2 Chronicles 33

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-five years.

2 Following the disgusting practices of the nations whom the Lord had driven out of the land as his people advanced, Manasseh sinned against the Lord. ¹

3 He rebuilt the pagan places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars for the worship of Baal, made images of the goddess Asherah, and worshiped the stars.

4 He built pagan altars in the Temple, the place that the Lord had said was where he should be worshiped forever. ²

5 In the two courtyards of the Temple he built altars for the worship of the stars.

6 He sacrificed his sons in Hinnom Valley as burnt offerings. He practiced divination and magic and consulted fortunetellers and mediums. He sinned greatly against the Lord and stirred up his anger.

7 He placed an image in the Temple, the place about which God had said to David and his son Solomon: "Here in Jerusalem, in this Temple, is the place that I have chosen out of all the territory of the twelve tribes of Israel as the place where I am to be worshiped. ³

8 And if the people of Israel will obey all my commands and keep the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them, then I will not allow them to be driven out of the land that I gave to their ancestors."

9 Manasseh led the people of Judah to commit even greater sins than those committed by the nations whom the Lord had driven out of the land as his people advanced.

10 Although the Lord warned Manasseh and his people, they refused to listen.

11 So the Lord let the commanders of the Assyrian army invade Judah. They captured Manasseh, stuck hooks in him, put him in chains, and took him to Babylon.

12 In his suffering he became humble, turned to the Lord his God, and begged him for help.

13 God accepted Manasseh's prayer and answered it by letting him go back to Jerusalem and rule again. This convinced Manasseh that the Lord was God.

14 After this, Manasseh increased the height of the outer wall on the east side of David's City, from a point in the valley near Gihon Spring north to the Fish Gate and the area of the city called Ophel. He also stationed an army officer in command of a unit of troops in each of the fortified cities of Judah.

15 He removed from the Temple the foreign gods and the image that he had placed there, and the pagan altars that were on the hill where the Temple stood and in other places in Jerusalem; he took all these things outside the city and threw them away.

16 He also repaired the altar where the Lord was worshiped, and he sacrificed fellowship offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He commanded all the people of Judah to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.

17 Although the people continued to offer sacrifices at other places of worship, they offered them only to the Lord.

18 Everything else that Manasseh did, the prayer he made to his God, and the messages of the prophets who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are all recorded in [The History of the Kings of Israel.]

19 The king's prayer and God's answer to it, and an account of the sins he committed before he repented - the evil he did, the pagan places of worship and the symbols of the goddess Asherah that he made and the idols that he worshiped - are all recorded in [The History of the Prophets.]

20 Manasseh died and was buried at the palace, and his son Amon succeeded him as king.

21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for two years.

22 Like his father Manasseh, he sinned against the Lord, and he worshiped the idols that his father had worshiped.

23 But unlike his father, he did not become humble and turn to the Lord; he was even more sinful than his father had been.

24 Amon's officials plotted against him and assassinated him in the palace.

25 The people of Judah killed Amon's assassins and made his son Josiah king.

2 Chronicles 33 Commentary

Chapter 33

Manasseh's and repentance. (1-20) Amon's wicked reign in Judah. (21-25)

Verses 1-20 We have seen Manasseh's wickedness; here we have his repentance, and a memorable instance it is of the riches of God's pardoning mercy, and the power of his renewing grace. Deprived of his liberty, separated from his evil counsellors and companions, without any prospect but of ending his days in a wretched prison, Manasseh thought upon what had passed; he began to cry for mercy and deliverance. He confessed his sins, condemned himself, was humbled before God, loathing himself as a monster of impiety and wickedness. Yet he hoped to be pardoned through the abundant mercy of the Lord. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah was God, able to deliver. He knew him as a God of salvation; he learned to fear, trust in, love, and obey him. From this time he bore a new character, and walked in newness of life. Who can tell what tortures of conscience, what pangs of grief, what fears of wrath, what agonizing remorse he endured, when he looked back on his many years of apostacy and rebellion against God; on his having led thousands into sin and perdition; and on his blood-guiltiness in the persecution of a number of God's children? And who can complain that the way of heaven is blocked up, when he sees such a sinner enter? Say the worst against thyself, here is one as bad who finds the way to repentance. Deny not to thyself that which God hath not denied to thee; it is not thy sin, but thy impenitence, that bars heaven against thee.

Verses 21-25 Amon's father did ill, but he did worse. Whatever warnings or convictions he had, he never humbled himself. He was soon cut off in his sins, and made a warning for all men not to abuse the example of God's patience and mercy to Manasseh, as an encouragement to continue in sin. May God help us to be honest to ourselves, and to think aright respecting our own character, before death fixes us in an unchangeable state.

Cross References

• 1. 33.2Jeremiah 15.4.
• 2. 33.42 Chronicles 6.6.
• 3. 33.7, 8 1 K 9.3-5;2 Chronicles 7.12-18.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 33

This chapter gives an account of the reign of Manasseh, of his idolatries and impieties, 2Ch 33:1-10, of his captivity, humiliation, repentance, and reformation, 2Ch 33:11-17 of his last end, death, and burial, 2Ch 33:18-20 and of the wicked reign of Amon his son, and of his death by his servants, 2Ch 33:21-25.