Manasseh Raises an Asherah Pole in the Temple Court

Prompt

2 Kings 21: King Manasseh does evil in the sight of the LORD: he builds altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD and sets up an Asherah pole there. Manasseh, large and central, stands in rich royal robes in the temple court with one arm raised in proud command, his face arrogant and defiant. Beside him his workmen raise a tall, plain carved wooden pole — a stylised tree trunk with simple carved branches and leaves, no human figure, no body, no face — beside new stone altars where incense smoke curls up toward the evening sky and its first stars. In the background the temple doorway, and a grieving priest turns his face away. Strong orange late-afternoon light with a deep blue sky; an ominous, sorrowful mood. Style: a blend of photo-realism and cinema, like a still from a big-budget film. Bright, rich, saturated, luminous colour, clear daylight or glowing golden light even in dramatic scenes, never murky or muddy, crisp detail, real human faces full of emotion, shallow depth of field, subtle film grain. Simple, uncluttered composition: ONE clear scene from this chapter, with the chapter's main character or characters large, close and central in the upper and middle frame, and a simple background. No montage, no collage, no inset vignettes, no crowd of small figures competing for attention. Historically accurate ancient Near Eastern clothing, architecture and landscape. Keep the bottom quarter of the frame simple and uncluttered (ground, water or sky) so a large chapter number can be set over it. Absolutely no text, no letters, no words, no numbers, no logos, no watermark, no border, no frame.