Manasseh is twelve years old when he becomes king and reigns fifty-five years in Jerusalem. He does evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the abominations of the nations the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. He rebuilds the high places that his father Hezekiah had demolished. He erects altars to the Baals and makes Asherah poles. He worships all the host of heaven and serves them. He builds altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, 'In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.' He builds altars to all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. He passes his sons through the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, practices soothsaying and divination, engages in sorcery, and deals with mediums and spiritists. He does much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him. He sets the carved image of the idol he has made in the house of God, of which God said to David and 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 again remove the foot of Israel from the land that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them — all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.' But Manasseh leads Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray so that they do more evil than the nations the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel. The LORD speaks to Manasseh and his people, but they pay no attention. So the LORD brings against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who capture Manasseh with hooks, bind him with bronze chains, and take him to Babylon. In his distress he entreats the LORD his God and humbles himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prays to him, and God is moved by his plea, hears his supplication, and brings him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knows that the LORD is God. After this he builds an outer wall for the city of David on the west side of the Gihon, in the valley, and at the entrance of the Fish Gate, and carries it around the Ophel, making it very high. He also puts military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. He removes the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars he had built on the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and throws them outside the city. He restores the altar of the LORD, offers peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commands Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. The people still sacrifice on the high places, but only to the LORD their God. The rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel — they are in the acts of the kings of Israel. His prayer and how God was moved by it, all his sin and unfaithfulness, the places where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and carved images before he humbled himself — they are recorded in the records of the seers. Manasseh sleeps with his fathers, and they bury him in his own house. Amon his son reigns in his place. Amon is twenty-two years old when he becomes king and reigns two years in Jerusalem. He does evil in the eyes of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrifices to all the carved images that Manasseh his father had made and serves them. He does not humble himself before the LORD as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon increases his guilt. His servants conspire against him and kill him in his own house. The people of the land strike down all who conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land make Josiah his son king in his place.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
This chapter contains the single most dramatic departure between Chronicles and Kings in the entire Hebrew Bible. In 2 Kings 21, Manasseh is an unredeemed villain — the worst king in Judah's history, whose sins are so great that they are cited as the cause of the exile itself (2 Kings 21:11-15, 23:26-27, 24:3-4). There is no repentance, no restoration, no second chance. But the Chronicler adds an extraordinary narrative found nowhere else in Scripture: Manasseh is captured by Assyria, taken to Babylon in chains and hooks, and in his distress he humbles himself before God. God hears his prayer, is moved (va-ye'ater lo), and restores him to his throne. This is teshuvah — repentance and return — at its most radical: the worst sinner in Judah's history becomes a testimony to the limitlessness of divine mercy. The Chronicler is making a profound theological argument: if even Manasseh can repent and be restored, then no one is beyond the reach of God's compassion. This message was addressed to the post-exilic community, who needed to believe that their own national failure — the exile itself — did not place them beyond divine forgiveness. The lost 'Prayer of Manasseh' mentioned in verse 18 inspired a later apocryphal composition (the Prayer of Manasseh) that became part of many Christian canons.
Translation Friction
The historicity of Manasseh's capture and repentance is debated. Assyrian records do mention Manasseh (Minse) as a tributary king under both Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, and the detail of being taken to Babylon (rather than Nineveh) fits the period when Ashurbanipal was suppressing a Babylonian revolt and may have summoned vassal kings to demonstrate loyalty. Some scholars accept the basic historical framework while noting that the Chronicler has shaped it theologically. Others view it as a theological construction designed to explain how Manasseh could have reigned fifty-five years — the longest reign in Judah — if he were as wicked as 2 Kings portrays. The Chronicler's retribution theology requires that long reigns result from divine favor, creating a need for a repentance narrative. The contrast with Amon (verses 21-25) is sharp: Amon does the same evil but does not humble himself (lo nikhna), proving that the opportunity for repentance is available to all but accepted by few.
Connections
Manasseh's sins directly reverse Hezekiah's reforms: the high places rebuilt (verse 3, reversing 31:1), the Baals restored (reversing 29:5-11), the Temple defiled (reversing 29:15-19). His child sacrifice in Ben-Hinnom connects to Ahaz (28:3). The capture and exile narrative foreshadows the larger exile of Judah in chapter 36. Manasseh's prayer connects to Solomon's Temple dedication prayer (2 Chronicles 6:36-39), which specifically anticipated that the people would sin, be carried captive, and pray toward the Temple — and asked God to hear and forgive. Manasseh's teshuvah in captivity is exactly what Solomon prayed for. The phrase va-ye'ater lo ('God was moved by his plea') uses a rare verb (atar) that appears in Genesis 25:21 (Isaac's prayer for Rebekah) and 2 Samuel 21:14 — it describes God being persuaded by earnest prayer. Amon's failure to humble himself (verse 23) contrasts with both Manasseh and with the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14: 'If my people humble themselves...'
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
KJV Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The regnal formula records the longest reign in Judah's history: chamishim ve-chamesh shanah ('fifty-five years,' approximately 697-642 BCE). The young age of twelve at accession means he became king while Hezekiah was still influential (co-regency is debated). The extraordinary length of his reign creates a theological problem for the Chronicler: how does the worst king reign the longest? The answer the Chronicler provides is repentance.
He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the people of Israel.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The assessment formula — va-ya'as ha-ra be-einei YHWH ('he did evil in the eyes of the LORD') — is the standard negative evaluation. The comparison ke-to'avot ha-goyim ('according to the abominations of the nations') echoes the condemnation of Ahaz (28:3) and applies the same charge: Manasseh replicates the very practices for which God expelled the Canaanites. The irony is bitter — the people given the land because of the nations' abominations now practice those same abominations.
He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had demolished. He erected altars to the Baals, made Asherah poles, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb va-yashov ('he returned, he again') indicates deliberate reversal of his father's reforms. Four acts of apostasy: rebuilding bamot ('high places'), erecting altars for ha-Be'alim ('the Baals'), making asherot ('Asherah poles'), and worshiping tseva ha-shamayim ('the host of heaven' — astral worship of sun, moon, and stars). Each one undoes a specific reform of Hezekiah. The son systematically dismantles the father's work.
He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, 'In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.'
KJV Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Building pagan altars in the Temple itself is the ultimate desecration: the house dedicated exclusively to the LORD now hosts foreign deities. The divine word — bi-Yerushalayim yihyeh shemi le-olam ('in Jerusalem my name shall be forever') — from the Temple dedication (2 Chronicles 7:16) stands in direct contradiction to what Manasseh places there. The king overrides the divine claim on the sacred space.
He constructed altars to all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
KJV And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The astral altars fill bi-shtei chatsrot beit YHWH ('the two courts of the house of the LORD') — both the inner and outer courts of the Temple complex. The worship of tseva ha-shamayim ('the host of heaven') reflects Mesopotamian astral religion, particularly the worship of Ishtar (Venus) and the sun and moon deities. Under Assyrian suzerainty, such worship may have been politically expedient as well as religiously syncretistic.
He passed his sons through the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced soothsaying, divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The catalog of occult practices is comprehensive: onnen ('practiced cloud-divination/soothsaying'), nicchesh ('practiced divination/omen-reading'), kishshef ('practiced sorcery'), asah ov ('consulted a medium/necromancer'), and yidde'oni ('consulted a spiritist/wizard'). Each practice is explicitly forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:10-12. The phrase hirbah la'asot ha-ra ('he multiplied doing evil') emphasizes the systematic, extensive nature of his apostasy.
He set the carved image of the idol he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and 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.
KJV 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:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The pesel ha-semel ('the carved image of the idol/figure') placed in the Temple is the climax of desecration — a manufactured deity installed in the house of the one who cannot be represented. The extended divine quotation that follows serves as a literary counter-voice: while Manasseh fills the Temple with idols, God's own words about his eternal commitment to the Temple echo through the text, creating unbearable tension between divine intention and human violation.
I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land I appointed for your fathers — if only they will observe to do all that I commanded them, the entire law, the statutes, and the ordinances given through Moses.'
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The conditional clause — raq im yishmeru la'asot ('only if they observe to do') — is the hinge: God's promise to preserve Israel in the land is conditioned on obedience. The comprehensive scope of the requirement — kol ha-torah ve-ha-chuqqim ve-ha-mishpatim ('all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances') — leaves no room for selective compliance. Manasseh is violating every category simultaneously.
Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the people of Israel.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb va-yet'a ('he led astray, he caused to wander') makes Manasseh not just a personal sinner but a national corrupter — he misleads the entire population. The devastating comparison: la'asot ra min ha-goyim ('to do evil more than the nations') means that Judah under Manasseh surpasses the Canaanites in wickedness. The people chosen to replace the nations have become worse than the nations they replaced.
The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.
KJV And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The brief verse carries enormous weight: va-yedabber YHWH ('the LORD spoke') — God initiated communication, warning before punishing. But ve-lo hiqshivu ('they did not pay attention, they did not listen'). The refusal to hear is the act that triggers judgment. God spoke; they refused. The brevity of the verse emphasizes the simplicity and tragedy of the refusal.
So the LORD brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains, and took him to Babylon.
KJV Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The agent of judgment is Assyria, but the ultimate cause is YHWH: va-yave YHWH alehem ('the LORD brought upon them'). The capture of Manasseh ba-chochim ('with hooks') — nose-rings or fish-hooks used to lead prisoners — is a well-attested Assyrian practice depicted in palace reliefs. The bronze chains (nechushtayim) echo Zedekiah's later binding (2 Kings 25:7). The destination Bavel ('Babylon') rather than Nineveh may reflect the period of Ashurbanipal's campaign to suppress the Babylonian revolt of Shamash-shum-ukin (652-648 BCE).
teshuvah ('repentance, return') — though the noun itself does not appear in this verse, the entire scene embodies it. The root shuv ('to turn, to return') pervades the theology: Manasseh turns from rebellion to humility, from foreign gods to the God of his fathers, from arrogance to self-abasement. Teshuvah is not merely feeling sorry but fundamentally reorienting one's entire life toward God.
Translator Notes
This verse and the next are the theological heart of the chapter — the moment unique to Chronicles that transforms Manasseh from a cautionary tale into a testimony of grace. The pattern — sin, suffering, repentance, restoration — is the Chronicler's paradigm for the entire exile-and-return experience of Israel. If Manasseh can repent in Babylon and be restored to Jerusalem, then so can the exiled nation.
He prayed to him, and God was moved by his plea, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD — he is God.
KJV And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb va-ye'ater (from the root atar, 'to be moved by entreaty') appears only a handful of times in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 25:21, 2 Samuel 21:14, 2 Samuel 24:25). Each time it describes God being genuinely moved — not mechanically responding but being persuaded at the deepest level. The Chronicler's use of this rare verb emphasizes that Manasseh's prayer was not formulaic but authentically desperate, and that God's response was not obligatory but genuinely compassionate.
After this he built an outer wall for the city of David, on the west side of the Gihon, in the valley, to the entrance of the Fish Gate, carrying it around the Ophel and making it very high. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
KJV Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The post-repentance building projects demonstrate that Manasseh's restoration is real and productive. The wall extends from the Gihon spring area (west of the city of David) to the Fish Gate (in the north), encircling the Ophel (the hill between the city of David and the Temple mount). The military commanders (sarei chayil) in the fortified cities indicate administrative reorganization. Repentance produces not just spiritual change but practical governance.
He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars he had built on the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and threw them outside the city.
KJV And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Manasseh now reverses his own apostasy: he removes the elohei ha-nekhar ('foreign gods'), the semel ('idol/figure') he had placed in the Temple (verse 7), and all the altars he had built. The verb va-yashlekh chutsah la-ir ('he threw them outside the city') physically expels the idolatrous objects from Jerusalem's sacred space. What he brought in, he now casts out.
He restored the altar of the LORD and offered peace offerings and thank offerings on it. He commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.
KJV And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Three restoration acts: va-yikhen et mizbach YHWH ('he restored/established the altar of the LORD'), va-yizbach alav zivchei shelamim ve-todah ('he offered peace offerings and thank offerings on it'), and va-yomer li-Yhudah la'avod et YHWH ('he commanded Judah to serve the LORD'). The peace offerings (shelamim) express restored fellowship; the thank offerings (todah) express gratitude. The man who led Judah into apostasy (verse 9) now commands them back to the LORD.
The people, however, still sacrificed on the high places — but only to the LORD their God.
KJV Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The qualifying note od ha-am zovchim ba-bamot ('the people still sacrificed on the high places') acknowledges the limits of Manasseh's reform — the high places persist. But the Chronicler adds a mitigating detail: raq la-YHWH Elohehem ('only to the LORD their God'). The syncretism is gone; the locations remain problematic. The high places are not themselves the primary sin — it is whom one worships there that matters most.
The rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel — these are in the records of the kings of Israel.
KJV Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The reference to tefillato el Elohav ('his prayer to his God') indicates that a written prayer of Manasseh existed in the Chronicler's sources. This lost text inspired the later apocryphal Prayer of Manasseh. The chozim ('seers') who spoke to him be-shem YHWH ('in the name of the LORD') — unnamed prophets — were the divine voices Manasseh initially ignored (verse 10) but presumably heeded after his repentance.
His prayer and how God was moved by it, all his sin and unfaithfulness, the places where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and carved images before he humbled himself — these are recorded in the records of the seers.
KJV His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The summary names both the darkness and the light: chattato u-ma'alo ('his sin and unfaithfulness') alongside tefillato ve-he'ater lo ('his prayer and God being moved by it'). The phrase lifnei hikkane'o ('before he humbled himself') creates a clear before-and-after: there is a pre-repentance Manasseh and a post-repentance Manasseh. The divrei chozai ('records/words of the seers') represents another lost source the Chronicler references.
Manasseh slept with his fathers, and he was buried in his own house. His son Amon reigned in his place.
KJV So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The burial beito ('in his own house') rather than in the royal tombs is ambiguous — it may indicate burial in the palace garden (as with Amon, 2 Kings 21:18) or in a private tomb. The transition to Amon sets up the final contrast: a son who repeats the father's sins but not his repentance.
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
KJV Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Amon's regnal formula is stark: only shtayim shanim ('two years,' approximately 642-640 BCE). The brevity of his reign, for the Chronicler, reflects divine judgment — unfaithful kings do not prosper. His age (twenty-two) means he was born during Manasseh's unreformed years and grew up in the culture of apostasy.
He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved images that Manasseh his father had made and served them.
KJV But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase ka'asher asah Menasheh aviu ('as Manasseh his father had done') refers to the unreformed Manasseh — Amon imitates the apostasy but not the repentance. The carved images (pesilim) that Manasseh had made and then removed (verse 15) are apparently still available — either Amon recovers them or has new ones made. The cycle of apostasy continues.
He did not humble himself before the LORD as Manasseh his father had humbled himself. Instead, this Amon increased his guilt.
KJV And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The critical distinction: ve-lo nikhna milifnei YHWH ke-hikkana Menasheh aviu ('he did not humble himself before the LORD as Manasseh his father humbled himself'). The same opportunity for repentance was available; Amon refused it. The phrase hu Amon hirbah ashmah ('this Amon multiplied guilt') uses the demonstrative hu ('this one, this very') with the same literary force as the identification of Ahaz in 28:22 — the name becomes a label for unrepentant sin.
His servants conspired against him and killed him in his own house.
KJV And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb va-yiqsheru ('they conspired') indicates a palace coup. The assassination be-veto ('in his own house') — in the palace itself — suggests an inside job by close attendants. The Chronicler does not identify the conspirators' motives; the narrative interest is in the theological point: an unrepentant king whose reign is cut short.
The people of the land struck down all who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.
KJV But 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The am ha-arets ('people of the land') — the landed citizenry, possibly a conservative aristocratic body — intervene to restore order. They execute the conspirators and place Josiah on the throne. The phrase va-yamlikhu am ha-arets et Yoshiyyahu veno tachtav ('the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place') introduces one of the greatest reforming kings in Israel's history. At eight years old, Josiah will inherit a kingdom in desperate need of renewal.