2 Reis 21

ARC · Chapter 21/25

1Tinha Manasseh doze annos de edade quando começou a reinar, e cincoenta e cinco annos reinou em Jerusalem: e era o nome de sua mãe Hephsiba.

2E fez o que parecia mal aos olhos do Senhor, conforme as abominações dos gentios que o Senhor desterrara de suas possessões de diante dos filhos d'Israel.

3Porque tornou a edificar os altos que Ezequias, seu pae, tinha destruido, e levantou altares a Baal, e fez um bosque como o que fizera Achab, rei d'Israel, e se inclinou diante de todo o exercito dos céus, e os serviu.

4E edificou altares na casa do Senhor, de que o Senhor tinha dito: Em Jerusalem porei o meu nome.

5Tambem edificou altares a todo o exercito dos céus em ambos os atrios da casa do Senhor.

6E até fez passar a seu filho pelo fogo, e adivinhava pelas nuvens, e era agoureiro, e ordenou adivinhos e feiticeiros: e proseguiu em fazer mal aos olhos do Senhor, para o provocar á ira.

7Tambem poz uma imagem de esculptura, do bosque que tinha feito, na casa de que o Senhor dissera a David e a Salomão, seu filho: N'esta casa e em Jerusalem, que escolhi de todas as tribus d'Israel, porei o meu nome para sempre.

8E mais não farei mover o pé d'Israel d'esta terra que tenho dado a seus paes; comtanto sómente que tenham cuidado de fazer conforme tudo o que lhes tenho ordenado, e conforme toda a lei que Moysés, meu servo, lhes ordenou.

9Porém não ouviram; porque Manasseh de tal modo os fez errar, que fizeram peior do que as nações, que o Senhor tinha destruido de diante dos filhos de Israel.

10Então o Senhor fallou pelo ministerio de seus servos, os prophetas, dizendo:

11Porquanto Manasseh, rei de Judah, fez estas abominações, fazendo peior do que quanto fizeram os amorrheos, que antes d'elle foram, e até tambem a Judah fez peccar com os seus idolos;

12Por isso assim diz o Senhor Deus de Israel: Eis que hei de trazer um mal sobre Jerusalem e Judah, que qualquer que ouvir, lhe ficarão retinindo ambas as orelhas.

13E estenderei sobre Jerusalem o cordel de Samaria e o prumo da casa de Achab: e limparei a Jerusalem, como quem limpa a escudela, a limpa e a vira sobre a sua face.

14E desampararei o resto da minha herança, entregal-os-hei na mão de seus inimigos; e far-se-hão roubo e despojo para todos os seus inimigos.

15Porquanto fizeram o que parecia mal aos meus olhos, e me provocaram á ira, desde o dia em que seus paes sairam do Egypto até hoje.

16De mais d'isto, tambem Manasseh derramou muitissimo sangue innocente, até que encheu a Jerusalem de um ao outro extremo, afóra o seu peccado, com que fez peccar a Judah, fazendo o que parecia mal aos olhos do Senhor.

17Quanto ao mais dos filhos de Manasseh, e a tudo quanto fez mais, e ao seu peccado, que peccou, porventura não está escripto no livro das chronicas dos reis de Judah?

18E Manasseh dormiu com seus paes, e foi sepultado no jardim da sua casa, no jardim de Uza: e Amon, seu filho, reinou em seu logar.

19Tinha Amon vinte e dois annos de edade quando começou a reinar, e dois annos reinou em Jerusalem: e era o nome de sua mãe Mesullemeth, filha d'Harus, de Jotba.

20E fez o que parecia mal aos olhos do Senhor, como fizera Manasseh, seu pae.

21Porque andou em todo o caminho em que andara seu pae: e serviu os idolos, a que seu pae tinha servido, e se inclinou diante d'elles.

22Assim deixou ao Senhor, Deus de seus paes, e não andou no caminho do Senhor.

23E os servos de Amon conspiraram contra elle, e mataram o rei em sua casa.

24Porém o povo da terra feriu a todos os que conspiraram contra o rei Amon: e o povo da terra poz a Josias, seu filho, rei em seu logar.

25Quanto ao mais dos successos de Amon, que fez, porventura não está escripto no livro das chronicas dos reis de Judah?

26E o sepultaram na sua sepultura, no jardim de Usa: e Josias, seu filho, reinou em seu logar.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, completely reverses his father's reforms, practicing extreme idolatry, sacrificing his son in the fire, practicing sorcery, and shedding much innocent blood in Jerusalem. His son Amon continues this idolatry and is assassinated in a conspiracy after only two years on the throne.

Explanation

Manasseh's reign is described as the longest (55 years) and one of the most spiritually destructive in the history of Judah, so severe that the text directly attributes to him God's final decision to allow the future destruction of Jerusalem, even decades later under more faithful kings. This teaches a severe lesson about how a leader's systematic, prolonged sin can have consequences that outlast his own lifetime, affecting future generations. It's worth noting (though not mentioned here, but in 2 Chronicles 33:12-13) that Manasseh eventually repented late in life, showing that even the gravest sin is not beyond the reach of God's mercy.

Fun facts

  • 2 Chronicles 33 tells an additional story not mentioned in 2 Kings: Manasseh was captured and taken prisoner to Babylon by the Assyrians, where he repented deeply and was restored to the throne — one of the most dramatic examples of late-life redemption in the Bible, likely omitted here because the focus of Kings is to show the accumulated consequences of his sins.
  • Assyrian records of the period mention a king called 'Manasseh of Judah' as a vassal paying tribute to Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, externally confirming the historical existence of this biblical king.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Reis 21:1Manasseh systematically undoes his father Hezekiah’s reforms, rebuilding shrines, practicing divination, and even sacrificing a son. The text treats him as the worst king of Judah, the lowest point before the kingdom’s end.
  2. 2 Reis 21:2Manasseh does what is evil, repeating the abominations of the nations the Lord had driven out before Israel.
  3. 2 Reis 21:3He rebuilds the high places his own father Hezekiah had destroyed, raises up altars to Baal, makes an Asherah pole like Ahab did in Israel, and bows down before the stars of heaven.
  4. 2 Reis 21:4Manasseh even builds pagan altars inside the Lord’s own temple, exactly the place where God had promised to put His name.
  5. 2 Reis 21:5He builds altars to the stars of heaven in both courts of the temple, spreading idolatry through the whole sacred space.
  6. 2 Reis 21:6Manasseh even sacrifices his own son in the fire, practices divination, and consults mediums and spiritists — provoking the Lord’s anger on purpose.
  7. 2 Reis 21:7He places a carved image of Asherah inside the temple, the very house where the Lord had promised David and Solomon that His name would remain forever.
  8. 2 Reis 21:8The Lord had promised not to make Israel wander the land again, on the condition that the people kept everything Moses had commanded.
  9. 2 Reis 21:9But the people did not listen; Manasseh led them to do worse than the very nations the Lord had destroyed before Israel.
  10. 2 Reis 21:10The Lord then speaks through His prophets, announcing the judgment that follows.
  11. 2 Reis 21:11The image draws on building tools, a measuring line and a level, in an ironic way: Jerusalem will be measured for destruction with the same standard used against Samaria and the house of Ahab. These are the two most cited examples of condemned kingdoms in the whole book.
  12. 2 Reis 21:12The Lord declares that He will bring such a disaster on Jerusalem and Judah (the south) that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
  13. 2 Reis 21:13The Lord promises to apply to Jerusalem the same measuring line used on Samaria (the north) and the same level used on the house of Ahab — wiping the city clean like a dish, wiped and turned upside down.
  14. 2 Reis 21:14The Lord will forsake the remnant of His own people, handing them over to their enemies, turning them into plunder for all who surround them.
  15. 2 Reis 21:15The reason is summed up like this: they did what is evil and provoked the Lord’s anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until now.
  16. 2 Reis 21:16The text does not spell out who the victims were, but later Jewish traditions link this period to the persecution of prophets and religious opponents of Manasseh. It is a long reign, fifty-five years, but described in almost entirely negative terms.
  17. 2 Reis 21:17The closing formula for Manasseh points to the chronicles of the kings of Judah (the southern kingdom) as the source for the rest of his deeds and sins.
  18. 2 Reis 21:18Manasseh dies and is buried in the garden of his own house, the garden of Uzza; his son Amon takes the throne of Judah (the south).
  19. 2 Reis 21:19Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and stayed only two years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz, of Jotbah.
  20. 2 Reis 21:20Amon also does what is evil, exactly as his father Manasseh had done.
  21. 2 Reis 21:21Amon follows his father’s ways in everything, serving the same idols and bowing down before them.
  22. 2 Reis 21:22In this way he forsakes the Lord, the God of his ancestors, without walking in the right path.
  23. 2 Reis 21:23Amon’s own servants conspire against him and kill the king inside his own house.
  24. 2 Reis 21:24The people of the land react by killing everyone who conspired against Amon, and make his son Josiah king in his place — a popular intervention that preserves David’s line.
  25. 2 Reis 21:25The closing formula for Amon points to the chronicles of the kings of Judah (the southern kingdom).
  26. 2 Reis 21:26Amon is buried in his own tomb, in the garden of Uzza; his son Josiah takes the throne, setting the stage for the great religious reform of the following chapters.

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