2 Chronicles 33:14
in 2 Chronicles 33After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of Ophel and heightened it considerably. He also stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now after this he built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance at the fish gate; and he compassed Ophel about with it, and raised it up to a very great height: and he put valiant captains 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.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 33
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe built a wall - This was probably a weak place that he fortified; or a part of the wall which the Assyrians had broken down, which he now rebuilt.
This site's exposition
from west of Gihon in the valley
The wall Manasseh builds outside the city of David, west of Gihon, and the captains he sets in Judah's fenced cities belong to Chronicles alone. The building project reads as the reform's practical half. Adam Clarke reads the wall as repair of a breach the Assyrians themselves had made.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), for by sin he had unwalled it and exposed it to the enemy. He also put captains of war in the fenced cities for the security of his country. Josephus says that all the rest of his time he was so changed for the better that he was looked upon as a very happy man.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
), the reproofs they gave him for his sin and their exhortations to repentance. Note, Sinners ought to consider, that, how little notice soever they take of them, an account is kept of the words of the seers that speak to them from God to admonish them of their sins, warn them of their danger, and call them to their duty, which will be produced against them in the great day.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Now after this he built a wall without the city of David,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Rather, “he built the outer wall of the city of David on the west of Gihon-in-the-valley.” The wall intended seems to have been that toward the northeast, which ran from the vicinity of the modern Damascus gate across the valley of Gihon, to the “fish-gate” at the northeast corner of the “city of David.” We may gather from this verse that, late in his reign, Manasseh revolted from the Assyrians, and made preparations to resist them if they should attack him. Assyria began to decline in power about 647 B.C., and from that time her outlying provinces would naturally begin to fall off. Manasseh reigned until 642 B.C.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
of Gihon in the valley beside the valley of Gihon, the name of a place.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
and he cast them outside but he neither broke them nor hid them from the eye.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַחֲרֵי־ | veacharei- | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| כֵ֡ן | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| בָּנָ֣ה | banah | he rebuilt | H1129 → | 376 times |
| חוֹמָ֣ה | chomah | [the] wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
| חִֽיצוֹנָ֣ה׀ | chitzonah | outer | H2435 → | |
| לְעִיר־ | leir- | of [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| דָּוִ֡יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| מַעְרָבָה֩ | ma'ravah | west -ward | H4628 → | |
| לְגִיח֨וֹן | legichon | of Gihon | H1521 → | |
| בַּנַּ֜חַל | banachal | in the wadi | H5158 → | 141 times |
| וְלָב֨וֹא | velavo' | and to go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בְשַׁ֤עַר | veshaar | in [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הַדָּגִים֙ | hadagim | the fish | H1709 → | |
| וְסָבַ֣ב | vesavav | and he went around | H5437 → | 161 times |
| לָעֹ֔פֶל | laofel | <to> the Ophel | H6077 → | |
| וַיַּגְבִּיהֶ֖הָ | vaiyagbiheha | and he made high it | H1361 → | 34 times |
| מְאֹ֑ד | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וַיָּ֧שֶׂם | vaiyasem | and he put | H7760 → | 584 times |
| שָֽׂרֵי־ | sarei- | commanders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| חַ֛יִל | chayil | [the] army | H2428 → | 246 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הֶעָרִ֥ים | hearim | the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַבְּצֻר֖וֹת | habetzurot | <the> fortified | H1219 → | 37 times |
| בִּיהוּדָֽה׃ | bihudah | in Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
וְאַחֲרֵי־and after
veacharei-H310 →715 times
כֵ֡ןthus
khenH3651 →771 times
בָּנָ֣הhe rebuilt
banahH1129 →376 times
חוֹמָ֣ה[the] wall
chomahH2346 →133 times
חִֽיצוֹנָ֣ה׀outer
chitzonahH2435 →
לְעִיר־of [the] city of
leir-H5892 →1090 times
דָּוִ֡ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
מַעְרָבָה֩west -ward
ma'ravahH4628 →
לְגִיח֨וֹןof Gihon
legichonH1521 →
בַּנַּ֜חַלin the wadi
banachalH5158 →141 times
וְלָב֨וֹאand to go
velavo'H935 →2568 times
בְשַׁ֤עַרin [the] gate of
veshaarH8179 →374 times
הַדָּגִים֙the fish
hadagimH1709 →
וְסָבַ֣בand he went around
vesavavH5437 →161 times
לָעֹ֔פֶל<to> the Ophel
laofelH6077 →
וַיַּגְבִּיהֶ֖הָand he made high it
vaiyagbihehaH1361 →34 times
מְאֹ֑דvery
meodH3966 →300 times
וַיָּ֧שֶׂםand he put
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
שָֽׂרֵי־commanders of
sarei-H8269 →421 times
חַ֛יִל[the] army
chayilH2428 →246 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
הֶעָרִ֥יםthe cities
hearimH5892 →1090 times
הַבְּצֻר֖וֹת<the> fortified
habetzurotH1219 →37 times
בִּיהוּדָֽה׃in Judah
bihudahH3063 →819 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 12:39over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 3:3
The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 3:6
The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 3:1
At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower…
- Nehemiah 8:16
And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the court of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate…
- Nehemiah 3:25
and Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the angle and the tower that juts out from the upper palace of the king near the courtyard of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah son…
- Nehemiah 3:3
Through
1 Kings 1:33“Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:30
It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Spring of Gihon and channeled it down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did.
- 2 Chronicles 32:30
Through
Nehemiah 3:3The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 12:39
over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of…
- Nehemiah 12:39
Through
Zephaniah 1:10On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.
it leads to
- Amos 8:3
“In that day,” declares the Lord GOD, “the songs of the temple will turn to wailing. Many will be the corpses, strewn in silence everywhere!”
- Amos 8:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonLate monarchyManassehJudah's longest-reigning and worst king, who filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; the book names his apostasy as the cause of 586…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.