2 Kings — Chapter 21
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1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
3For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.
4Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.”
5In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.
6He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
7Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.
8I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they are careful to do all I have commanded them—the whole Law that My servant Moses commanded them.”
9But the people did not listen and Manasseh led them astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
10And the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying,
11“Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin,
12this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that the news will reverberate in the ears of all who hear it.
13I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down.
14So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. And they will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies,
15because they have done evil in My sight and have provoked Me to anger from the day their fathers came out of Egypt until this day.’”
16Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
17As for the rest of the acts of Manasseh, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
18And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place.
19Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah.
20And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done.
21He walked in all the ways of his father, and he served and worshiped the idols his father had served.
22He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.
23Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his palace.
24But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.
25As for the rest of the acts of Amon, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
26And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah reigned in his place.
1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzi-bah.
2And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
3For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
6And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
7And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
8Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
9But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.
10And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying,
11Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:
12Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
14And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
15Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.
16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
17Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
18And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
19Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
20And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did.
21And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
22And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD.
23And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.
24And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
25Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
26And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.
1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem: and his mother`s name was Hephzibah.
2And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, after the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel.
3For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4And he built altars in the house of Jehovah, whereof Jehovah said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah.
6And he made his son to pass through the fire, and practised augury, and used enchantments, and dealt with them that had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
7And he set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which Jehovah said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever;
8neither will I cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
9But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than did the nations whom Jehovah destroyed before the children of Israel.
10And Jehovah spake by his servants the prophets, saying,
11Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, that were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols;
12therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Behold, I bring such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
14And I will cast off the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
15because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.
16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah.
17Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
18And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
19Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem: and his mother`s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
20And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did Manasseh his father.
21And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
22and he forsook Jehovah, the God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of Jehovah.
23And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and put the king to death in his own house.
24But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
25Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
26And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.
1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah.
2He did evil in the sight of the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.
3He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky and worshiped them.
4He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my home.”
5In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky.
6He passed his son through the fire and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits and appointed magicians to supervise it. He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
7He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home.
8I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.”
9But they did not obey, and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites.
10So the Lord announced through his servants the prophets:
11“King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols.
12So this is what the Lord God of Israel has said, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it.
13I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides.
14I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies,
15because they have done evil in my sight and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!’”
16Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end, in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord.
17The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign and all his accomplishments, as well as the sinful acts he committed, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.
18Manasseh passed away and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzzah, and his son Amon replaced him as king.
19Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah.
20He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done.
21He followed in the footsteps of his father and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols that his father had worshiped.
22He abandoned the Lord, God of his ancestors, and did not follow the Lord’s instructions.
23Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace.
24The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.
25The rest of Amon’s accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.
26He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and his son Josiah replaced him as king.
1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
3For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel did, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
4He built altars in Yahweh’s house, of which Yahweh said, “I will put my name in Jerusalem.”
5He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of Yahweh’s house.
6He made his son to pass through the fire, practiced sorcery, used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits, and with wizards. He did much evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger.
7He set the engraved image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which Yahweh said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever;
8I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.”
9But they didn’t listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than the nations did whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Israel.
10Yahweh spoke by his servants the prophets, saying,
11“Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has also made Judah to sin with his idols;
12therefore Yahweh the God of Israel says, ‘Behold, I bring such evil on Jerusalem and Judah that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.
13I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of Ahab’s house; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
14I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. They will become a prey and a plunder to all their enemies,
15because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’”
16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight.
17Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
18Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza; and Amon his son reigned in his place.
19Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
20He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, as Manasseh his father did.
21He walked in all the ways that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them;
22and he abandoned Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and didn’t walk in the way of Yahweh.
23The servants of Amon conspired against him, and put the king to death in his own house.
24But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.
25Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
26He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.
Summary
Manasseh becomes king of Judah at twelve and reigns fifty-five years, rebuilding the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed, erecting altars to Baal and an Asherah pole inside the temple itself, worshiping the starry host, sacrificing his own son in the fire, and practicing sorcery and divination (vv. 1-9). Through his prophets the LORD declares that such disaster will fall on Jerusalem that the ears of all who hear of it will tingle, and that Judah will be measured by the same standard of judgment used against Samaria and the house of Ahab (vv. 10-15). Manasseh also fills Jerusalem with innocent blood, making his reign, along with his son and successor Amon's, the low point of Judah's kings; Amon reigns only two years before his own officials assassinate him, and the people of the land install his young son Josiah as king (vv. 16-26).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Samaria — capital of the northern kingdom (Israel); falls to Assyria in 722 BC (ch.17). Jerusalem — capital of Judah; falls to Babylon in 586 BC (ch.25).
- Key locations: Jordan River (Elisha's miracles, chs.2, 5), Damascus (Syria/Aram), Nineveh (Assyrian capital), Babylon (where Judah is exiled).
- Sennacherib's invasion route threatens Jerusalem (chs.18-19). Exile destinations: Assyria (for Israel) and Babylon (for Judah).
Places on this map
- SamariaSebastia, West BankOmri bought a bare hill and built a capital on it, which gave the northern kingdom a fortress with no prior claim on it, the same calculation David made with Jerusalem. It commands the pass west toward the coastal plain. The name later spread to the whole region between Galilee and Judea. Wikipedia
- Assyrianorthern IraqThe upper Tigris heartland around Nineveh, Calah and Asshur. Its armies reached Israel by following the Fertile Crescent north-west and then south down the coast, so the threat always arrived from the north even though Assyria lay to the east. Wikipedia
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- Babylonnear Hillah, IraqOn the Euphrates about 55 miles south of modern Baghdad. Judah's exiles were marched roughly 900 miles to get here, the long way round the Arabian desert, which is why the journey took months and the return was a genuine undertaking rather than a short trip home. Wikipedia
- Jordan RiverIsrael / Jordan borderRuns about 65 miles as the crow flies from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, dropping from 700 to 1,400 feet below sea level. Narrow enough to wade at most fords, it was still the boundary that divided wilderness from inheritance. Wikipedia
- DamascusDamascus, SyriaAn oasis city where the Barada river runs out of the Anti-Lebanon into the desert, about 135 miles north-east of Jerusalem. It sat astride the caravan roads to Mesopotamia and Arabia, which made Aram rich and made it Israel's most persistent northern rival. Wikipedia
- NinevehMosul, IraqAssyria's last capital, on the east bank of the Tigris across from modern Mosul, about 500 miles north-east of Israel. Sennacherib walled in an enormous city here, which is the scale behind Jonah's three days' journey and its 120,000 who cannot tell right from left. Wikipedia
- AramSyriaThe Syrian interior north-east of Israel, a set of city-states rather than one kingdom, with Damascus the strongest. Aramaic, its language, became the everyday speech of the whole region including Judea. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes the staggering contrast between Hezekiah and Manasseh — father and son, reformer and destroyer. He notes that Manasseh's 55-year reign means he had more time to corrupt Judah than any other king, and that the depth of his syncretism (mixing pagan worship directly into Temple worship) made the corruption systemic rather than merely tolerated. Guzik also highlights that 2 Kings deliberately omits Manasseh's later repentance (recorded in 2 Chronicles 33) to emphasize the national consequences.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of 2 Kings -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Privilege Doesn't Guarantee Faithfulness (vv.1-3) — Manasseh had a godly father, a reformed nation, and a restored temple, yet chose evil beyond even the pagan nations God had driven out. Does a good upbringing or church background ever lull you into assuming your own faith is secure?
- One Life's Influence Can Corrupt Many (v.9) — Manasseh actively led the nation into sins worse than the Canaanites had committed. Whose faith are you shaping right now — for better or worse — through the example you set?
- A Point Where Consequences Can't Be Undone (vv.10-15) — Even though Manasseh's own later repentance is recorded elsewhere, God's judgment on the nation still stood. Are you assuming there will always be time to turn back, or does the possibility of a point of no return create real urgency for you?
- Filling the Land With Innocent Blood (v.16) — Manasseh's cruelty was so extensive that it becomes the specific charge named against him. What unaddressed harm to others, or through neglect, might be quietly building against you?
- Unchecked Sin Compounds in the Next Generation (vv.19-22) — Amon followed his father's evil without even Manasseh's eventual turning. What patterns are you tolerating today that could become full rebellion in the next generation of your family?