2 Kings21

King Manasseh of Judah reigned for 55 years, committing extensive evil by restoring idolatry, building altars to false gods within the Temple, practicing child sacrifice, and engaging in forbidden arts. His wickedness provoked the LORD, who declared a severe judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah, promising their destruction and abandonment. After Manasseh's death, his son Amon continued his father's wicked ways for two years before being assassinated by his servants, leading to Josiah's succession.

The Wicked Reign of Manasseh

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hephzibah.

He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the nations whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

For 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 worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.

He built altars in the LORD’s house, of which the LORD said, “I will put my name in Jerusalem.”

He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of the LORD’s house.

He made his son to pass through the fire, and practiced sorcery, and used enchantments, 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 Asherah, 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 the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever;

neither 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.”

But they didn’t listen: and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than the nations did whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

God Pronounces Judgment on Jerusalem

The LORD spoke by his servants the prophets, saying,

“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 made Judah also to sin with his idols;

therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I bring such evil on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle.

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 wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.

I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies. They will become a prey and a plunder to all their enemies;

because 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.’”

Moreover 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 the sight of the LORD.

Now 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?

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 place.

The Brief Reign of Amon

Amon was twenty-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.

He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father did.

He walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them:

and he abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and didn’t walk in the way of the LORD.

The servants of Amon conspired against him, and put the king to death in his own house.

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.

Now 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?

He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

Study Notes for 2 Kings 21

Verse 1

Manasseh reigned for 55 years, one of the longest reigns in Judah’s history. This extended period allowed his pervasive idolatry to deeply corrupt the nation, systematically undoing the religious reforms of his father, Hezekiah.

Verse 2

The 'abominations of the heathen' refers specifically to the forbidden Canaanite religious practices, including fertility cults, astral worship, and child sacrifice, which Israel was warned against adopting.

Verse 3

Manasseh systematically reversed Hezekiah’s pious purge (2 Kgs 18:4), rebuilding the local shrines ('high places') and erecting an Asherah pole ('grove') indicating worship of the Canaanite mother goddess.

Verse 4

Building altars *inside* the Temple complex was a profound sacrilege, violating the principle of centralized worship established by God (Deut 12:5) and defiling the very location God had chosen for His name.

Verse 6

Making his son 'pass through the fire' likely refers to child sacrifice, an act explicitly forbidden in the Law. Engaging in divination (familiar spirits, wizards) further marks Manasseh as extremely wicked.

Verse 7

Setting a graven image within the Holy Temple itself was the height of desecration, directly challenging God’s sole claim to the Jerusalem sanctuary, which He had promised would house His name forever.

Verse 9

Manasseh’s influence was so corrupting that he led Judah into worse sin than the original inhabitants (the Amorites) whom God had previously judged and expelled from the land.

Verse 10

The 'servants the prophets' likely include figures like Isaiah (if still alive) and the emerging ministry of prophets such as Huldah and Jeremiah, announcing the irreversible disaster facing Judah.

Verse 13

The 'line of Samaria' and 'plummet of the house of Ahab' are metaphors for precise judgment and total destruction. Just as the northern kingdom of Israel was judged and measured for ruin, so too will Jerusalem be completely destroyed and 'wiped clean.'

Verse 16

In addition to religious apostasy, Manasseh committed political tyranny, shedding 'innocent blood' (likely executing prophets and those who opposed his pagan policies) until Jerusalem was saturated with violence.

Verse 18

Being buried in the 'garden of Uzza' rather than the traditional royal tombs in the City of David might signify a subtle posthumous dishonor, despite his long tenure.

Verse 20

Amon immediately reverted to the deep idolatry of his father Manasseh, demonstrating that Manasseh’s policies had permanently damaged Judah’s religious life and traditions.

Verse 23

Amon’s brief, wicked reign led to political instability. Unlike Manasseh, Amon was assassinated, perhaps due to internal strife over his religious and political policies.

Verse 24

The 'people of the land' (am ha'aretz) refers to the influential landowning citizens of Judah. They acted quickly as a stabilizing force to punish the conspirators and ensure the continuation of the Davidic dynasty through the child Josiah.

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2 Kings21

The Wicked Reign of Manasseh

God Pronounces Judgment on Jerusalem

The Brief Reign of Amon

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