2 Chronicles 33:12-13

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 33:13

And prayed unto him . The apocryphal "Prayer of Manasses" is not at all likely to be authentic. And brought him again to Jerusalem . The Targum gives many mythical tales as to how this deliverance was effected. Then Manasseh knew that . Did he not know, well know, before ? So far as the mode of expression may in any degree warrant such a stretch of charity, what an idea it gives of the force with which grossest error will captivate even the taught; and with what force of a furious... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Chronicles 33:12

2 Chronicles 33:12. When he was in affliction he besought the Lord his God Being “deprived of his authority and liberty, and secluded from his evil counsellors and companions, and from all his pleasures, in chains, and in a prison, without any other prospect than of ending his days in that wretched situation, he had leisure to reflect on what had passed. He then, no doubt, recollected the honour, prosperity, and deliverances with which his father had been favoured; his own good education,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Chronicles 33:13

2 Chronicles 33:13. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God He was convinced, by his own experience, of God’s power, justice, and goodness; that Jehovah alone was the true God, and not those idols which he had worshipped, by which he had received great hurt and no good. He might have known this 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 dear for the knowledge of God, than perish in ignorance and... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 33:1-25

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... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 2 Chronicles 33:12

2 Chronicles 33:12. When he was in affliction, he besought the Lord, &c.— The Jews have a tradition, that while Manasseh was at Babylon, by the direction of his conqueror, he was put in a large brazen vessel, full of holes, and set near a great fire; that, in his extremity, he had recourse to all those false deities to whom he had offered so many sacrifices, but received no relief from them; that, remembering what he had heard his good father Hezekiah say, namely, "When thou art in... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 2 Chronicles 33:13

2 Chronicles 33:13. And prayed unto him— We have a prayer which, it is pretended, he made in prison. The church does not receive it as canonical; but it has a place among the apocryphal pieces, and in our collection stands before the book of Maccabees. The Greek church has received it into its book of prayers; and it is there sometimes used as a devout form, and as containing nothing deserving of censure. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 2 Chronicles 33:12

12, 13. when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God—In the solitude of exile or imprisonment, Manasseh had leisure for reflection. The calamities forced upon him a review of his past life, under a conviction that the miseries of his dethronement and captive condition were owing to his awful and unprecedented apostasy ( :-) from the God of his fathers. He humbled himself, repented, and prayed for an opportunity of bringing forth the fruits of repentance. His prayer was heard; for his... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 2 Chronicles 33:1-20

N. Manasseh 33:1-20Manasseh 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... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Chronicles 33:1-25

The Reign of ManassehThis chapter repeats, with certain omissions, 2 Kings 21 but the section 2 Chronicles 33:11-17, relating the captivity in Babylon, repentance, and release of Manasseh, is supplementary to the account in 2 Ki.6. Observed times] RV ’practised augury’: perhaps, as the original suggests, by watching the motions of clouds.8. So that] RV ’if only’: God’s promises to Israel were conditional upon its obedience.11. Among the thorns] RM ’with hooks’: a monument still exists which... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 2 Chronicles 33:11-17

MANASSEH’S CAPTIVITY AND REPENTANCE—HIS RESTORATION AND REFORMS (2 Chronicles 33:11-17).This section is peculiar to the Chronicle, and none has excited more scepticism among modern critics. The progress of cuneiform research, however, has proved the perfect possibility of the facts most disputed, viz., the captivity and subsequent restoration of Manasseh. read more

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