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2
Chronicles Chapter Thirty-three
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 33
This
chapter gives an account of the reign of Manasseh
of his idolatries and
impieties
2 Chronicles 33:1
of his captivity
humiliation
repentance
and reformation
2 Chronicles 33:11
of his last end
death
and burial
2 Chronicles 33:18
and of the wicked reign of Amon his son
and of his death by his servants
2 Chronicles 33:21.
2 Chronicles
33:1 Manasseh was
twelve years old when he became king
and he reigned fifty-five years in
Jerusalem.
YLT
1A son of twelve years is Manasseh
in his reigning
and fifty and five years he hath reigned in Jerusalem;
Verses 1-9
Manasseh was twelve years old
.... From hence to the
end of 2 Chronicles 33:9
the same things are recorded
almost word for word
as in 2 Kings 21:1
see
the notes there. See Gill on 2 Kings 21:1.
2 Chronicles
33:2 2 But
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
like the abominations of the nations that Jehovah
dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel
2 Chronicles
33:3 3 For
he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised
up altars for the Baals
and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host
of heaven[a] and served
them.
YLT
3and he turneth and buildeth
the high places that Hezekiah his father hath broken down
and raiseth altars
for Baalim
and maketh shrines
and boweth himself to all the host of the
heavens
and serveth them.
2 Chronicles
33:4 4 He
also built altars in the house of the Lord
of which the Lord had said
“In
Jerusalem shall My name be forever.”
YLT
4And he hath built altars in
the house of Jehovah of which Jehovah had said
`In Jerusalem is My name to the
age.'
2 Chronicles
33:5 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.
2 Chronicles
33:6 6 Also
he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom;
he practiced soothsaying
used witchcraft and sorcery
and consulted mediums
and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord
to provoke
Him to anger.
YLT
6And he hath caused his sons
to pass over through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom
and observed
clouds and used enchantments and witchcraft
and dealt with a familiar spirit
and a wizard; he hath multiplied to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah
to provoke him to anger.
2 Chronicles
33:7 7 He even set a carved image
the idol which he had made
in the house of God
of which God 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 placeth the graven
image of the idol that he made in the house of God
of which God 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
2 Chronicles
33:8 8 and I will not again remove
the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only
if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them
according to the
whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.”
YLT
8and I add not to turn aside
the foot of Israel from off the ground that I appointed to your fathers
only
if they watch to do all that I have commanded them -- to all the law
and the
statutes
and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.'
2 Chronicles
33:9 9 So
Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than
the nations whom the Lord
had destroyed before the children of Israel.
YLT
9And Manasseh maketh Judah
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err
to do evil above the nations that Jehovah
destroyed from the presence of the sons of Israel.
2 Chronicles 33:10 10 And the Lord spoke to
Manasseh and his people
but they would not listen.
YLT
10And Jehovah speaketh unto
Manasseh and unto his people
and they have not attended
And the Lord spake to Manasseh
and to his people
.... By his
servants the prophets
see 2 Kings 21:10
where what was said to them is recorded:
but they would not hearken; to what was said
to
reproofs
admonitions
and exhortations to repent and reform.
2 Chronicles 33:11 11 Therefore the Lord brought upon
them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria
who took Manasseh with
hooks
[b] bound him
with bronze fetters
and carried him off to Babylon.
YLT
11and Jehovah bringeth in
against them the heads of the host that the king of Asshur hath
and they
capture Manasseh among the thickets
and bind him with brazen fetters
and
cause him to go to Babylon.
Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of
the king of Assyria
.... Who was Esarhaddon
the son and successor of Sennacherib;
this
according to the Jewish chronologyF6Seder Olam Rabba
c. 24.
p. 67.
was in the twenty second year of Manasseh's reign:
which took Manasseh among the thorns; in a thicket
of briers and thorns
where
upon his defeat
he had hid himself; a fit emblem
of the afflictions and troubles his sins brought him into:
and bound him with fetters; hands and feet; with
chains of brass
as the Targum
such as Zedekiah was bound with
2 Kings 25:7
not
chains of gold
with which Mark Antony bound a king of Armenia
for the sake of
honourF7Vell. Patercul. Hist. Roman. l. 2. :
and carried him to Babylon; for now the king of
Assyria was become master of that city
and added it to his monarchy
and made
it the seat of his residence; at least some times that and sometimes Nineveh
Merodachbaladan being dead
or conquered; though
according to SuidasF8In
voce μανασσης.
it was he
that took Manasseh; and by an Arabic writerF9Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast.
Dyn. 3. p. 67. So Suidas
ib.
he is said to be carried to Nineveh.
2 Chronicles 33:12 12 Now when he was in
affliction
he implored the Lord his God
and humbled
himself greatly before the God of his fathers
YLT
12And when he is in distress
he hath appeased the face of Jehovah his God
and is humbled exceedingly before
the God of his fathers
And when he was in affliction
.... In prison; however
in fetters; according to the Targum
the Chaldeans made an instrument of brass
with holes in it
and put him in it
and fire about it
something like the
brasen bull of Perillus; and the above Arabian writerF11Abulph.
& Suidas
ib. (Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 67.) calls it a tower of brass:
he besought the Lord his God; by prayer and
supplication:
and humbled himself greatly before the Lord God of his fathers; confessing
his sins
expressing great sorrow and repentance for them.
2 Chronicles 33:13 13 and prayed to Him; and He
received his entreaty
heard his supplication
and brought him back to
Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was
God.
YLT
13and prayeth unto Him
and
He is entreated of him
and heareth his supplication
and bringeth him back to
Jerusalem
to his kingdom
and Manasseh knoweth that Jehovah -- He [is] God.
And prayed unto him
.... To have mercy on
him
and forgive him his sins:
and he was entreated of him
and heard his supplication; and granted
his request
showed favour to him
and forgave him his sins:
and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom; so wrought
upon the heart of the king of Assyria
as to give him his liberty
and restore
him to his dominions; it is very probable his captivity was not long; for
being soon brought by his affliction to a sense and confession of his sins
by
the overruling providence of God
he was quickly released:
then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God; and not the
idols he had served; that he was a holy God
and hated sin
and a just God in
afflicting him for it
and gracious and merciful in forgiving his sins
and
bringing him out of his troubles.
2 Chronicles 33:14 14 After this he built a wall
outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon
in the valley
as far as
the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel
and he raised it
to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified
cities of Judah.
YLT
14And after this he hath
built an outer wall to the city of David
on the west of Gihon
in the valley
and at the entering in at the fish-gate
and it hath gone round to the tower
and he maketh it exceeding high
and he putteth heads of the force in all the
cities of the bulwarks in Judah.
Now after this he built a wall without the city of David
.... Which
perhaps had been broken down by the Assyrian army
when it came and took him;
VitringaF12Comment. in Jesaiam
c. 22. 9. thinks this is the wall of
the pool of Siloah
Nehemiah 3:15 which
seems to be the first and oldest wall
as JosephusF13De Bello Jud.
l. 5. c. 4. sect. 9. ; for that turning to the north bent towards the pool of
Siloam; an Arabic writerF14Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 67.
calls it the southern wall:
on the west side of Gihon; on the west side of the
city
towards Gihon; for that was to the west of it
2 Chronicles 32:30
in the valley
even to the entering in at the fish gate; through which
the fish were brought from Joppa
and where
according to the Targum
they were
sold:
and compassed about Ophel; the eastern part of
Mount Zion; some say it was the holy of holies
2 Chronicles 27:3
and raised it up a very great height; built the
wall very high there:
and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah; this he did
to put his kingdom in a posture of defence
should it be attacked by the
Assyrian army again.
2 Chronicles 33:15 15 He took away the foreign
gods and the idol from the house of the Lord
and all the altars that
he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in
Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city.
YLT
15And he turneth aside the
gods of the stranger
and the idol
out of the house of Jehovah
and all the
altars that he had built in the mount of the house of Jehovah and in Jerusalem
and casteth [them] to the outside of the city.
And he took away the strange gods
and the idol out of the house
of the Lord
.... Which he had set there
2 Chronicles 33:7.
and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of
the Lord
and in Jerusalem; see 2 Chronicles 33:4
and cast them out of the city; perhaps into the brook
Kidron; all this he did to show the sincerity of his repentance for his
idolatry
and his abhorrence of it.
2 Chronicles 33:16 16 He also repaired the altar
of the Lord
sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it
and commanded Judah to
serve the Lord
God of Israel.
YLT
16And he buildeth the altar
of Jehovah
and sacrificeth upon it sacrifices of peace-offerings and
thank-offering
and saith to Judah to serve Jehovah
God of Israel;
And he repaired the altar of the Lord
.... Which was
fallen to ruin
being neglected and disused in his times of idolatry: or
according to the Keri
or marginal reading
and so the Targum
"he built
it"; which perhaps he had before pulled down and destroyed:
and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings; to the Lord
for bringing him out of captivity
and restoring him to his kingdom; and
especially for converting him from his idolatries
giving him repentance for
them
and forgiveness of sins:
and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel; and him only;
another instance of the truth of his repentance
in endeavouring to reform
those whom he had misled
and restore the true worship of God among them
and
bring them back to that.
2 Chronicles 33:17 17 Nevertheless the people
still sacrificed on the high places
but only to the Lord their God.
YLT
17but still the people are
sacrificing in high places
only -- to Jehovah their God.
Nevertheless
the people did sacrifice still in the high places
.... Not in
those that were built for idols
at least did not sacrifice to them; for it
follows:
yet unto the Lord their God only; the Targum is
"to
the name of the Word of the Lord their God.'
2 Chronicles 33:18 18 Now the rest of the acts
of Manasseh
his prayer to his God
and the words of the seers who spoke to him
in the name of the Lord
God of Israel
indeed they are written in the book[c] of the
kings of Israel.
YLT
18And the rest of the matters
of Manasseh
and his prayer unto his God
and the matters of the seers
those
speaking unto him in the name of Jehovah
God of Israel
lo
they are [on the
book of] the matters of the kings of Israel;
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh
.... Good and
bad
what were done by him both before and after his conversion:
and his prayer unto his God; which it seems was taken
and recorded
but now lost; for as for that which is among the apocryphal
writings
there is no reason to believe it to be his
though it is thought to
be so by manyF15Vid. Fabritii Bibliothec. Graec. l. 3. c. 31. p.
738
739. :
and the words of the seers; or the prophets
as the
Targum; and the prophets in his days
according to the Jewish chronologyF16Seder
Olam Rabba
c. 20.
were Joel
Nahum
and Habakkuk:
that spake to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel; words of
admonition and reproof before his humiliation
and words of comfort
advice
and instruction
after it; the Targum is
"that spake to him in the name of
the Word of the Lord God of Israel:"
behold
they are written in the book of the kings of Israel; not in the
canonical book so called
where none of the above things
namely
his prayer
and the speeches of the prophets
are to be found
at least not all; but in the
annals of the kings of Israel
now lost.
2 Chronicles 33:19 19 Also his prayer and how
God received his entreaty
and all his sin and trespass
and the sites
where he built high places and set up wooden images and carved images
before
he was humbled
indeed they are written among the sayings of Hozai.[d]
YLT
19and his prayer
and his
entreaty
and all his sin
and his trespass
and the places in which he had
built high places
and established the shrines and the graven images before his
being humbled
lo
they are written beside the matters of Hozai.
His prayer also
.... Was not only recorded in the above
annals
but in the writings of another person after mentioned:
and how God was entreated of him; heard his prayer
and
showed him favour both in a temporal and spiritual way; for though the Jews
would not allow that he was saved
or had a part in the world to come
eternal
lifeF17Misn. Sanhedrin
c. 11. sect. 2.
yet there appears no just
reason why it should be so thought:
and all his sin
and his trespass; his impieties
idolatries
and murders: and the places wherein he built high places; see 2 Chronicles 33:3.
and set up groves; statues in groves:
and graven images
before he was humbled; see 2 Chronicles 33:7
behold
they are written among the sayings of the seers; or of Hosea
the name of a prophet who wrote the history of his own times; so the Targrim
and Vulgate Latin version; and
according to the Jewish chronologyF18Seder
Olam Zuta
p. 105. Ed. Meyer.
there was a prophet of this name in the times
of Amon the son of Manasseh.
2 Chronicles 33:20 20 So Manasseh rested with
his fathers
and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in
his place.
YLT
20And Manasseh lieth with his
fathers
and they bury him in his own house
and reign doth Amon his son in his
stead.
Verses 20-25
So Manasseh slept with his fathers
and they buried him in his own
house
.... That is
in the garden of his house; see Gill on 2 Kings 21:18;
there; to which may be added
that the JewsF19Cippi Heb. p. 43. in
later times buried in a garden; though it was the custom of the ancients
both
GreeksF20Plato in Minoe. and RomansF21Servius in Virgil.
Aeneid. 5. "praeterea si nova"
& in l. 6. "sedibus hunc
refer"
&c.
to bury the dead in their own houses; hence sprung the
worship of the Lares and Penates
the household gods: from hence to the end of
the chapter is the same with 2 Kings 21:18.
2 Chronicles 33:21 21 Amon was twenty-two
years old when he became king
and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
YLT
21A son of twenty and two
years [is] Amon in his reigning
and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem
2 Chronicles 33:22 22 But he did evil in the
sight of the Lord
as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images
which his father Manasseh had made
and served them.
YLT
22and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah
as did Manasseh his father
and to all the graven
images that Manasseh his father had made hath Amon sacrificed
and serveth
them
2 Chronicles 33:23 23 And he did not humble
himself before the Lord
as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
YLT
23and hath not been humbled
before Jehovah
like the humbling of Manasseh his father
for Amon himself hath
multiplied guilt.
2 Chronicles 33:24 24 Then his servants
conspired against him
and killed him in his own house.
YLT
24And his servants conspire
against him
and put him to death in his own house
2 Chronicles 33:25 25 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 25and 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.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)