2 Kings 21:5
in 2 Kings 21In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah.
KJV
And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
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This verse in 2 Kings 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
will I put my name
on 2 Kings 21:4-5
Manasseh's altars stand inside the house of the Lord itself, on the very ground of which the Lord had said, In Jerusalem will I put my name, the promise of Deuteronomy 12 and the temple dedication turned against itself. The place chosen to carry the name now carries altars to a rival, in the inner house and in the two courts around it. The narrator states the contradiction and lets it stand as the chapter's central charge.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
John ChrysostomHOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 22.6 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
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 Awakening2 voices
), and offered sacrifices, no doubt, on these altars. (3.) He made his son pass through the fire, by which he dedicated him a votary to Moloch, in contempt of the seal of circumcision by which he had been dedicated to God. (4.) He made the devil his oracle, and, in contempt both of urim and prophecy, he used enchantments and dealt with familiar spirits (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And he built altars for all the host of heaven,....
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּ֥בֶן | vaiyiven | and he built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| מִזְבְּח֖וֹת | mizbechot | altars | H4196 → | 401 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| צְבָ֣א | tzeva' | [the] host of | H6635 → | 485 times |
| הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| בִּשְׁתֵּ֖י | bishtei | in [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| חַצְר֥וֹת | chatzrot | [the] courtyards of | H2691 → | 191 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיִּ֥בֶןand he built
vaiyivenH1129 →376 times
מִזְבְּח֖וֹתaltars
mizbechotH4196 →401 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
צְבָ֣א[the] host of
tzeva'H6635 →485 times
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
בִּשְׁתֵּ֖יin [the] two
bishteiH8147 →768 times
חַצְר֥וֹת[the] courtyards of
chatzrotH2691 →191 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
1 Kings 7:12The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 6:36
Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.
- 1 Kings 6:36
Through
2 Kings 23:12He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 19:13
The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and…
- Zephaniah 1:5
those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,
- Jeremiah 19:13
Through
2 Kings 23:4Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 21:3
For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped…
- 2 Kings 21:7
Manasseh 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…
- 2 Kings 25:18
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- 2 Chronicles 33:3
For 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…
- 2 Kings 21:3
Through
Ezekiel 40:32And he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway; it had the same measurements as the others.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 40:35
Then he brought me to the north gate and measured it. It had the same measurements as the others,
- Ezekiel 40:35
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2.22; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 22.6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.