Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Manasseh, on account of his idolatry and crimes, is bound and taken to Babylon, where repenting he is restored to his kingdom and restores the worship of God. His impious son Amon succeeds him, and after him his pious son Josiah.
Vulgate Text: 2 Paralipomenon 33:1-25
1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2. And he did evil before the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations which the Lord had overthrown before the children of Israel. 3. And turning back, he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had demolished; and he built altars to the Baals, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven and served them. 4. He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said: In Jerusalem shall My name be forever. 5. And he built them for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6. And he made his sons pass through the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom; he observed dreams, followed divinations, gave himself to sorcery, and kept magicians and enchanters with him; and he did much evil before the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 7. He also placed a carved and molten image in the house of God, of which God had spoken to David and to Solomon his son, saying: In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will place My name forever. 8. And I will not cause the foot of Israel to be moved from the land which I delivered to their fathers — provided only that they take care to do what I have commanded them, and the whole law and the ceremonies and ordinances given through Moses. 9. So Manasseh led astray Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did worse than all the nations which the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10. And the Lord spoke to him and to his people, and they would not pay attention. 11. Therefore He brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of the Assyrians; and they captured Manasseh and bound him with chains and fetters and took him to Babylon. 12. And when he was in distress, he prayed to the Lord his God and did great penance before the God of his fathers. 13. And he besought Him and entreated earnestly; and He heard his prayer and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. And Manasseh knew that the Lord Himself was God. 14. After this he built a wall outside the City of David, to the west of Gihon in the valley, from the entrance of the Fish Gate around to Ophel, and he raised it very high; and he stationed captains of the army in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15. And he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and also the altars that he had made on the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he cast them all outside the city. 16. And he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed upon it victims and peace offerings and praise; and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. 17. Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed on the high places to the Lord their God. 18. Now the rest of the deeds of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the Seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, are contained in the records of the kings of Israel. 19. His prayer also and how he was heard, and all his sins and contempt, and the places in which he built high places and set up groves and statues before he did penance, are written in the records of Hozai. 20. So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house; and Amon his son reigned in his place. 21. Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done, and he sacrificed to and served all the idols that Manasseh had made. 23. And he did not humble himself before the face of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but he committed far greater offenses. 24. And when his servants conspired against him, they killed him in his own house. 25. But the rest of the people of the multitude, having slain those who had struck down Amon, made Josiah his son king in his place.
Verse 3: He Worshipped All the Host of Heaven
3. HE WORSHIPPED ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN — namely the Sun, Moon, and the other stars, which march like soldiers of God in ordered array, and when necessary fight for God, hurling thunder and lightning against His enemies. So St. Jerome.
Verse 10: And the Lord Spoke to Him
10. AND THE LORD SPOKE TO HIM — not in person, but through Isaiah and other prophets, 4 Kings chapter 21, verse 10.
Verse 11: Led Bound to Babylon
11. THEY LED HIM BOUND IN CHAINS TO BABYLON. — In prison Manasseh was given a small loaf of bread made of bran, of small weight, and a small measure of water with vinegar, just enough to live, as some Greek manuscripts here state, along with the Author of the Imperfect Work, homily 1 on Matthew, and St. Clement, Book 2 of the Constitutions, chapter 22.
Verse 16: He Sacrificed Victims and Peace Offerings
16. HE SACRIFICED UPON IT VICTIMS (holocausts and offerings for sin) AND PEACE OFFERINGS (that is, offerings for peace, meaning for the welfare both of himself and of the people) AND PRAISE. — In Hebrew, todot, that is, thanksgiving offerings, in praise of God and in thanksgiving for the liberty received, says Cajetan and Vatablus.
Verse 19: His Prayer and the Records of Hozai
19. HIS PRAYER ALSO. — The prayer of the penitent Manasseh survives, pious and worthy, but it does not have the authority of canonical Scripture, and therefore it has been relegated to the end of the Bible.
THEY ARE WRITTEN IN THE RECORDS OF HOZAI. — The Hebrews, according to St. Jerome, believe Hozai to be Isaiah the prophet. The Septuagint takes Hozai not as a proper name but as a common noun, and translates it: "of the seers," that is, of the prophets. So also Vatablus.