Bible Study 2 Chronicles 33
‹ 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 33 · WEB

Manasseh's Sin, Captivity, and Repentance; Amon's Reign

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

Tap a verse to copy it, open the Hebrew, or write a note.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
2He did that which was evil in Yahweh's eyes, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
3For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up altars for the Baals, and made Asherah poles, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
4He built altars in Yahweh's house, of which Yahweh had said, "My name shall be in Jerusalem forever."
5He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of Yahweh's house.
6He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits, and with wizards. He did much evil in Yahweh's sight to provoke him to anger.
7He set the engraved image of the idol which he had made in God's house, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.
8I will not any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given by Moses."
9So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Israel.
10Yahweh spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they didn't listen.
11Therefore Yahweh brought on them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, and bound him with bronze chains, and carried him to Babylon.
12When he was in distress, he begged Yahweh his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.
13He prayed to him; and he was entreated by him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.
14Now after this he built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, and at the entrance of the fish gate, and he enclosed Ophel, and raised it up to a very great height; and he put captains of valor in all the fortified cities of Judah.
15He took away the foreign gods, and the idol out of Yahweh's house, and all the altars that he had built in the mountain of Yahweh's house and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
16He built up the altar of Yahweh and offered sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving on it, and commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel.
17Nevertheless the people sacrificed still in the high places, but only to Yahweh their God.
18Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, are written among the acts of the kings of Israel.
19His prayer also, and how God was entreated by him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places and set up the Asherah poles and the engraved images, before he humbled himself, are written in the history of Hozai.
20So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house; and Amon his son reigned in his place.
21Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
22He did that which was evil in Yahweh's eyes, as Manasseh his father had done; and Amon sacrificed to all the engraved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them.
23He didn't humble himself before Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but this same Amon trespassed more and more.
24His servants conspired against him and killed him in his own house.
25But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.
✶

Summary

Manasseh is the longest-reigning and most wicked king in Judah's history — undoing all his father Hezekiah's reforms, building altars to Baal and the heavenly bodies in the temple courts, practicing child sacrifice and sorcery, and setting an idol in the temple itself. God sends the Assyrians who capture Manasseh with hooks and take him to Babylon. In captivity, he genuinely humbles himself and prays to God — who brings him back to Jerusalem. Manasseh then reverses his own apostasy and commands Judah to serve Yahweh. His son Amon reigns only two years, replicating his father's sins but never repenting; he is assassinated.

Themes

  • No sin is beyond God's capacity to forgive when there is genuine repentance
  • Humility in affliction as the turning point
  • The contrast between repentant Manasseh and unrepentant Amon

Key verses

  • 2 Chr 33:12-13 — “When he was in distress, he begged Yahweh his God, and humbled himself greatly... He prayed to him; and he was entreated by him... Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.”
  • 2 Chr 33:23 — “He didn't humble himself before Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself.”
  • 2 Chr 33:6 — “He also made his children to pass through the fire... He did much evil in Yahweh's sight to provoke him to anger.”

Context & background

Manasseh reigned c. 697–642 BC — the longest reign in Judah's history (55 years). His captivity in Babylon (modern central Iraq) was likely related to Assyrian imperial politics — possibly a rebellion that led to his being taken to the Assyrian capital for interrogation. The Chronicler's account of Manasseh's repentance and restoration is unique to Chronicles — 2 Kings simply records his sins. The apocryphal "Prayer of Manasseh" (not in the Hebrew canon) claims to reproduce his prayer of repentance. Amon reigned only two years before being assassinated, making his brief reign a tragic lost opportunity — he was the son of a man who had experienced dramatic divine restoration, yet never sought God himself.

Cross-references

  • 2 Kings 21 — Parallel account focusing on Manasseh's sins; omits his repentance
  • Ezekiel 18:21-23 — "If the wicked man turns from all his sins... he shall surely live" — Manasseh embodies this
  • Luke 15:17-20 — "He came to himself... and arose and came to his father" — Manasseh's experience
  • Romans 5:20 — "Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more" — Manasseh is the extreme example
  • The Prayer of Manasseh (apocryphal) — A prayer attributed to his captivity

Check your reading

Log in to take the quiz and save your progress.

  1. Observe

    What specific evils did Manasseh do during his reign?

  2. Observe

    What happened when Manasseh humbled himself in Babylon?

  3. Interpret

    What does Manasseh's story teach about God's mercy?

  4. Interpret

    Why might Amon have failed to follow his father's example of repentance?

  5. Apply

    What does Manasseh's life suggest about your own potential for restoration?

  6. Apply

    How can genuine repentance show itself in your life today?

Your journal

Write your own answers — they save automatically, and only you can see them.

Log in to write and save journal answers.

Apply (How does it apply to me?)

Personal notes (anything else about this chapter)