He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he raised up altars for the Baals, made Asheroth, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them. He built altars in Yahweh’s house, of which Yahweh said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of Yahweh’s house. He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits and with wizards. He did much evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger. He set the engraved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s house, of which God 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, I will put my name forever. I will not any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given by Moses.” Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than did the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Israel.
Show the surrounding paragraph
2 Chronicles 33:2-9 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he raised up altars for the Baals, made Asheroth, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them. He built altars in Yahweh’s house, of which Yahweh said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of Yahweh’s house. He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits and with wizards. He did much evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger. He set the engraved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s house, of which God 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, I will put my name forever. I will not any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given by Moses.” Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than did the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Israel.
Parallel Translations
-
He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he raised up altars for the Baals, made Asheroth, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
He built altars in Yahweh’s house, of which Yahweh said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.”
He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of Yahweh’s house.
He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits and with wizards. He did much evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger.
He set the engraved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s house, of which God 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, I will put my name forever.
I will not any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given by Moses.”
Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than did the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Israel.
-
But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.
Show all 3 translations
-
And 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 broken down; and he reared up altars for the Baalim, and made Asheroth, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
And he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD said: 'In Jerusalem shall My name be for ever.'
And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he practised soothsaying, and used enchantments, and practised sorcery, and appointed them that divined by a ghost or a familiar spirit; he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him.
And he set the graven image of the idol, which he had made, in the house of God, of which God 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 for ever;
neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers; if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.'
And Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, so that they did evil more than did the nations, whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (112)
- Deuteronomy 16:21 (v3) You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside Yahweh your God’s altar, which you shall make for yourselves.
- Deuteronomy 17:3 (v3) and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded,
- 2 Chronicles 4:9 (v5) Furthermore he made the court of the priests, the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze.
- 2 Chronicles 7:16 (vv4, 7) For now I have chosen and made this house holy, that my name may be there forever; and my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually.
- 2 Chronicles 28:3 (vv2, 6) Moreover he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the…
Show all 100 cross-references
- 2 Samuel 7:10 (v8) I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more. The…
- 2 Chronicles 31:1 (v3) Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the…
- Leviticus 18:21 (v6) “ ‘You shall not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech. You shall not profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
- Leviticus 19:26 (v6) “ ‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.
- Leviticus 19:31 (v6) “ ‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.
- Leviticus 20:6 (v6) “ ‘The person that turns to those who are mediums and wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that…
- Deuteronomy 18:9 (v2) When you have come into the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations.
- 2 Kings 21:6 (v6) He made his son to pass through the fire, practiced sorcery, used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits, and with…
- 2 Chronicles 30:14 (v3) They arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the altars for incense and threw them into the brook…
- 2 Chronicles 33:4 (v7) He built altars in Yahweh’s house, of which Yahweh said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.”
- 1 Kings 8:29 (vv4, 7) that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there;’ to…
- 2 Chronicles 6:6 (vv4, 7) but now I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’
- Deuteronomy 12:11 (v4) then it shall happen that to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that…
- 2 Kings 18:4 (v3) He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had…
- 2 Kings 23:5-6 (v3) He got rid of the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and…
- 2 Kings 24:3-4 (v9) Surely at the commandment of Yahweh this came on Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he…
- 1 Chronicles 10:13 (v6) So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Yahweh, because of Yahweh’s word, which he didn’t keep; and also because he asked…
- 2 Chronicles 33:2 (v9) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
- Proverbs 29:12 (v9) If a ruler listens to lies, all of his officials are wicked.
- Ecclesiastes 9:18 (v3) Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.
- Isaiah 8:19 (v6) When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people…
- Isaiah 47:9-12 (v6) But these two things will come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in their full…
- Jeremiah 7:31-32 (v6) They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the…
- Jeremiah 19:13 (v3) The houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, will be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses on…
- Zephaniah 1:5 (v3) those who worship the army of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by Yahweh and also swear by Malcam,
- Deuteronomy 12:31 (vv2, 6) You shall not do so to Yahweh your God; for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn…
- 2 Chronicles 33:15 (vv4, 7) He took away the foreign gods, and the idol out of Yahweh’s house, and all the altars that he had built in the mountain of Yahweh’s house,…
- Leviticus 8:36 (v8) Aaron and his sons did all the things which Yahweh commanded by Moses.
- Leviticus 10:11 (v8) You are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Yahweh has spoken to them by Moses.”
- Leviticus 18:24 (v9) “ ‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled.
- Leviticus 18:24-30 (v2) “ ‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled. The land…
- Leviticus 20:2 (v6) “Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel,…
- Leviticus 20:22-23 (v2) “ ‘You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not…
- Leviticus 20:27 (v6) “ ‘A man or a woman that is a medium or is a wizard shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones. Their blood shall be…
- Deuteronomy 2:21 (v9) a great people, many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Yahweh destroyed them from before Israel, and they succeeded them, and lived in their…
- Deuteronomy 4:19 (v3) and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn…
- Deuteronomy 4:40 (v8) You shall keep his statutes and his commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you,…
- Deuteronomy 5:1 (v8) Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, “Hear, Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears today, that you may…
- Deuteronomy 5:31–6:1 (v8) But as for you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which you shall teach…
- Deuteronomy 8:1 (v8) You shall observe to do all the commandments which I command you today, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land…
- Deuteronomy 18:10-14 (v6) There shall not be found with you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who tells…
- Deuteronomy 18:14 (v2) For these nations that you shall dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and to diviners; but as for you, Yahweh your God has not…
- Deuteronomy 27:26–28:14 (v8) ‘Cursed is he who doesn’t uphold the words of this law by doing them.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ” It shall happen, if you shall…
- Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (v8) Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and evil. For I command you today to love Yahweh your God, to walk in…
- Joshua 24:8 (v9) “ ‘I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You…
- Judges 2:11-13 (v3) The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and served the Baals. They abandoned Yahweh, the God of their fathers,…
- 1 Samuel 15:23 (v6) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected Yahweh’s word, he has…
- 1 Kings 8:44 (v7) “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to Yahweh toward the city which…
- 1 Kings 8:48 (v7) if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you…
- 1 Kings 9:3 (v4) Yahweh said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication, that you have made before me. I have made this house holy, which you…
- 1 Kings 11:13 (v7) However I will not tear away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to your son, for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake…
- 1 Kings 11:32 (v7) (but he shall have one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of…
- 1 Kings 14:16 (v9) He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he has sinned, and with which he has made Israel to sin.”
- 1 Kings 14:23 (v3) For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
- 1 Kings 15:26 (v9) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.
- 2 Kings 17:8-11 (v9) and walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they…
- 2 Kings 17:11 (v2) and there they burned incense in all the high places, as the nations whom Yahweh carried away before them did; and they did wicked things…
- 2 Kings 17:15 (v2) They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they…
- 2 Kings 17:17 (v6) They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which…
- 2 Kings 21:2 (v2) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
- 2 Kings 21:3 (v3) For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as Ahab…
- 2 Kings 21:4-5 (v4) He built altars in Yahweh’s house, of which Yahweh said, “I will put my name in Jerusalem.” He built altars for all the army of the sky in…
- 2 Kings 21:7-8 (v7) He set the engraved image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which Yahweh said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house,…
- 2 Kings 21:9 (v2) But they didn’t listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than the nations did whom Yahweh destroyed before the…
- 2 Kings 21:9-11 (v9) But they didn’t listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than the nations did whom Yahweh destroyed before the…
- 2 Kings 21:16 (v9) Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; in addition to his sin with which…
- 2 Kings 23:6 (v7) He brought out the Asherah from Yahweh’s house, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it…
- 2 Kings 23:10 (v6) He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the…
- 2 Kings 23:11 (v3) He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of Yahweh’s house, by the room of Nathan Melech the…
- 2 Kings 23:24 (v6) Moreover Josiah removed those who had familiar spirits, the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were…
- 2 Kings 23:26 (v9) Notwithstanding, Yahweh didn’t turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger burned against Judah, because of all the…
- 1 Chronicles 17:9 (v8) I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more. The…
- 2 Chronicles 7:17-22 (v8) “As for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my…
- 2 Chronicles 28:2-4 (v3) but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and also made molten images for the Baals. Moreover he burned incense in the valley of…
- 2 Chronicles 32:12 (v3) Hasn’t the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You shall worship before…
- 2 Chronicles 32:19 (v4) They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.
- 2 Chronicles 34:3-4 (v4) For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he…
- 2 Chronicles 36:14 (v2) Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations; and they…
- Ezra 9:14 (v2) shall we again break your commandments, and join ourselves with the peoples that do these abominations? Wouldn’t you be angry with us until…
- Psalms 78:68 (v7) But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
- Psalms 132:13-14 (v7) For Yahweh has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his habitation. “This is my resting place forever. I will live here, for I have desired…
- Ecclesiastes 2:19 (v3) Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have rule over all of my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have…
- Isaiah 1:19-20 (v8) If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured with the sword; for…
- Isaiah 19:3 (v6) The spirit of Egypt will fail within it. I will destroy its counsel. They will seek the idols, the charmers, those who have familiar…
- Jeremiah 7:30 (v4) “For the children of Judah have done that which is evil in my sight,” says Yahweh. “They have set their abominations in the house which is…
- Jeremiah 8:2 (v3) They will spread them before the sun, the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, which they have served, after which…
- Jeremiah 15:4 (v2) I will cause them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah,…
- Jeremiah 17:2 (v3) Even their children remember their altars and their Asherah poles by the green trees on the high hills.
- Jeremiah 32:34-35 (v5) But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal, which are in the…
- Ezekiel 8:7-18 (v5) He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig now in the…
- Ezekiel 11:12 (v2) You will know that I am Yahweh, for you have not walked in my statutes, You have not executed my ordinances, but have done after the…
- Ezekiel 16:45-47 (v9) You are the daughter of your mother, who loathes her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their…
- Ezekiel 23:37 (v6) For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have also caused their…
- Ezekiel 23:39 (v6) For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and behold, they have…
- Ezekiel 33:25-26 (v8) Therefore tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “You eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. So should you…
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (112 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv6–8 Read 2 Kings 16:3.
Read 2 Kings 16:3.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–9 2Ch 33:2 But did [that which was] evil in…
2Ch 33:2 But did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
Ver. 2. But he did that which was evil.] He quickly made mad Work, as we say, turning all upside down. So great is the loss of good princes, when they die: and so suddenly can God cause the sun to go down over a nation, even at noonday, for the just punishment of such ungrateful wretches as love darkness better than light, because their works are evil. See on 2Ki 21:2.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 7 Verse 3. Altars for Baalim] The SUN and MOON.…
Verse 3. Altars for Baalim] The SUN and MOON. And made groves, אשרות Asheroth, Astarte, VENUS; the host of heaven, all the PLANETS and STARS. These were the general objects of his devotion.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v7 The idol - i. e. the Asherah (2Ki 21:7…
The idol - i. e. the Asherah (2Ki 21:7 note), which receives here (and in Eze 8:3, Eze 8:5) the somewhat unusual name of semel, which some regard as a proper name, and compare with the Greek Σεμέλη Semelē.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 9 The host of heaven. The sun, moon, and stars,…
The host of heaven. The sun, moon, and stars, (Ch.) in imitation of the Phœnicians and ancient Chanaanites.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–9 2. But did … like unto] R.V. And he…
2. But did … like unto] R.V. And he did … after (so 2 Kin.).
had cast out] R.V. cast out (so 2 Kin.). The Hebrew of 2Ch_33:2 exactly corresponds in Chron. and 2 Kin.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 (3) For.—And. (See margin.)
(3) For.—And. (See margin.)
Broken down.—2Ch_23:17; 2Ch_31:1 (“threw down”). Kings has “destroyed” (‘ibbad).
Read full note →
Baalim.—The Baals—i.e., the different images of Baal. Kings has the singular, both here and in the next word, “groves,” or rather Asheras (‘Ashçrôth; Kings, ‘Ashçrah). The latter plural is rhetorical: Manasseh made such things as Asheras. (Comp. also the use of the plural in 2Ch_32:31, and the passages there referred to.) Kings adds: “as Ahab king of Israel made.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 6, 7 The abominations of the heathen. (see Deu_18:9-14)
The abominations of the heathen. (see Deu_18:9-14)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v9 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
MANASSEH’S SIN AND REPENTANCE
Read full note →
2Ch 33:9 - 2Ch 33:16.
The story of Manasseh’s sin and repentance may stand as a typical example. Its historical authenticity is denied on the ground that it appears only in this Book of Chronicles. I must leave others to discuss that matter; my purpose is to bring out the teaching contained in the story.
The first point in it is the stern indictment against Manasseh and his people. The experience which has saddened many a humbler home was repeated in the royal house, where a Hezekiah was followed by a Manasseh, who scorned all that his father had worshipped, and worshipped all that his father had loathed. Happily the father’s eyes were closed long before the idolatrous bias of his son could have disclosed itself. Succeeding to the throne at twelve years of age, he could not have begun his evil ways at once, and probably would have been preserved from them if his father had lived long enough to mould his character. A child of twelve, flung on to a throne, was likely to catch the infection of any sin that was in the atmosphere. The narrative specifies two points in which, as he matured in years, and was confirmed in his course of conduct, he went wrong: first, in his idolatry; and second, in his contempt of remonstrances and warnings. As to the former, the preceding context gives a terrible picture. He was smitten with a very delirium of idolatry, and wallowed in any and every sort of false worship. No matter what strange god was presented, there were hospitality, an altar, and an offering for him. Baal, Moloch, ‘the host of heaven,’ wizards, enchanters, anybody who pretended to have any sort of black art, all were welcome, and the more the better. No doubt, this eager acceptance of a miscellaneous multitude of deities was partly reaction from the monotheism of the former reign, but also it was the natural result of being surrounded by the worshippers of these various gods; and it was an unconscious confession of the insufficiency of each and all of them to fill the void in the heart, and satisfy the needs of the spirit. There are ‘gods many, and lords many,’ because they are insufficient; ‘the Lord our God is one Lord,’ because He, in His single Self, is more than all these, and is enough for any and every man.
We may note, too, that at the beginning of the chapter Manasseh is said to have done ‘like unto the abominations of the heathen,’ while in 2Ch 33:9 he is said to have done ‘evil more than did the nations.’ When a worshipper of Jehovah does like the heathen, he does worse than they. An apostate Christian is more guilty than one who has never ‘tasted the good word of God,’ and is likely to push his sins to a more flagrant wickedness. ‘The corruption of the best is the worst.’ We cannot do what the world does without being more deeply guilty than they.
The narrative lays stress on the fact that the king’s inclination to idolatry was agreeable to the people. The kings, who fought against it, had to resist the popular current, but at the least encouragement from those in high places the nation was ready to slide back. Rulers who wish to lower the standard of morality or religion have an easy task; but the people who follow their lead are not free from guilt, though they can plead that they only followed. The second count in the indictment is the refusal of king and people to listen to God’s remonstrances. 2Ki 21:1 - 2Ki 21:26, gives the prophets’ warnings at greater length. ‘They would not hearken’-can anything madder and sadder be said of any of us than that? Is it not the very sin of sins, and the climax of suicidal folly, that God should call and men stop their ears? And yet how many of us pay no more regard to His voice, in His providences, in our own consciences, in history, in Scripture, and, most penetrating and beseeching of all, in Christ, than to idle wind whistling through an archway! Our own evil deeds stop our ears, and the stopped ears make further evil deeds more easy.
The second step in this typical story is merciful chastisement, meant to secure a hearing for God’s voice. 2 Kings tells the threat, but not the fulfilment; Chronicles tells the fulfilment, but not the threat. We note how emphatically God’s hand is recognised behind the political complications which brought the Assyrians to Jerusalem, and how particularly it is stated that the invasion was not headed by Esarhaddon, but by his generals. The place of Manasseh’s captivity also is specified, not as Nineveh, as might have been expected, but as Babylon. These details, especially the last, look like genuine history. It is history which carries a lesson. Here is one conspicuous instance of the divine method, which is working to-day as it did then. God’s hand is behind the secondary causes of events. Our sorrows and ‘misfortunes’ are sent to us by Him, not hurled at us by human hands only, or occurring by the working of impersonal laws. They are meant to make us bethink ourselves, and drop evil things from our hands and hearts. It is best to be guided by His eye, and not need ‘bit and bridle’; but if we make ourselves stubborn as ‘the mule, which has no understanding,’ it is second best that we should taste the whip, that it may bring us to run in harness on the road which He wills. If we habitually looked at calamities as His loving chastisement, intended to draw us to Himself, we should not have to stand perplexed so often at what we call the mysteries of His providence.
The next step in the story is the yielding of the sinful heart when smitten. The worst affliction is an affliction wasted, which does us no good. And God has often to lament, ‘In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction.’ Sorrow has in itself no power to effect the purpose for which it is sent; but all depends on how we take it. It sometimes makes us hard, bitter, obstinate in clinging to evil. A heart that has been disciplined by it, and still is undisciplined, is like iron hammered on an anvil, and made the more close-grained thereby. But this king took his chastisement wisely. An accepted sorrow is an angel in disguise, and nothing which drives us to God is a calamity. Manasseh praying was freer in his chains than ever he had been in his prosperity. Manasseh humbling himself greatly before God was higher than when, in the pride of his heart, he shut God out from it.
Affliction should clear our sight, that we may see ourselves as we are; and, if we do, there will be an end of high looks, and we shall ‘take the lowest room.’ Thus humbled, we shall pray as the self-confident and outwardly prosperous cannot do. Sorrow has done its best on us when, like some strong hand on our shoulders, it has brought us to our knees. No affliction has yielded its full blessing to us unless it has thus set us by Manasseh’s side.
The next step in the story is the loving answer to the humbled heart, and the restoration to the kingdom. ‘He was entreated of him.’ No doubt, political circumstances brought about Manasseh’s reinstatement, as they had brought about his captivity, but it was God that ‘brought him again to his kingdom.’ We may not receive again lost good things, but we may be quite sure that God never fails to hear the cry of the humble, and that, if there is one voice that more surely reaches His ear and moves His heart than another, it is the voice of His chastened children, who cry to Him out of the depths, and there have learned their own sin and sore need. He will be entreated of them, and, whether He gives back lost good or not, He will give Himself, in whom all good is comprehended. Manasseh’s experience may be repeated in us.
And the best part of it was, not that he received back his kingdom, but that ‘then Manasseh knew that the Lord He was God.’ The name had been but a name to him, but now it had become a reality. Our traditional, second-hand belief in God is superficial and largely unreal till it is deepened and vivified by experience. If we have cried to Him, and been lightened, then we have a ground of conviction that cannot be shaken. Formerly we could at most say, ‘I believe in God,’ or, ‘I think there is a God,’ but now we can say, ‘I know,’ and no criticism nor contradiction can shake that. Such knowledge is not the knowledge won by the understanding alone, but it is acquaintance with a living Person, like the knowledge which loving souls have of each other; and he who has that knowledge as the issue of his own experience may smile at doubts and questionings, and say with the Apostle of Love, ‘We know that we are of God, . . . and we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true.’ Then, if we have that knowledge, we shall listen to the same Apostle’s commandment, ‘Keep yourselves from idols,’ even as the issue of Manasseh’s knowledge of God was that ‘he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the Lord.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 7 It is in Jerusalem that my name will be…
It is in Jerusalem that my name will be forever
The name is a metonym for the person. AT: "Jerusalem is where I will forever make known who I am" (See: Metonymy)
Read full note →
He built altars for all the stars of heaven in the two courtyards of the house of Yahweh
It is implied that he built these altars so people could make sacrifices and worship the stars. Also, he would not have built these altars himself, rather he would have commanded his workers to do it. AT: "He had his workers build altars in the two courtyards of the house of Yahweh so that the people could worship the stars and offer them sacrifices" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Metonymy)
Valley of Ben Hinnom
This is the name of a place near Jerusalem that is also known as Gehenna. (See: How to Translate Names)
he caused his sons to pass through the fire
You may need to make explicit why he put his son in the fire and what happened after he did so. AT: "he burned his sons to death as an offering to his gods" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
consulted with
"asked for information from"
the dead
This refers to dead people. AT: "dead people" or "those who are dead" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
Manasseh did much evil in the sight of Yahweh
Here Yahweh's "sight" refers to how he judges or decides on the value of something. See how you translated a similar phrase in 2 Chronicles 14:2. AT: "Manasseh did many things that Yahweh said were evil" or "He practiced the things that Yahweh considered evil" (See: Metaphor)
he provoked him to anger
"Manasseh made Yahweh very angry"
translationWords
pagan
altar
house of God
name
command
eternity
heaven
court
sorcerer
spirit
anger
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v7 33:7 The carved idol was an image of Asherah…
33:7 The carved idol was an image of Asherah (see 2 Kgs 21:7).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.