For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he erected altars for Baal, made a sacred pole, as King Ahaz of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them — Manasseh reverses Hezekiah's reforms systematically: rebuilds the high places (*bamot*), erects Baal altars, creates an Asherah pole, and worships the host of heaven (astral deities). The specific reference to 'as King Ahaz of Israel had done' (connecting Manasseh to Ahaz's apostasy, not David's faithfulness) indicates his deliberate rejection of the Davidic religious tradition. His comprehensive apostasy restores the full syncretic pantheon that Hezekiah had eliminated.

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