2 Chronicles 33:1-9·~1 min

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

Manasseh begins a long reign marked by deliberate evil, undoing Hezekiah’s reforms and rebuilding the worship of Baals, Asherah poles, and the host of heaven.

M¹anasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. ²And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. ³For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he raised up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. And he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.

His unfaithfulness moves into the temple courts themselves, where he builds pagan altars, and into acts of violence and occult practice that provoke the LORD’s anger.

⁴Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven. ⁶He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.

Manasseh places an image inside the house God chose for His name, despite the covenant tied to Jerusalem and the land. Under his lead, Judah becomes more corrupt than the nations once judged before Israel.

⁷Manasseh even took the carved image he had made and set it up in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever. ⁸I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to leave the land that I assigned to your fathers, if only they are careful to do all that I have commanded them through Moses— all the laws, statutes, and judgments.” ⁹So Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

Section summaryManasseh’s reign begins with a sweeping reversal of his father’s reforms, as he restores idol worship, profanes the temple, and gives himself to practices the LORD had forbidden. The section ends by showing that his influence pulls Judah and Jerusalem beyond even the nations once driven out before Israel.

Role in the chapterThis opening section establishes the chapter’s dark starting point. It names both Manasseh’s personal evil and his public effect, so the later repentance is measured against the full depth of what he has done.