⁷ Manasseh had carved a statue of a god. He put it in God’s temple. God had spoken to David and his son Solomon about the temple. He had said, “My Name will be in this temple and in Jerusalem forever. Out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel I have chosen Jerusalem. ⁸ I gave this land to your people who lived long ago. I will not make the Israelites leave it again. But they must be careful to do everything I commanded them. They must follow all the laws, directions, and rules I gave them through Moses.” ⁹ But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray. They did more evil things than the nations the Lord had destroyed to make room for the Israelites.