2 Kings 21:2
in 2 Kings 21And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, after the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel.
KJV
And 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.
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This verse in 2 Kings 21
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
twelve years old when he became king
on 2 Kings 21:1-3
Manasseh reigns fifty-five years over a kingdom his father Hezekiah had reformed. He reverses the reform: he "rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed," and he made an Asherah pole as Ahab had. He served "all the host of heaven," the star worship of Assyria and Babylon.
This site's exposition
the abominations of the nations
Barnes holds that the boy king fell under the chief nobles of Judah, a party that had turned Joash to idols at 2 Chronicles 24:17. Deuteronomy 18:9 forbade Israel to imitate the ways of the nations in the land. Gill adds the Phoenicians of Manasseh's own day.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
For so Manasses had perpetrated innumerable pollutions, having both stretched out his hands against the saints, and brought abominations into the temple, and filled the city with murders, and wrought many other things beyond excuse; yet nevertheless after so long and so great wickedness, he washed away from himself all these things. How and in what manner? By repentance, and consideration. For there is not, yea, there is not any sin, that doth not yield and give way to the power of repentance, or rather to the grace of Christ. Since if we would but only change, we have Him to assist us. And if thou art desirous to become good, there is none to hinder us; or rather there is one to hinder us, the devil, yet hath he no power, so long as thou choosest what is best, and so attractest God to thine aid.
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsCONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2.22 · Written before 380.
proposed
For it is written thus in the fourth book of Kings and the second book of Chronicles, or of Days: "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, following the abominable practices of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Was guilty of idolatry: after the abomination of the Heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel: the old Canaanites; he committed idolatry in imitation of them, and as the Phoenicians now did before the children of Israel: the old Canaanites; he committed idolatry in imitation of them, and as the Phoenicians now did.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Hence, when he became sovereign, he introduced the worship of idols, the restoration of high places, and the erection of altars or pillars to Baal, and the placing, in the temple of God itself, a graven image of Asherah, the sacred or symbolic tree, which represented "all the host of heaven." This was not idolatry, but pure star-worship, of Chaldaic and Assyrian origin [KEIL].
After the abominations of the heathen - He exactly copied the conduct of those nations which God had cast out of that land.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Manasseh during his minority naturally fell under the influence of the chief Jewish nobles, with whom the pure religion of Yahweh was always unpopular (compare 2Ch 24:17-18; Jer 8:1-2). They seem to have persuaded him, not only to undo Hezekiah’s work, but to proceed to lengths in polytheism, magic, and idolatry, unknown before. The sins of Manasseh’s reign appear to have been those which filled up the measure of Judah’s iniquity, and brought down the final sentence of doom on the last remnant of the chosen people (2Ki 23:26; compare Jer 15:4).
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֥עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָרַ֖ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כְּתֽוֹעֲבֹת֙ | ketoavot | according to [the] abominations of | H8441 → | 117 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֔ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הוֹרִ֣ישׁ | horish | he had dispossessed | H3423 → | 231 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֖י | mipenei | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיַּ֥עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
הָרַ֖עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כְּתֽוֹעֲבֹת֙according to [the] abominations of
ketoavotH8441 →117 times
הַגּוֹיִ֔םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הוֹרִ֣ישׁhe had dispossessed
horishH3423 →231 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִפְּנֵ֖יfrom before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 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
Jeremiah 15:4I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 24:9
I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
- 2 Kings 21:16–17
Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the…
- 2 Kings 21:11–13
“Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin,
- 2 Kings 23:26–27
Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the fury of His burning anger, which was kindled against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke Him to anger.
- 2 Kings 24:3–4
Surely this happened to Judah at the LORD’s command, to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all that he had done,
- Jeremiah 24:9
Through
2 Kings 21:7Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 7:16
For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
- 1 Kings 8:29
May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays…
- 2 Samuel 7:13
He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
- 2 Chronicles 7:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2.22; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 22.6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Kings.