2 Crônicas 33

ARC · Chapter 33/36

1Tinha Manasses doze annos d'edade, quando começou a reinar, e cincoenta e cinco annos reinou em Jerusalem.

2E fez o que era mal aos olhos do Senhor, conforme ás abominações dos gentios que o Senhor lançara fóra de diante dos filhos d'Israel.

3Porque tornou a edificar os altos que Ezequias , seu pae, tinha derribado; e levantou altares a Baalim, e fez bosques, e prostrou-se diante de todo o exercito dos céus, e o serviu.

4E edificou altares na casa do Senhor, da qual o Senhor tinha dito: Em Jerusalem estará o meu nome eternamente.

5Edificou altares a todo o exercito dos céus, em ambos os pateos da casa do Senhor.

6Fez elle tambem passar seus filhos pelo fogo no valle do filho de Hinnom, e usou d'adivinhações e d'agoiros, e de feitiçarias, e ordenou adivinhos e encantadores: e fez muitissimo mal aos olhos do Senhor, para o provocar á ira

7Tambem poz uma imagem esculpida, o idolo que tinha feito, na casa de Deus, da qual Deus tinha dito a David e a Salomão seu filho: N'esta casa, em Jerusalem, que escolhi de todas as tribus d'Israel, porei eu o meu nome para sempre;

8E nunca mais removerei o pé d'Israel da terra que ordenei a vossos paes; comtanto que tenham cuidado de fazer tudo o que eu lhes ordenei, conforme a toda a lei, e estatutos, e juizos, dados pela mão de Moysés.

9E Manasses tanto fez errar a Judah e aos moradores de Jerusalem, que fizeram peior do que as nações que o Senhor tinha destruido de diante dos filhos d'Israel.

10E fallou o Senhor a Manasses e ao seu povo, porém não deram ouvidos.

11Pelo que o Senhor trouxe sobre elles os principes do exercito do rei d'Assyria, os quaes prenderam a Manasses entre os espinhaes; e o amarraram com cadeias, e o levaram a Babylonia.

12E elle, angustiado, orou devéras ao Senhor seu Deus, e humilhou-se muito perante o Deus de seus paes;

13E lhe fez oração, e Deus se aplacou para com elle, e ouviu a sua supplica, e o tornou a trazer a Jerusalem, ao seu reino: então conheceu Manasses que o Senhor era Deus.

14E depois d'isto edificou o muro de fóra da cidade de David, ao occidente de Gihon, no valle, e á entrada da porta do peixe, e á roda, até Ophel, e o levantou mui alto: tambem poz officiaes valentes em todas as cidades fortes de Judah.

15E tirou da casa do Senhor os deuses estranhos e o idolo, como tambem todos os altares que tinha edificado no monte da casa do Senhor, e em Jerusalem, e os lançou fóra da cidade.

16E reparou o altar do Senhor, e offereceu sobre elle offertas pacificas e de louvor: e mandou a Judah que servissem ao Senhor Deus d'Israel.

17Mas ainda o povo sacrificava nos altos, mas sómente ao Senhor seu Deus.

18O resto pois dos successos de Manasses, e a sua oração ao seu Deus, e as palavras dos videntes que lhe fallaram no nome do Senhor, Deus d'Israel, eis que estão nos successos dos reis d'Israel.

19E a sua oração, e como Deus se aplacou para com elle, e todo o seu peccado, e a sua transgressão, e os logares onde edificou altos, e poz bosques e imagens d'esculptura, antes que se humilhasse, eis que está escripto nos livros dos videntes.

20E dormiu Manasses com seus paes, e o sepultaram em sua casa; Amon, seu filho, reinou em seu logar.

21Era Amon de edade de vinte e dois annos, quando começou a reinar, e dois annos reinou em Jerusalem.

22E fez o que era mal aos olhos do Senhor, como havia feito Manasses, seu pae; porque Amon sacrificou a todas as imagens d'esculptura que Manasses, seu pae, tinha feito, e as serviu.

23Mas não se humilhou perante o Senhor, como Manasses, seu pae, se humilhara: antes multiplicou Amon os seus delictos.

24E conspiraram contra elle os seus servos, e o mataram em sua casa.

25Porém o povo da terra feriu a todos quantos conspiraram contra o rei Amon: e o povo da terra fez reinar em seu logar a Josias, seu filho.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, becomes one of the most idolatrous kings in Judah's history, practicing sorcery and even sacrificing his own children. He is taken prisoner by the Assyrians, and in this extreme humiliation he repents deeply, being restored to the throne and going on to remove the idolatry he had established.

Explanation

Manasseh's journey is one of the most surprising stories of redemption in the whole Bible: after reigning for decades practicing nearly every possible form of idolatry and spiritual violence, including defiling the temple itself with idols, he is humiliated to the extreme, being led away in chains into exile in Babylon. It is exactly at this lowest point that he finally humbles himself genuinely before God, and remarkably, God responds with mercy, restoring him to the throne. His subsequent reform, removing the very idols he had installed, shows that even the most extreme sinner can find a way back through sincere repentance — a powerful message of hope even after decades of terribly destructive choices.

Fun facts

  • The apocryphal book titled 'The Prayer of Manasseh,' not included in the Protestant biblical canon but present in some Christian traditions, is a later text that imaginatively attempts to reconstruct the words of repentance Manasseh would have prayed during his captivity.
  • Despite his sincere repentance and later reforms, the prophet Jeremiah, generations later, still attributes Jerusalem's final destruction, in part, to the accumulated weight of the specific sins committed during Manasseh's long reign (2 Kings 23:26-27), showing how certain spiritual consequences can persist even after genuine repentance.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Crônicas 33:1Manasseh was only twelve years old when he began to reign, and he ruled fifty-five years in Jerusalem — the longest reign of any king of Judah.
  2. 2 Crônicas 33:2The Chronicler’s verdict is harsh: Manasseh did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, repeating the detestable practices of the nations God had driven out of the land.
  3. 2 Crônicas 33:3Manasseh rebuilds the high places his father Hezekiah had torn down, raises altars to Baal, makes sacred poles, and even goes so far as to worship the whole host of heaven — sun, moon, and stars.
  4. 2 Crônicas 33:4He builds idolatrous altars inside the temple itself, in the very place God had chosen to put His name forever.
  5. 2 Crônicas 33:5Manasseh builds altars for the worship of the host of heaven in both courtyards of the temple, completely reversing his father’s religious reform.
  6. 2 Crônicas 33:6Manasseh even repeats the sacrifice of children by fire, on top of practicing divination and sorcery — a list of sins that marks him, at first glance, as the worst king in the whole book.
  7. 2 Crônicas 33:7Manasseh sets up a carved image, an idol he made himself, inside the temple — the very place God had promised David and Solomon would bear His name forever.
  8. 2 Crônicas 33:8That promise came with a condition: Israel would remain in the land as long as it faithfully obeyed everything God commanded through the law of Moses.
  9. 2 Crônicas 33:9Manasseh drags Judah and Jerusalem down to a level of wrongdoing even worse than that of the nations God had already destroyed ahead of them.
  10. 2 Crônicas 33:10The Lord speaks directly to Manasseh and the people, but they simply pay no attention to the warning.
  11. 2 Crônicas 33:11Because of this, God brings against them the commanders of the Assyrian army, who capture Manasseh hiding among the thornbushes, bind him with chains, and carry him off as a prisoner to Babylon.
  12. 2 Crônicas 33:12In the distress of prison, Manasseh finally prays sincerely to the Lord and deeply humbles himself before the God of his ancestors.
  13. 2 Crônicas 33:13What Chronicles tells — and the book of Kings doesn’t mention — is that Manasseh, taken prisoner to Babylon, truly repents in prison, and God restores him to his own throne. It’s one of the few cases in the entire book where even the most wicked king gets a recorded second chance.
  14. 2 Crônicas 33:14After being restored, Manasseh builds an outer wall for the City of David, strengthens the Ophel area, and places military commanders in the fortified cities of Judah.
  15. 2 Crônicas 33:15Manasseh removes the foreign gods and the idol he had set up from the temple, along with all the idolatrous altars raised in Jerusalem, throwing everything out of the city.
  16. 2 Crônicas 33:16He repairs the altar of the Lord, resumes offering peace offerings and offerings of praise, and orders all Judah to serve the God of Israel.
  17. 2 Crônicas 33:17Even so, the people keep sacrificing at the high places, though now they direct those offerings only to the true God, no longer to idols.
  18. 2 Crônicas 33:18The rest of Manasseh’s story, his prayer, and the words of the prophets who spoke to him are recorded in the annals of the kings of Israel.
  19. 2 Crônicas 33:19Even more specific details about his prayer, his sin, and the places where he had built high places before repenting appear in the books of the seers.
  20. 2 Crônicas 33:20Manasseh dies and is buried in his own house; his son Amon takes the throne, quickly reversing his father’s repentance.
  21. 2 Crônicas 33:21Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he ruled only two years in Jerusalem.
  22. 2 Crônicas 33:22Amon quickly reverses his father’s late repentance, goes back to worshiping the same idols, and reigns only two years before being assassinated by his own servants — as if Manasseh’s reform had left no root at all in his son.
  23. 2 Crônicas 33:23Unlike his father, Amon never humbles himself before the Lord — on the contrary, he multiplies his own sins even further.
  24. 2 Crônicas 33:24Amon’s own servants conspire against him and kill him inside his own house.
  25. 2 Crônicas 33:25The people of the land respond by killing all the conspirators and placing Josiah, Amon’s son, on the throne in his place.

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