2 Kings 21:4

4 He built pagan altars in the Temple, the place that the Lord had said was where he should be worshiped. ¹

2 Kings 21:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 21:4

And he built altars in the house of the Lord
In the holy place, as distinct from the courts in the next verse; and these were sacred to the idols of the Gentiles:

of which the Lord said, in Jerusalem will I put my name;
in the temple there, devoted to his service, called by his name, and where his name was called upon, see ( Deuteronomy 12:5 ) ( 16:6 ) and to erect altars to idols here must be very abominable to him.

2 Kings 21:4 In-Context

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.

6 He sacrificed his son as a burnt offering. He practiced divination and magic and consulted fortunetellers and mediums. He sinned greatly against the Lord and stirred up his anger.

Cross References

• 1. 21.4 2 Samuel 7.13.