2 Kings 21:3

3 He rebuilt the pagan places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he built altars for the worship of Baal and made an image of the goddess Asherah, as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh also worshiped the stars.

2 Kings 21:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 21:3

For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his
father had destroyed
The temples and altars upon them, see ( 2 Kings 18:4 ) ,

and he reared up altars for Baal;
in the high places he rebuilt:

and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel:
which was either an idol itself, or a shade of trees where idols were placed; or rather Asherah, rendered "a grove", is the same with Astarte, the goddess of the Zidonians, the figure of which he made and worshipped; for groves were not so soon and easily planted, raised, and made; so the same in ( 1 Kings 16:33 )

and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them:
the sun, moon, and stars, particularly the planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Venus.

2 Kings 21:3 In-Context

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

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.

3 He rebuilt the pagan places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he built altars for the worship of Baal and made an image of the goddess Asherah, as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh also worshiped the stars.

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

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