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2 Kings Chapter
Twenty-one
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 21
In
this chapter a short history is given of the two wicked reigns of Manasseh and
Amon; Manasseh is charged with great idolatry
with enchantments and
witchcrafts
and seducing the children of Israel
2 Kings 21:1 and a
prophecy is given out of the destruction of Jerusalem for his sins
2 Kings 21:10
and
an account is given of his death and burial
2 Kings 21:17
and
of his son and successor Amon
and the evils committed by him
2 Kings 21:19 and
of the conspiracy against his life
which succeeded
and Josiah his son reigned
in his stead
2 Kings 21:23.
2 Kings 21:1 Manasseh
was twelve years old when he became king
and he reigned fifty-five
years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.
YLT
1A son of twelve years [is]
Manasseh in his reigning
and fifty and five years he hath reigned in
Jerusalem
and the name of his mother [is] Hephzi-Bah;
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign
.... So that
he was born three years after Hezekiah's recovery from his sickness
and in the
seventeenth year of his reign:
and reigned fifty five years in Jerusalem: among which
must be reckoned the time of his captivity in Babylon; his reign was the
longest of any of the kings of Judah: and his mother's name was Hephzibah; the
name the church goes by
and signifies
"my delight or pleasure is in
her"
Isaiah 62:4
no
doubt she was a good woman
or Hezekiah would not have made choice of her for a
wife; it is a tradition of the JewsF1Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib.
Paralipom. fol. 86. F.
that she was the daughter of Isaiah
whose name
they
say
is not mentioned
because so wicked a king was unworthy of such a
grandfather.
2 Kings 21:2 2 And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord
according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out
before the children of Israel.
YLT
2and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah
according to the abominations of the nations that
Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel
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.
2 Kings 21:3 3 For he rebuilt the high
places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal
and made a wooden image
[a] as Ahab
king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven[b] and served
them.
YLT
3and he turneth and buildeth
the high places that Hezekiah his father destroyed
and raiseth altars for
Baal
and maketh a shrine
as did Ahab king of Israel
and boweth himself to
all the host of the heavens
and serveth them.
For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father
had destroyed
.... The temples and altars upon them
see 2 Kings 18:4
and he reared up altars for Baal; in the high places he
rebuilt:
and made a grove
as did Ahab king of Israel: which was
either an idol itself
or a shade of trees where idols were placed; or rather
Asherah
rendered "a grove"
is the same with Astarte
the goddess of
the Zidonians
the figure of which he made and worshipped; for groves were not
so soon and easily planted
raised
and made; so the same in 1 Kings 16:33.
and worshipped all the host of heaven
and served them: the sun
moon
and stars
particularly the planets Saturn
Jupiter
Mars
Mercury
and
Venus.
2 Kings 21:4 4 He also built altars in
the house of the Lord
of which the Lord
had said
“In Jerusalem I will put My name.”
YLT
4And he hath built altars in
the house of Jehovah
of which Jehovah said
`In Jerusalem I put My name.'
And he built altars in the house of the Lord
.... In the
holy place
as distinct from the courts in the next verse; and these were
sacred to the idols of the Gentiles:
of which the Lord said
in Jerusalem will I put my name; in the temple
there
devoted to his service
called by his name
and where his name was
called upon
see Deuteronomy 12:5
and to erect altars to idols here must be very abominable to him.
2 Kings 21:5 5 And he built altars for
all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
YLT
5And he buildeth altars to
all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of Jehovah;
And he built altars for all the host of heaven
.... Sun
moon
and stars:
in the two courts of the house of the Lord; in the court
of the priests
and in the court of the people; and all this must be supposed
to be done
not as soon as he began to reign
but when he was grown up to man's
estate
and had children
as the next verse shows; unless it can be thought
that those nobles in Judah
who liked not the reformation made by Hezekiah
took the advantage of his youth
and advised him to these idolatries.
2 Kings 21:6 6 Also he made his son pass
through the fire
practiced soothsaying
used witchcraft
and consulted
spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord
to provoke Him
to anger.
YLT
6and he hath caused his son
to pass through fire
and observed clouds
and used enchantment
and dealt with
a familiar spirit and wizards; he hath multiplied to do the evil thing in the
eyes of Jehovah -- to provoke to anger.
And he made his son pass through the fire
.... To
Molech
after the manner of the old Canaanites and Phoenicians; his son Amon
that succeeded him
and other children
as appears from 2 Chronicles 33:6
where mention is made of the place where it was done
the valley of the son of
Hinnom:
and observed times; lucky or unlucky
which was judged of by
omens
and by the position of the stars:
and used enchantments
and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards; to get
knowledge of things to come; all which are forbid and condemned by the law of
Moses; see Deuteronomy 18:10
he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord
to provoke
him to anger; in all those evils before mentioned
which were very abominable
in the sight of God.
2 Kings 21:7 7 He even set a carved image
of Asherah[c] that he
had made
in the house of which the Lord had 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;
YLT
7And he setteth the graven
image of the shrine that he made in the house of which Jehovah said unto David
and unto Solomon his son
`In this house
and in Jerusalem
that I have chosen
out of all the tribes of Israel
I put My name -- to the age;
Which
was either an image that had been placed in a grove planted by him
and now
removed into the house or temple of the Lord; or
as some think
this was a
representation of a grove
a carved grove of gold or silver
in the midst of
which an image was placed in the temple; though what Selden observesF2De
Dis Syris
Syntagm. 2. c. 2. p. 233.
seems best of all
that this was an
image of Asherah
as in the original text; that is
of Astarte or Ashtoreth
the goddess of the Zidonians
1 Kings 11:5
the
same the Phoenicians are said to call Astroarche
and affirm it to be the moonF3Herodian.
l. 5. c. 15. : in 2 Chronicles 33:7
it is called a carved image the idol he had made; and an Arabic writerF4Abulpharag.
Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 66. says
it had four faces
which seems to be a
figure of the cherubim; but
according to SuidasF5In voce μανασσηςα.
it was the statue
of Jupiter
who also says it had four faces:
of which the Lord said to David
and to Solomon his son: that is
of
which house or temple:
in this house
and in Jerusalem
which I have chosen out of all
the tribes of Israel
will I put my name forever; see 1 Kings 8:29; see
Gill on 2 Kings 21:3.
2 Kings 21:8 8 and I will not make the
feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers—only if
they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them
and
according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.”
YLT
8and I do not add to cause
the foot of Israel to move from the ground that I gave to their fathers
only
if they observe to do according to all that I commanded them
and to all the
law that My servant Moses commanded them.'
Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the
land which I gave their fathers
.... Or suffer them to be carried captive
into another land
as in the times of the judges; that is
on the following
condition:
only if they will observe to do according to all the law that my
servant Moses commanded them by obedience to which they had the tenure of
the land of Canaan
Isaiah 1:19.
2 Kings 21:9 9 But they paid no
attention
and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed
before the children of Israel.
YLT
9And they have not
hearkened
and Manasseh causeth them to err
to do the evil thing above the
nations that Jehovah destroyed from the presence of the sons of Israel.
But they hearkened not
.... To the voice of God
in his law by Moses
and were not obedient to it:
and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations
whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel: he set up
more idols
and drew the people into more and greater idolatries
than the old
Canaanites; and these were the more aggravated by having a law given to them
and prophets sent to instruct them in it
and by the benefits and blessings
bestowed upon them by the lawgiver
which laid them under greater obligations
to him; see Jeremiah 2:11.
2 Kings 21:10 10 And the Lord spoke by His
servants the prophets
saying
YLT
10And Jehovah speaketh by the
hand of his servants the prophets
saying
And the Lord spake by his servants the prophets
.... Who
prophesied in the days of Manasseh; and were
according to the Jewish
chronologyF6Seder Olam Rabba
c. 20. p. 55.
Joel
Nahum
and
Habakkuk:
saying: as follows.
2 Kings 21:11 11 “Because Manasseh king of
Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the
Amorites who were before him
and has also made Judah sin with his
idols)
YLT
11`Because that Manasseh king
of Judah hath done these abominations -- he hath done evil above all that the
Amorites have done who [are] before him
and causeth also Judah to sin by his
idols;
Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations
.... Before
named
2 Kings 21:3
and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did that were
before him; one of the seven nations of Canaan
a principal of them
and
which is put for all the rest:
and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: the worship
of them
as the Targum; which he did both by his edicts
and by his example.
2 Kings 21:12 12 therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel:
‘Behold
I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah
that whoever hears of it
both his ears will tingle.
YLT
12therefore thus said
Jehovah
God of Israel
Lo
I am bringing in evil on Jerusalem and Judah
that
whoever heareth of it
tingle do his two ears.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel
.... Who
though kind and gracious to Israel as their covenant God
is yet just and
righteous
as well as he is a sovereign Being and Lord of all:
behold
I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah
that
whosoever heareth of it
both his ears shall tingle; it will make
such a noise in the world
and be so horrible and terrible; and if
he report
of it would be so dreadful as to make a man's ears tingle
and his heart
tremble
what must it be to endure it! Ezekiel 22:14.
2 Kings 21:13 13 And I will stretch over
Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I
will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish
wiping it and turning it
upside down.
YLT
13And I have stretched out
over Jerusalem the line of Samaria
and the plummet of the house of Ahab
and
wiped Jerusalem as one wipeth the dish -- he hath wiped
and hath turned [it]
on its face.
And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria
.... The
Targum is
the line of destruction; and the sense is
that the same measure
should be measured to Jerusalem as was to Samaria; that is
the same lot and
portion should befall one as the other
that is
be utterly destroyed:
and the plummet of the house of Ahab; the Targum
is
the weight or plummet of tribulation; signifying
that the same calamities
should come upon the families of Jerusalem
and especially on the family of
Manasseh as came upon the family of Ahab. It is a metaphor from builders that
take down as well as raise up buildings by rule and measure
see 2 Samuel 8:2.
and I will wipe Jerusalem
as a man wipeth a dish
wiping it
and
turning it upside down; as when one takes a dish or cup that has broth in it
or any
liquid
as oil; and the Septuagint render it alabaster
in which ointment used
to be put; and wipes it clean
that nothing may appear in it; and then turns it
with its mouth downward
that
if any thing should remain
it might drain out;
signifying hereby the emptying o Jerusalem of its palaces and houses
wealth
and riches and of all its inhabitants; and yet the empty dish being preserved
seems to denote the restoration of Jerusalem after the seventy years'
captivity. According to the Vulgate Latin version
the metaphor is taken from
the blotting out of writing tables
and turning and rubbing the style upon them
till the writing is no more seen.
2 Kings 21:14 14 So I will forsake the
remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and
they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies
YLT
14`And I have left the
remnant of Mine inheritance
and given them into the hand of their enemies
and
they have been for a prey and for a spoil to all their enemies
And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance
.... The whole
land of Canaan was the Lord's inheritance; ten tribes in it were already removed
only Judah with Benjamin was left
and the Lord threatens to forsake that
remnant:
and deliver them into the hands of their enemies
and they shall
become a prey and spoil to all their enemies; which was fulfilled in
their captivity in Babylon.
2 Kings 21:15 15 because they have done
evil in My sight
and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers
came out of Egypt
even to this day.’”
YLT
15because that they have done
the evil thing in Mine eyes
and are provoking Me to anger from the day that
their fathers came out of Egypt
even unto this day.'
Because they have done that which was evil in my sight
.... Committed
idolatry:
and have provoked me to anger
since the day their fathers came
forth out of Egypt
even to this day; being always prone to
idolatry
so provoking to God
and which they were guilty of quickly after they
came out of Egypt
in the worship of the golden calf
and had ever since at
times been criminal this way; and now the measure of their iniquity being
almost up
would be reckoned for together.
2 Kings 21:16 16 Moreover Manasseh shed
very much innocent blood
till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another
besides his sin by which he made Judah sin
in doing evil in the sight of the Lord.
YLT
16And also
innocent blood
hath Manasseh shed very much
till that he hath filled Jerusalem -- mouth to
mouth; apart from his sin that he hath caused Judah to sin
to do the evil
thing in the eyes of Jehovah.
Moreover
Manasseh shed innocent blood very much
.... Putting
to death the prophets that reproved him and his people for their idolatries
and such who would not comply therewith; and it is commonly said
both by
Jewish and Christian writers
that Isaiah was slain
and even sawn asunder by
him; see Gill on Hebrews 11:37
till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; a metaphor
taken from filling a vessel brimful:
beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin
in doing that which
was evil in the sight of the Lord; the sin of idolatry he
drew them into
and even obliged them to commit.
2 Kings 21:17 17 Now the rest of the acts
of Manasseh—all that he did
and the sin that he committed—are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
YLT
17And the rest of the matters
of Manasseh
and all that he did
and his sin that he sinned
are they not
written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did
.... Both good
and bad
for he repented
and was humbled
and did many good things afterwards
though not recorded in this book:
and his sin that he sinned; his idolatry:
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah? in which were recorded the most memorable events of their
reigns; and in the canonical book of Chronicles are many things concerning
Manasseh
which are not written here; see 2 Chronicles 33:11.
2 Kings 21:18 18 So Manasseh rested with
his fathers
and was buried in the garden of his own house
in the garden of
Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.
YLT
18And Manasseh lieth with his
fathers
and is buried in the garden of his house
in the garden of Uzza
and
reign doth Amon his son in his stead.
And Manasseh slept with his fathers
.... Or died
after a
reign of fifty five years
and a life of sixty seven:
and was buried in the garden of his own house
in the garden of
Uzza; whether the burial of him here was his own choice
judging
himself unworthy to lie with the kings of Judah
who had been guilty of such
great sins
or whether the will of others
on the same account
is not certain;
and as much at a loss are we for the reason of this garden being called the
garden of Uzza
whether from Uzzah that died for touching the ark
2 Samuel 6:6 or
from King Uzziah
2 Kings 15:7. The
Jews buried in gardens in the times of Christ
who himself was buried in one
John 19:41. The
Romans had sometimes sepulchres in their gardensF7Vid. Kirchman. de
Funer. Romas. l. 2. c. 22. p. 274.
Galba the emperor was buried in his
gardensF8Eutrop. Hist. Roman. l. 7. Sueton. Vit. Galb. c. 20. Tacit.
Hist. l. 1. c. 49. ; and so had other nations. Cyrus king of Persia was buried
in a gardenF9Strabo. Geograph l. 15. p. 502. :
and Amon his son reigned in his stead; of whom we
have the following account.
2 Kings 21:19 19 Amon was twenty-two
years old when he became king
and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His
mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
YLT
19A son of twenty and two
years [is] Amon in his reigning
and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem
and the name of his mother [is] Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz of Jotbah
And Amon was twenty two years old when he began to reign
.... Being
born in the forty fifth of his father's life
and in the thirty third of his
reign:
and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; which
as
Abarbinel observes
was the usual time the sons of wicked kings reigned
and
instances in the son of Jeroboam
Baasha
and Ahab
1 Kings 15:25. An
Arabic writerF11Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 67. says
he
reigned twelve years
but according to the Jews only two:
and his mother's name was Meshullemeth
the daughter of Haruz of
Jotbah; there was a place called Jotbath
which was one of the stations
of the children of Israel in the wilderness
Numbers 33:33 but
it can scarcely be thought to be the same place.
2 Kings 21:20 20 And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord
as his father Manasseh had done.
YLT
20and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah
as did Manasseh his father
And 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
2 Chronicles 33:23.
2 Kings 21:21 21 So he walked in all the
ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had
served
and worshiped them.
YLT
21and walketh in all the way
that his father walked in
and serveth the idols that his father served
and
boweth himself to them
And he walked in all the ways that his father walked in
.... In his
wicked way
his idolatry
witchcraft
and murders:
and served the idols that his father served
and worshipped them; Baal
Ashtoreth
and all the host of heaven
and all the carved images his father
made
which it seems he only removed
but did not break in pieces
2 Chronicles 33:22.
2 Kings 21:22 22 He forsook the Lord God of his
fathers
and did not walk in the way of the Lord.
YLT
22and forsaketh Jehovah
God
of his fathers
and hath not walked in the way of Jehovah.
And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers
.... Of David
Solomon
&c.
and walked not in the way of the Lord; prescribed by
him in his law for the worship of him.
2 Kings 21:23 23 Then the servants of Amon
conspired against him
and killed the king in his own house.
YLT
23And the servants of Amon
conspire against him
and put the king to death in his own house
And the servants of Amon conspired against him
.... Some of
his domestic servants
and perhaps his courtiers
not on account of his
idolatry
but for some ill usage of them:
and slew the king in his own house: which they had an
opportunity to do
being his servants.
2 Kings 21:24 24 But the people of the land
executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the
land made his son Josiah king in his place.
YLT
24and the people of the land
smite all those conspiring against king Amon
and the people of the land cause
Josiah his son to reign in his stead.
And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired
against King Amon
.... On occasion of his death
there seems to have been an
insurrection of the people in a body
to avenge the death of their king
who
might be beloved on account of his idolatry
so depraved was the nation; or it
may be only to avenge his death because he was their king
whose life these men
ought not to have taken away: and the rather this may be thought to be the
reason by what follows:
and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead; who had been
prophesied of by name above three hundred years before
see 1 Kings 13:2.
2 Kings 21:25 25 Now the rest of the acts
of Amon which he did
are they not written in the book of the chronicles
of the kings of Judah?
YLT
25And the rest of the matters
of Amon that he did
are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the
kings of Judah?
Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did
are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? See Gill on 2 Kings 21:17.
2 Kings 21:26 26 And he was buried in his
tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place.
YLT
26and [one] burieth him in
his burying-place in the garden of Uzza
and reign doth Josiah his son in his
stead.
And he was buried in his sepulchre
in the garden of Uzza
.... Where his
father Manasseh was buried
2 Kings 21:18
and Josiah his son reigned in his stead; of whom many
things are said in the two following chapters.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)