2 Chronicles 33:1-25
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
2 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.
3 For he builta 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.
4 Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
6 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.
7 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:
8 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.
9 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.
10 And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the kingb of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 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.
14 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,c and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.
15 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.
16 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.
17 Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.
18 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.
19 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.d
20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
21 Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.
22 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;
23 And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
24 And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.
25 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.
2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people
The *Kingdom called Judah
2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 33
Manasseh – 2 Chronicles 33:1-20
v1 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. He was king for 55 years in Jerusalem. v2 He did what the *LORD considered to be evil deeds. The *LORD had forced some nations out of the country when he brought the *Israelites in. Manasseh did the disgusting things that those nations had done. v3 He built again the high places for *worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. They were high places to *worship false gods. He built *altars to the Baal gods. He made images for *Asherah. And he *worshipped and he served all the stars in the sky. v4 The *LORD had said about the *temple, ‘My name will be in Jerusalem for all time.’ But Manasseh built *altars in the *LORD’s *temple. v5 He built *altars to *worship the stars in the two areas of the *LORD’s *temple. v6 He burned his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. He did magic and he used evil signs. He tried to tell the future by signs and dreams. He got advice from persons who talked to evil *spirits. Some people said that they had special wisdom. And he listened to them. He did many evil things that made the *LORD angry.
v7 He made an image of a false god. He put this image in God’s *temple. God had said to David and to his son Solomon, ‘I have chosen this *temple. And I have chosen Jerusalem from all the *tribes of *Israel. I will put my name here for all time. v8 I will never again remove *Israel from the country that I gave to their *ancestors. But they must obey all the commands that I gave to them. They must do all that I taught them. I gave them these rules and commands by Moses.’ v9 But Manasseh led the people in Judah and in Jerusalem to do wrong deeds. They did more evil things than the nations that the *LORD had destroyed. He removed those nations when he brought the *Israelites into their country.
v10 The *LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they did not listen. v11 So, the *LORD brought against them the king of Assyria’s army officers. They *captured Manasseh. They fastened his nose with a piece of metal and they tied him with *bronze chains. Then they took him to Babylon.
v12 As Manasseh suffered, he *turned to the *LORD his God for help. He had been proud but he *repented in front of the God of his *ancestors. v13 When he prayed, the *LORD heard him. And the *LORD had pity on him. So, the *LORD brought him back to Jerusalem and to his *kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the *LORD was God.
v14 After that, Manasseh built again the outer wall of Jerusalem and he made it higher. He built from the west side of the Gihon fountain. He built in the valley all the way to the Fish Gate. The wall went round the hill called Ophel. And he sent officers to all the strong cities in Judah.
v15 He removed the foreign gods and he took away the image from the *LORD’s *temple. He removed all the *altars that he had built on the *temple hill and in Jerusalem. And he threw them out of the city. v16 Then he set up again the *LORD’s *altar. He gave *sacrifices for peace and sacrifices to thank the *LORD. And he told the people in Judah to serve the *LORD, the God of *Israel. v17 The people continued to *sacrifice at the high places for *worship. But their *sacrifices were to the *LORD their God.
v18 In the book of the history of the kings of *Israel, there is a record. This record shows the other events during the rule of Manasseh. In it, there is his prayer to his God. Also, it records what the *prophets told him as from the *LORD God of *Israel. v19 The record of the *prophets tells about his prayer and about how God had pity on him. He had *sinned and he was not loyal to his God. He had built the high places to *worship false gods. He had made *Asherah images. But then, after that, he made himself humble. The *prophets recorded all these things. v20 Manasseh died and they buried him in his palace. Then Amon his son replaced him as king.
Verses 1-6 Manasseh was the king of Judah from about 687 *BC to 642 *BC. It seems that he ruled with his father Hezekiah for about 10 years before that. He was 12 years old when he started to rule. And he ruled for 55 years. He ruled more years than any other king of Judah or *Israel.
The people from Assyria were again in control over the whole region. Hezekiah had been free from that control. But Manasseh had to realise that the king of Assyria was his master. This may have been part of the reason for his *worship of the false gods.
The nations that were in the country before *Israel *worshipped many false gods. Manasseh built again the high places to *worship those gods. He built *altars to the Baal gods. He made images for *Asherah, the female god. And he *worshipped the sun, moon and stars. For these, he built two *altars in the *LORD’s *temple. He did the same as his grandfather Ahaz had done (28:3). He made his children go through fire in the Ben-Hinnom Valley. This was a *sacrifice to the god Molech. And he did many other evil deeds.
Verses 7-9 Manasseh made an image and he put it in the *LORD’s *temple. This image was probably an image of the female god *Asherah. This was an awful *sin and it was an insult to the *LORD God.
The *LORD had promised that the country would belong to the *Israelites. He had said that he would never remove them from that country. But this promise depended on their actions. They had to obey God’s commands. They had to do all that God told them by Moses. They had not obeyed the *LORD. They had not done as they should have done.
Manasseh led the people in Judah away from the *LORD. He led them into all the wicked ways of the nations. The people in Judah were worse than those nations that the *LORD had removed. And the *LORD was angry with Manasseh and with the people.
Verses 10-13 Manasseh and the people would not listen to the *LORD. Because of their *sin, the *LORD told them about the punishment that he would send upon them. Enemies would destroy Jerusalem and the people would go into *exile (2 Kings 21:10-15).
The *LORD sent officers from the king of Assyria. They tied Manasseh with chains and they took him to Babylon. No other records mention this event. Perhaps he joined Egypt’s army as they tried to get free from the rule of Assyria. It may be that Manasseh had involved himself in the affairs of Babylon. The brother of King Osnappar, Shamash-shum-ukin was the ruler in Babylon. He tried to free Babylon from the rule of Assyria. But Osnappar defeated the army of Babylon. These events were in about 652 to 648 *BC.
Manasseh suffered there in Babylon. He prayed to the *LORD. He *repented that he had been proud. And he *repented of his wicked deeds. He was humble toward the God of his *ancestors. And the *LORD heard him. He did not deserve it but the *LORD was kind to him. The *LORD caused the king of Assyria to free Manasseh. Manasseh returned to Jerusalem. The answer to his prayers convinced him that the *LORD was the real God. But this was too late to prevent the future punishment of Judah.
Verses 14-17 Manasseh built again the outer wall of Jerusalem. This wall was from the west side of Gihon to the Fish Gate. And the wall went round the hill called Ophel. Gihon and Ophel were on the south-east side of the city. The Fish Gate was to the north-west. Also, to make the cities of Judah stronger, he sent officers to them.
Manasseh had changed. Now he removed the foreign gods and the image that he had put in the *temple. He removed all the *altars that he had built in Jerusalem. He set up the *LORD’s *altar. He started again the *sacrifices to the *LORD God. He told his people to *worship the *LORD God of *Israel. He did not remove all the high places for *worship. But the people *worshipped the *LORD at those places.
Verses 18-20 The book of the kings of *Israel contained a record of the events of Manasseh’s rule.
The records showed:
what he did before he *repented,
- what he did after he *repented.
They included the prayer that Manasseh had prayed to the *LORD.
Manasseh died in 642 *BC and they buried him in his palace. His son Amon then ruled in Judah.
Amon – 2 Chronicles 33:21-25
v21 Amon was 22 years old when he became king. And he was king for two years in Jerusalem. v22 He did what the *LORD considered evil deeds. He did as his father Manasseh had done. Amon *worshipped false gods and he *sacrificed to false gods. These gods were the images that his father had made. v23 Unlike his father, Amon was proud and he did not *repent in front of the *LORD. Instead, he *sinned even more.
v24 Amon’s servants came together and they killed him in his palace. v25 Then the people in that country killed all those who had plotted against King Amon. They made his son Josiah king instead of Amon.
Verses 21-25 Amon was king for only two years from 642 to 640 *BC. He was as wicked as his father had been. When Manasseh had removed the images of false gods, he had not destroyed them. Amon *worshipped these gods. He was proud like his father. He was even worse than his father had been. And he did not *repent of his *sin as his father did.
His servants killed him in his palace. Then the people killed those servants. Then Amon’s son, Josiah became king of Judah.
Josiah – 2 Chronicles 34:1-35:27
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
Asherah ~ a female god.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
spirit ~ spirits are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits that are usually called angels. Bad spirits (also called evil spirits, or demons) live in the air round us. Satan (God’s chief enemy) is their leader.
tribe ~ the *Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of *Israel.
ancestors ~ people in history that your family has come from.
capture ~ to fight for something and to make it yours as a result; or, to make somebody a prisoner.
bronze ~ a metal that glows when it is in a fire. When a person polishes it, it shines in the light. And it is very strong.
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
repent ~ to change the mind; to turn away from sin and to turn to God.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an altar. That was to say thank you to God, or to ask him to forgive. God made Jesus to be a sacrifice because of our sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
exile ~ people who have to live in a foreign country are in exile. Such a person is an exile. The exile means the time when the Jews were in exile.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.