2 Reis 21

BLIVRE · Chapter 21/25

1De doze anos era Manassés quando começou a reinar, e reinou em Jerusalém cinquenta e cinco anos: o nome de sua mãe foi Hefzibá.

2E fez o que era mau aos olhos do SENHOR, segundo as abominações das nações que o SENHOR havia lançado diante dos filhos de Israel.

3Porque ele voltou a edificar os altos que Ezequias seu pai havia derrubado, e levantou altares a Baal, e fez bosque, como havia feito Acabe rei de Israel: e adorou a todo o exército do céu, e serviu àquelas coisas.

4Também edificou altares na casa do SENHOR, da qual o SENHOR havia dito: Eu porei meu nome em Jerusalém.

5E edificou altares para todo o exército do céu nos dois átrios da casa do SENHOR.

6E passou a seu filho por fogo, e olhou em tempos, e foi agoureiro, e instituiu necromantes e adivinhos, multiplicando assim o fazer o mal aos olhos do SENHOR, para provocá-lo à ira.

7E pôs uma imagem entalhada do bosque que ele havia feito, na casa da qual havia o SENHOR dito a Davi e a Salomão seu filho: Eu porei meu nome para sempre nesta casa, e em Jerusalém, à qual escolhi de todas as tribos de Israel:

8E não voltarei a fazer que o pé de Israel seja movido da terra que dei a seus pais, contanto que guardem e façam conforme a todas as coisas que eu lhes mandei, e conforme a toda a lei que meu servo Moisés lhes mandou.

9Mas eles não escutaram; e Manassés os induziu a que fizessem mais mal que as nações que o SENHOR destruiu diante dos filhos de Israel.

10E falou o SENHOR por meio de seus servos os profetas, dizendo:

11Porquanto Manassés rei de Judá fez estas abominações, e fez mais mal que tudo o que fizeram os amorreus que foram antes dele, e também fez pecar a Judá em seus ídolos;

12Portanto, assim disse o SENHOR o Deus de Israel: Eis que eu trago tal mal sobre Jerusalém e sobre Judá, que o que o ouvir, lhe retinirão ambos ouvidos.

13E estenderei sobre Jerusalém o cordel de Samaria, e o prumo da casa de Acabe: e eu limparei a Jerusalém como se limpa um prato, que depois que o limpam, viram-no sobre sua face.

14E desampararei os restantes de minha propriedade, e os entregarei em mãos de seus inimigos; e serão para saque e para roubo a todos seus adversários;

15Porquanto fizeram o mal aos meus olhos, e me provocaram à ira, desde o dia que seus pais saíram do Egito até hoje.

16Além disso, derramou Manassés muito sangue inocente em grande maneira, até encher a Jerusalém de extremidade a extremidade; além de seu pecado com que fez pecar a Judá, para que fizesse o que era mau aos olhos do SENHOR.

17Os demais dos feitos de Manassés, e todas as coisas que fez, e seu pecado que cometeu, não está tudo escrito no livro das crônicas dos reis de Judá?

18E descansou Manassés com seus pais, e foi sepultado no jardim de sua casa, no jardim de Uzá; e reinou em seu lugar Amom seu filho.

19De vinte e dois anos era Amom quando começou a reinar, e reinou dois anos em Jerusalém. O nome de sua mãe foi Mesulemete filha de Haruz de Jotbá.

20E fez o que era mau aos olhos do SENHOR, como havia feito Manassés seu pai.

21E andou em todos os caminhos em que seu pai andou, e serviu às imundícias às quais havia servido seu pai, e a elas adorou;

22E deixou ao SENHOR o Deus de seus pais, e não andou no caminho do SENHOR.

23E os servos de Amom conspiraram contra ele, e mataram ao rei em sua casa.

24Então o povo da terra feriu a todos os que haviam conspirado contra o rei Amom; e pôs o povo da terra por rei em seu lugar a Josias seu filho.

25Os demais dos feitos de Amom, que efetuara, não está tudo escrito no livro das crônicas dos reis de Judá?

26E foi sepultado em seu sepulcro no jardim de Uzá, e reinou em seu lugar Josias seu filho.

📖 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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