2 Kings 21:5

5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the LORD ’s Temple.

2 Kings 21:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 21:5

And he built altars for all the host of heaven
Sun, moon, and stars:

in the two courts of the house of the Lord;
in the court of the priests, and in the court of the people; and all this must be supposed to be done, not as soon as he began to reign, but when he was grown up to man's estate, and had children, as the next verse shows; unless it can be thought that those nobles in Judah, who liked not the reformation made by Hezekiah, took the advantage of his youth, and advised him to these idolatries.

2 Kings 21:5 In-Context

3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.

4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the LORD, the place where the LORD had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.”

5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the LORD ’s Temple.

6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD ’s sight, arousing his anger.

7 Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple, the very place where the LORD had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.