2 Kings 21:20
in 2 Kings 21And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did Manasseh his father.
KJV
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh did.
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This verse in 2 Kings 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Committed idolatry: as his father Manasseh did: he imitated him in that, but not in his repentance and humiliation, 2Ch 33:23.
This site's exposition
Amon was twenty-two years old
on 2 Kings 21:19-22
Amon reigns two years and does evil "as his father Manasseh had done," the Manasseh of the years before the repentance recorded in Chronicles. He "served and worshiped the idols his father had served," and he repeats the sin and skips the repentance.
This site's exposition
as his father Manasseh had done
2 Chronicles 33:23 adds that Amon increased his guilt, where his father Manasseh had humbled himself before the LORD. Gill limits the likeness to the evil of Manasseh's early years.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
There is no sin more grievous than idolatry, for it is an impiety against God, and yet even this sin has been forgiven, on sincere repentance. But if anyone sins in direct opposition and on purpose to try whether God will punish the wicked or not, such a one shall have no remission, although he says to himself, "All is well, and I will walk according to the customs of my evil heart." Such a one was Amon the son of Manasseh.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The beauty of Jerusalem is stained, and all her glory, all her joy, sunk and gone. These verses give such an account of this reign as make it, in all respects, the reverse of the last, and, in a manner, the ruin of it. He was but twelve years old when he began to reign (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
He trod in the steps of his father's idolatry, and revived that which he, in the latter end of his days, had put down. Note, Those who set bad examples, though they may repent themselves, yet cannot be sure that those whom they have drawn into sin by their example will repent; it is often otherwise. That his end was very tragical.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign--This prince continued the idolatrous policy of his father; and, after an inglorious reign of two years, he was massacred by some of his own domestics.
The words behind it
8 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 |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ה | ʾasah | he had done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מְנַשֶּׁ֥ה | menasheh | Manasseh | H4519 → | 146 times |
| אָבִֽיו׃ | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
וַיַּ֥עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
הָרַ֖עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֖הhe had done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
מְנַשֶּׁ֥הManasseh
menashehH4519 →146 times
אָבִֽיו׃father his
ʾavivH1 →1212 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
Acts 7:51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
- Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- Jeremiah 4:4
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to…
- Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- Leviticus 26:41
and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity,
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Through
Matthew 23:32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:16
In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
- Genesis 15:16
Through
2 Kings 21:11“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,
it leads to
- 1 Kings 21:26
He committed the most detestable acts by going after idols, just like the Amorites whom the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.)
- 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,
- 1 Kings 21:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2.23; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.