2 Kings 21

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 21

In this chapter we have a short but sad account of the reigns of two of the kings of Judah, Manasseh and Amon. I. Concerning Manasseh, all the account we have of him here is, 1. That he devoted himself to sin, to all manner of wickedness, idolatry, and murder, 2 Kgs. 21:1-9, 16. 2. That therefore God devoted him, and Jerusalem for his sake, to ruin, 2 Kgs. 21:10-18. In the book of Chronicles we have an account of his troubles, and his repentance. II. Concerning Amon we are only told that he... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 21:1-9

How delightful were our meditations on the last reign! How many pleasing views had we of Sion in its glory (that is, in its purity and in its triumphs), of the king in his beauty! (for Isa. 33:17 refers to Hezekiah), and (as it follows there, 2 Kgs. 21:20) Jerusalem was a quiet habitation because a city of righteousness, Isa. 1:26. But now we have melancholy work upon our hands, unpleasant ground to travel, and cannot but drive heavily. How has the gold become dim and the most fine gold... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 21:10-18

Here is the doom of Judah and Jerusalem read, and it is heavy doom. The prophets were sent, in the first place, to teach them the knowledge of God, to remind them of their duty and direct them in it. If they succeeded not in that, their next work was to reprove them for their sins, and to set them in view before them, that they might repent and reform, and return to their duty. If in this they prevailed not, but sinners went on frowardly, their next work was to foretel the judgments of God,... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 21:19-26

Here is a short account of the short and inglorious reign of Amon, the son of Manasseh. Whether Manasseh, in his blind and brutish zeal for his idols, had sacrificed his other sons?or whether, having been dedicated to his idols, they were refused by the people?so it was that his successor was a son not born till he was forty-five years old. And of him we are here told, 1. That his reign was very wicked: He forsook the God of his fathers (2 Kgs. 21:22), disobeyed the commands given to his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 21

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 21:1

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 21:2

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. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 21:3

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 21:4

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. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 21:5

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... read more

Group of Brands