to be far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

So Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all---to you Gentiles, who were far away from God, and to the Jews, who were near to him.

But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!'

Jesus said to his disciples, "There was once a rich man who had a servant who managed his property. The rich man was told that the manager was wasting his master's money,

"There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day.

Keep away from such a woman! Don't even go near her door!

Yes, strangers will take all your wealth, and what you have worked for will belong to someone else.

and you will say, "Why would I never learn? Why would I never let anyone correct me?

And suddenly I found myself publicly disgraced."

A man can hire a prostitute for the price of a loaf of bread, but adultery will cost him all he has.

A lazy person is as bad as someone who is destructive.

Indulging in luxuries, wine, and rich food will never make you wealthy.

Wise people live in wealth and luxury, but stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it.

Listen, my child, be wise and give serious thought to the way you live.

Drunkards and gluttons will be reduced to poverty. If all you do is eat and sleep, you will soon be wearing rags.

Young people who obey the law are intelligent. Those who make friends with good-for-nothings are a disgrace to their parents.

If you appreciate wisdom, your parents will be proud of you. It is a foolish waste to spend money on prostitutes.

Young people, enjoy your youth. Be happy while you are still young. Do what you want to do, and follow your heart's desire. But remember that God is going to judge you for whatever you do.

Don't let anything worry you or cause you pain. You aren't going to be young very long.

Instead, you laughed and celebrated. You killed sheep and cattle to eat, and you drank wine. You said, "We might as well eat and drink! Tomorrow we'll be dead."

'Let's get some wine,' these drunkards say, 'and drink all we can hold! Tomorrow will be even better than today!' "

You refuse to admit that a day of disaster is coming, but what you do only brings that day closer.

You like to compose songs, as David did, and play them on harps.

So you will be the first to go into exile. Your feasts and banquets will come to an end.

Let us conduct ourselves properly, as people who live in the light of day---no orgies or drunkenness, no immorality or indecency, no fighting or jealousy.

But take up the weapons of the Lord Jesus Christ, and stop paying attention to your sinful nature and satisfying its desires.

You have spent enough time in the past doing what the heathen like to do. Your lives were spent in indecency, lust, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and the disgusting worship of idols.

And now the heathen are surprised when you do not join them in the same wild and reckless living, and so they insult you.

and they will be paid with suffering for the suffering they have caused. Pleasure for them is to do anything in broad daylight that will satisfy their bodily appetites; they are a shame and a disgrace as they join you in your meals, all the while enjoying their deceitful ways!