King Manasseh of Judah reigned for fifty-five years, initially committing great evil in the sight of the LORD, surpassing even the abominations of the heathen. He rebuilt high places, erected altars to Baalim and the host of heaven, practiced child sacrifice and divination, and placed an idol in the very house of God. Consequently, the LORD allowed the Assyrians to capture him and carry him to Babylon. In his affliction, Manasseh humbled himself and prayed to the LORD, who heard his supplication and restored him to his kingdom, leading to his subsequent reforms.
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up altars for the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he practiced sorcery, and used enchantments, and practiced sorcery, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he worked much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
He set the engraved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s house, of which God 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:
neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law and the statutes and the ordinances given by Moses.”
Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel did.
Therefore the LORD brought on them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
He prayed to him; and he was entreated by him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.
Now after this he built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance at the fish gate; and he encircled Ophel with it, and raised it up to a very great height: and he put valiant captains in all the fortified cities of Judah.
He took away the foreign gods, and the idol out of the LORD’s house, and all the altars that he had built in the mountain of the LORD’s house, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
He built up the altar of the LORD, and offered sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving on it, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, behold, they are written among the acts of the kings of Israel.
His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places, and set up the Asherah poles and the engraved images, before he humbled himself: behold, they are written in the history of Hozai.
He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father; and Amon sacrificed to all the engraved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them.
But 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.
Study Notes for 2 Chronicles 33
Verse 1
Manasseh reigned for 55 years, the longest tenure of any king of Judah or Israel. His great age meant his evil influence permeated the nation deeply, severely undermining the reforms of his father Hezekiah.
Verse 2
The Chronicler emphasizes that Manasseh actively adopted and promoted the idolatrous practices of the nations whom God had previously judged and cast out of the land.
Verse 3
Manasseh not only restored the high places but also established altars for Baalim (Canaanite fertility gods) and Asherah (represented by 'groves'), promoting intense syncretism and pagan worship.
Verse 4
Building altars within the very courts of the Temple was a profound act of sacrilege, directly violating the covenant requirement that Jerusalem was the exclusive place where God had chosen to set His name.
Verse 6
Causing children to pass through the fire refers to child sacrifice, likely to the god Molech, practiced in the Valley of Hinnom. This, along with intense sorcery and divination, demonstrates a complete rejection of Mosaic Law.
Verse 7
Setting a carved idol within the Holy House itself was the ultimate blasphemy, challenging God's exclusive presence and sanctuary. The Chronicler reminds the reader of the eternal promises made to David regarding the Temple.
Verse 9
Manasseh's influence was so destructive that he led the people of Judah to commit worse sins than the native Canaanites whom God had previously destroyed, thus sealing Judah’s fate.
Verse 11
The judgment came through the Assyrians, likely under Esarhaddon or Ashurbanipal. Being taken to Babylon (a major Assyrian administrative center) confirms the fulfillment of prophetic warnings regarding vassal disobedience.
Verse 12
This account of Manasseh’s repentance is unique to 2 Chronicles and is central to the Chronicler's theology: even the most wicked king can find mercy if he genuinely humbles himself before God.
Verse 13
God’s hearing of Manasseh’s prayer and his subsequent restoration to the throne emphasizes divine sovereignty and mercy. Manasseh’s restored political power served as tangible proof that 'the LORD he was God.'
Verse 14
Upon his return, Manasseh undertook significant building and fortification projects, demonstrating his restored political authority and perhaps a commitment to stabilizing the kingdom he had destabilized.
Verse 15
Manasseh initiated a reform, removing the foreign idols and altars he had previously erected. This effort paralleled, though was less thorough than, the purges executed by his father Hezekiah.
Verse 17
This verse reveals the limitation of Manasseh’s reform; while the people worshipped Yahweh, they continued to use the decentralized high places. This mixed worship remained a persistent spiritual problem in Judah.
Verse 18
The Chronicler references external documents, including the 'book of the kings of Israel' and the 'words of the seers,' confirming his reliance on various prophetic and historical sources to detail Manasseh’s repentance.
Verse 21
Amon reigned only two years, indicating a period of political instability immediately following Manasseh's long rule.
Verse 23
Amon’s crucial failure was that he did not 'humble himself,' meaning he rejected the path of repentance his father had taken in affliction. He perpetuated and intensified the initial wickedness of Manasseh.
Verse 24
Amon's assassination suggests that his wickedness and failure to achieve stability led to internal revolt among his court officials.
Verse 25
The 'people of the land' (likely the loyal landed gentry) intervened, executing the conspirators and ensuring the Davidic line continued by placing Amon’s eight-year-old son, Josiah, on the throne.
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