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2 Kings 21

KJV · Chapter 21/25

1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzi–bah.

2And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

3For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

4And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.

5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

6And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

7And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

8Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.

9But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.

10And the Lord spake by his servants the prophets, saying,

11Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:

12Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.

13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

14And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;

15Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.

16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

17Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

18And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

19Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

20And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh did.

21And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:

22And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the Lord.

23And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.

24And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

25Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

26And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.

📖 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 Kings 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 Kings 21:2Manasseh does what is evil, repeating the abominations of the nations the Lord had driven out before Israel.
  3. 2 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 21:5He builds altars to the stars of heaven in both courts of the temple, spreading idolatry through the whole sacred space.
  6. 2 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 21:10The Lord then speaks through His prophets, announcing the judgment that follows.
  11. 2 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 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 Kings 21:20Amon also does what is evil, exactly as his father Manasseh had done.
  21. 2 Kings 21:21Amon follows his father’s ways in everything, serving the same idols and bowing down before them.
  22. 2 Kings 21:22In this way he forsakes the Lord, the God of his ancestors, without walking in the right path.
  23. 2 Kings 21:23Amon’s own servants conspire against him and kill the king inside his own house.
  24. 2 Kings 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 Kings 21:25The closing formula for Amon points to the chronicles of the kings of Judah (the southern kingdom).
  26. 2 Kings 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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