Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Chronicles 33:12

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 2 Chronicles 33:12. And when he was in affliction — Here is a very large addition in the Chaldee: "For the Chaldeans made a brazen mule, pierced full of small holes, and put him within it, and kindled fires all around it; and when he was in this misery, he sought help of all the idols which he had made, but obtained none, for their were of no use. He therefore repented, and prayed before the Lord his God, and was greatly humbled in the sight of the Lord God of his fathers."

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The evil of Manasseh and Amon (33:1-25)

Manasseh receives the full blame for destroying all the good work that his father had done. Over his long reign of fifty-five years he dragged the nation down to its lowest spiritual condition ever. Although he made a brief attempt at reform towards the end of his life, he could not undo the damage of the previous half a century. Nor was any king after him able to reform Judah sufficiently to save it from judgment. Like Israel, Judah would go into captivity because of its wickedness (33:1-20; see notes on 2 Kings 21:1-18). If any trace of Manasseh’s reform remained after his death, Amon soon removed it (21-25; see notes on 2 Kings 21:19-26).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE CAPTIVITY OF MANASSEH IN BABYLON BY ASSYRIAN KINGS

"Wherefore Jehovah brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in distress he besought Jehovah his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And he prayed unto him; and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem, unto his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah he was God."

This, of course, is information found nowhere else in the Bible; and it was was once common among critics to reject this episode as unhistorical. Fortunately, wiser scholars now accept what is recorded here as authentic history. The Chronicler does not give us the date in Manasseh's reign when this happened; but Ellison placed the event very late in Manasseh's reign. "This explains why Manasseh's repentance and reformation (2 Chronicles 33:12-17) are not mentioned in Kings, and why they left no lasting impression."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 32. This also explains why the altars of the host of heaven were apparently not removed by Manasseh. He was a vassal of Assyria and would have been afraid to remove them. Such subservience of Manasseh to the Assyrian overlords has been proved by the Babylonian inscriptions.Archeology and the Old Testament, p. 280

In the light of all the facts, there is no reason whatever to doubt a single word of what is recorded here. Jacob M. Myers also found nothing at all improbable about what is written here.The Anchor Bible, Chronicles, p. 198. "It may be taken for granted that vassal kings were allowed to return to their countries after being put under the threat of divine retribution with its terrible consequences."Ibid., p. 199.

J Barton Payne in Wycliffe Bible Commentary also dated this period of Manasseh's conversion during the last six years of his reign. "It was perhaps in 648 B.C., when Ashurbanipal overcame a four-year revolt led by his brother in Babylon. Egypt took that opportunity to throw off the Assyrian yoke, and Manasseh might have attempted the same thing with less success. It was in that affliction that Manasseh humbled himself. God sometimes has to drive men to their conversion."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 417.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 33

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, he reigned for fifty-five years ( 2 Chronicles 33:1 )

One of the longest. His was the longest reign of any king.

He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord ( 2 Chronicles 33:2 ),

Now here you go. Hezekiah had restored the temple, rebuilt the thing, re-established the worship. Things were going good, God was blessing. They really became strong and prosperous again. And here his son takes over now. Twelve years old when he takes over. He does that which is evil in the sight of the Lord.

like to the heathen, that the LORD had cast out of the land before the children of Israel had come in. He built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, he raised up the altars for Baalim, he made the groves, worshipped all the host of heaven, served them. He built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. He built altars for all of the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. He caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom ( 2 Chronicles 33:2-6 ):

So the same thing that Ahaz his grandfather had done.

also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with familiar spirits, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger ( 2 Chronicles 33:6 ).

These things that he did, as far as the enchantments, witchcraft, familiar spirits, wizards, these are the things that Isaiah speaks out against when their calamity came, and Isaiah was put to death, actually, by Manasseh. And at the time of Manasseh's doing all these things and the judgment of Babylon was predicted, Isaiah said, "Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee" ( Isaiah 47:13 ).

So these are the things that Manasseh did. He started following after his horoscope and astrologers and all of these people. And, of course, it might be good until you're really in trouble and then it's no help at all.

So he 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 before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them ( 2 Chronicles 33:7-8 ),

But here he is, disobeying.

Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to the people: but they would not hearken ( 2 Chronicles 33:9-10 ).

God spoke; they would not hearken. And, of course, in the thirty-sixth chapter God said, "I sent the messengers and all but they would not hearken." They mocked Him.

Wherefore ( 2 Chronicles 33:11 )

And, of course, Manasseh ordered Isaiah sawed in two. Just stretched him out and took a saw and cut him right in two.

Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, bound him with fetters, carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and he prayed unto him: and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah was God ( 2 Chronicles 33:11-13 ).

So Manasseh had a conversion experience. It was a tough way. He was taken captive by the king of Assyria who drug him through these thorns, gave him a rough time, brought him as a captive to Babylon. And while he was there, he began to call out upon God. And, of course, God is so good. God was merciful. God heard his prayer and God brought him back again to Jerusalem. And from that time on, Manasseh was a changed man. But he was not able to undo the folly of his earlier years. He did start bringing about spiritual reforms.

He took away the strange gods, and the idols out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built. And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and [so forth]. Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, unto the LORD their God only ( 2 Chronicles 33:15-17 ).

So there was a partial return unto God. At his death his son Amon began to reign.

Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, he reigned for only two years. He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, even as his father Manasseh: for he sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them ( 2 Chronicles 33:21-22 );

Which means that Manasseh didn't get rid of them all.

He humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. And his servants conspired against him, and killed him in his own house ( 2 Chronicles 33:23-24 ).

And so his son Josiah began to reign.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

N. Manasseh 33:1-20

Manasseh was one of the few examples of an evil Judean king who became good. Nevertheless his many years of wickedness made captivity inevitable for Judah (2 Kings 23:26; Jeremiah 15:4).

"Manasseh’s acts are . . . a calculated attempt to throw off the lordship of Yahweh, to claim independence from the Covenant, to drive him from the land which he had given Israel." [Note: McConville, p. 250.]

"If Manasseh had searched the Scriptures for practices that would most anger the Lord and then intentionally committed them, he could not have achieved that result any more effectively than he did." [Note: Thompson, p. 368.]

The Babylonians captured Manasseh but released him after he turned back to Yahweh. The Assyrian king in view (2 Chronicles 33:11) was Ashurbanipal. [Note: Cf. Eugene H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, p. 435.]

His experience would have been an encouragement to the returned exiles who first read Chronicles. If God had shown mercy to Manasseh and had reestablished him in the land, He could do the same for them (cf. 2 Chronicles 7:14). The writer emphasized the results of the king’s repentance. He magnified the grace of God rather than the rebellion of the sinner.

". . . in terms of the experience of an individual, Manasseh furnishes the most explicit and dramatic example of the efficacy of repentance in the whole of the Chronicler’s work." [Note: Williamson, 1 and 2 . . ., p. 389. ]

On a larger scale, the reigns of Ahaz (ch. 28) and Hezekiah (chs. 29-32) illustrate the same thing: prefiguring exile (Ahaz) and restoration (Hezekiah).

"Manasseh’s sin is repeated, in essence, whenever man uses or manipulates his fellow-men for some supposedly higher good than their own welfare-or, indeed, uses any part of God’s creation for purposes other than those which God intends." [Note: Wilcock, p. 257.]

"The Chronicler is as concerned as his predecessor [the writer of Kings] was to point out the effects of sin. Both historians note the moral consequences of the actions of men. But the Chronicler regularly deals in immediate consequences: ’the soul that sins shall die’ (Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:20). Though it is true that one man’s sin can cause others to suffer sixty years after he is dead and gone, this is not the kind of lesson which Chronicles as a whole aims to teach . . . What Manasseh’s sin leads to is not the fall of Jerusalem long after his death, as Samuel/Kings say, but ’distress’ for him himself [sic], as he is taken by Assyrian forces ’with hooks . . . and fetters of bronze’ to Babylon (2 Chronicles 33:11-12)." [Note: Ibid., p. 258.]

In spite of Manasseh’s repentance, the people still sacrificed at the high places, though only to Yahweh (2 Chronicles 33:17).

"A half century of paganism could not be overcome by a half-dozen years of reform." [Note: Payne, "Second Chronicles," p. 417]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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 writer k 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.

k Abulph. & Suidas, ib. (Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 67.)

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.   12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,   13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.   14 Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.   15 And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of 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 cast them out of the city.   16 And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.   17 Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.   18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.   19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.   20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

      We have seen Manasseh by his wickedness undoing the good that his father had done; here we have him by repentance undoing the evil that he himself had done. It is strange that this was not so much as mentioned in the book of Kings, nor does any thing appear there to the contrary but that he persisted and perished in his son. But perhaps the reason was because the design of that history was to show the wickedness of the nation which brought destruction upon them; and this repentance of Manasseh and the benefit of it, being personal only and not national, is overlooked there; yet here it is fully related, and a memorable instance it is of the riches of God's pardoning mercy and the power of his renewing grace. Here is,

      I. The occasion of Manasseh's repentance, and that was his affliction. In his distress he did not (like king Ahaz) trespass yet more against God, but humbled himself and returned to God. Sanctified afflictions often prove happy means of conversion. What his distress was we are told, 2 Chronicles 33:11; 2 Chronicles 33:11. God brought a foreign enemy upon him; the king of Babylon, that courted his father who faithfully served God, invaded him now that he had treacherously departed from God. He is here called king of Assyria, because he had made himself master of Assyria, which he would the more easily do for the defeat of Sennacherib's army, and its destruction before Jerusalem. He aimed at the treasures which the ambassadors had seen, and all those precious things; but God sent him to chastise a sinful people, and subdue a straying prince. The captain took Manasseh among the thorns, in some bush or other, perhaps in his garden, where he had hid himself. Or it is spoken figuratively: he was perplexed in his counsels and embarrassed in his affairs. He was, as we say, in the briers, and knew not which way to extricate himself, and so became an easy prey to the Assyrian captains, who no doubt plundered his house and took away what they pleased, as Isaiah had foretold, 2 Kings 20:17; 2 Kings 20:18. What was Hezekiah's pride was their prey. They bound Manasseh, who had been held before with the cords of his own iniquity, and carried him prisoner to Babylon. About what time of his reign this was we are not told; the Jews say it was in his twenty-second year.

      II. The expressions of his repentance (2 Chronicles 33:12; 2 Chronicles 33:13): When he was in affliction he had time to bethink himself and reason enough too. He saw what he had brought himself to by his sin. He found the gods he had served unable to help him. He knew that repentance was the only way of restoring his affairs; and therefore to him he returned from whom he had revolted. 1. He was convinced the Jehovah is the only living and true God: Then he knew (that is, he believed and considered) that the Lord he was God. He might have known it at a less expense if he would have given due attention and credit to the word written and preached: but it was better to pay thus dearly for the knowledge of God than to perish in ignorance and unbelief. Had he been a prince in the palace of Babylon, it is probable he would have been confirmed in his idolatry; but, being a captive in the prisons of Babylon, he was convinced of it and reclaimed from it. 2. He applied to him as his God now, renouncing all others, and resolving to cleave to him only, the God of his fathers, and a God on covenant with him. 3. He humbled himself greatly before him, was truly sorry for his sins, ashamed of them, and afraid of the wrath of God. It becomes sinners to humble themselves before the face of that God whom they have offended. It becomes sufferers to humble themselves under the hand of that God who corrects them, and to accept the punishment of their iniquity. Our hearts should be humbled under humbling providences; then we accommodate ourselves to them, and answer God's end in them. 4. He prayed to him for the pardon of sin and the return of his favour. Prayer is the relief of penitents, the relief of the afflicted. That is a good prayer, and very pertinent in this case, which we find among the apocryphal books, entitled, The prayer of Manasses, king of Judah, when he was holden captive in Babylon. Whether it was his or no is uncertain; if it was, in it he gives glory to God as the God of their fathers and their righteous seed, as the Creator of the world, a God whose anger is insupportable, and yet his merciful promise unmeasurable. He pleads that God has promised repentance and forgiveness to those that have sinned, and has appointed repentance unto sinners, that they may be saved, not unto the just, as to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but to me (says he) that am a sinner; for I have sinned above the number of the sands of the sea: so he confesses his sin largely, and aggravates it. He prays, Forgive me, O Lord! forgive me, and destroy me not; he pleads, Thou art the God of those that repent, c., and concludes, Therefore I will praise thee for ever, &c.

      III. God's gracious acceptance of his repentance: God was entreated of him, and heard his supplication. Though affliction drive us to God, he will not therefore reject us if in sincerity we seek him, for afflictions are sent on purpose to bring us to him. As a token of God's favour to him, he made a way for his escape. Afflictions are continued no longer than till they have done their work. When Manasseh is brought back to his God and to his duty he shall soon be brought back to his kingdom. See how ready God is to accept and welcome returning sinners, and how swift to show mercy. Let not great sinners despair, when Manasseh himself, upon his repentance, found favour with God in him God showed forth a pattern of long-suffering, as 1 Timothy 1:16; Isaiah 1:18.

      IV. The fruits meet for repentance which he brought forth after his return to his own land, 2 Chronicles 33:15; 2 Chronicles 33:16. 1. He turned from his sins. He took away the strange gods, the images of them, and that idol (whatever it was) which he had set up with so much solemnity in the house of the Lord, as if it had been master of that house. He cast out all the idolatrous altars that were in the mount of the house and in Jerusalem, as detestable things. Now (we hope) he loathed them as much as ever he had loved them, and said to them, Get you hence,Isaiah 30:22. "What have I to do any more with idols? I have had enough of them." 2. He returned to his duty; for he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had either been abused and broken down by some of the idolatrous priests, or, at least, neglected and gone out of repair. He sacrificed thereon peace-offerings to implore God's favour, and thank-offerings to praise him for his deliverance. Nay, he now used his power to reform his people, as before he had abused it to corrupt them: He commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. Note, Those that truly repent of their sins will not only return to God themselves, but will do all they can to recover those that have by their example been seduced and drawn away from God; else they do not thoroughly (as they ought) undo what they have done amiss, nor make the plaster as wide as the wound. We find that he prevailed to bring them off from their false gods, but not from their high places,2 Chronicles 33:17; 2 Chronicles 33:17. They still sacrificed in them, yet to the Lord their God only; Manasseh could not carry the reformation so far as he had carried the corruption. It is an easy thing to debauch men's manners, but not so easy to reform them again.

      V. His prosperity, in some measure, after his repentance. He might plainly see it was sin that ruined him; for, when he returned to God in a way of duty, God returned to him in a way of mercy: and then he built a wall about the city of David (2 Chronicles 33:14; 2 Chronicles 33:14), for by sin he had unwalled it and exposed it to the enemy. He also put captains of war in the fenced cities for the security of his country. Josephus says that all the rest of his time he was so changed for the better that he was looked upon as a very happy man.

      Lastly, Here is the conclusion of his history. The heads of those things for a full narrative of which we are referred to the other writings that were then extant are more than of any of the kings, 2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Chronicles 33:19. A particular account, it seems, was kept, 1. Of all his sin, and his trespass, the high places he built, the groves and images he set up, before he was humbled. Probably this was taken from his own confession which he made of his sin when God gave him repentance, and which he left upon record, in a book entitled, The words of the seers. To those seers that spoke to him (2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Chronicles 33:18) to reprove him for his sin he sent his confession when he repented, to be inserted in their memoirs, as a token of his gratitude to them for their kindness in reproving him. Thus it becomes penitents to take shame to themselves, to give thanks to their reprovers, and warning to others. 2. Of the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the Lord (2 Chronicles 33:10; 2 Chronicles 33:18), the reproofs they gave him for his sin and their exhortations to repentance. Note, Sinners ought to consider, that, how little notice soever they take of them, an account is kept of the words of the seers that speak to them from God to admonish them of their sins, warn them of their danger, and call them to their duty, which will be produced against them in the great day. 3. Of his prayer to God (this is twice mentioned as a remarkable thing) and how God was entreated of him. This was written for the generations to come, that the people that should be created might praise the Lord for his readiness to receive returning prodigals. Notice is taken of the place of his burial, not in the sepulchres of the kings, but in his own house; he was buried privately, and nothing of that honour was done him at his death that was done to his father. Penitents may recover their comfort sooner than their credit.