2 Chronicles 33:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Indeed, Manasseh committed a multitude of evils, extending his hands against the holy place, introducing abominations into the temple, saturating the city with bloodshed, and carrying out many other unforgivable acts. Yet, after such grave sins, he found cleansing through sincere repentance and righteous deeds.

Manasseh, who was unparalleled in insanity and brutality, dismantled true worship, closed the temple, spread falsehood, and engaged in greater wickedness than all who came before him. Nonetheless, through sincere repentance, he was counted among the beloved of God. Had he, upon recognizing the enormity of his sins, given in to despair regarding his ability to reform, he would have lost all that he eventually gained. However, he opted instead to focus not on the enormity of his wrongdoings but on the vastness of God’s mercy, breaking free from the chains of the adversary, rising up, and striving to amend his path.

He built altars for all the celestial beings and fashioned an altar within the Temple of the Lord, which the Lord had designated to David and Solomon, proclaiming, ‘In it I will put my name.’ Furthermore, Manasseh built altars and worshipped Baal, declaring, ‘My name shall endure forever.’ He even constructed altars for celestial hosts in both the inner and outer courts of the Lord's house, led his children to pass through fire, engaged in divination, utilized mediums, and sorcerers, and committed many other actions that angered the Lord. He placed a sculpted idol that he had made in the Lord's house—the very site where the Lord had chosen to have His name dwell in Jerusalem, the sacred city eternally—declaring: ‘I will not let any Israelite's foot depart from the land I gave to their ancestors, if only they strive to observe all that I have commanded them, along with every decree mandated by my servant Moses.’ However, they rebelled, and Manasseh misled them to the point that their conduct was even worse than that of the nations the Lord had displaced for the sake of the children of Israel. The Lord addressed Manasseh and his people through His prophets, declaring: ‘Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has committed such abominations—worse than all that the Amorites before him did—and led Judah into sin with his idols, therefore,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘look, I will bring calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, so severe that the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. I will measure Jerusalem with the measuring line of Samaria and the plumb line of the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one erases a written page, turning it upside down. I will cast off the remainder of My inheritance and deliver them into the hands of their enemies, and they shall be plundered and pillaged because they have committed evil in My sight and stirred My anger from the day I brought their ancestors out of Egypt until now.’ Manasseh also shed an excessive amount of innocent blood, filling Jerusalem from one end to the other, adding to the evils that he caused Judah to partake in, which were displeasing to the Lord. The Lord sent the captains of the king of Assyria against him, and they bound Manasseh with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. He was confined under iron restraints in a dungeon, receiving merely a meager allowance of bran bread and a little diluted vinegar, enduring great suffering and torment. In his distress, he earnestly sought the favor of the Lord his God, humbling himself profoundly before the God of his forefathers, and prayed to the Lord, saying: ‘O Lord, Almighty God, God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their righteous offspring, Who created heaven and earth with all their order, Who commanded the sea, holding it with Your word, Who sealed the abyss with Your awe-inspiring and glorious name; All creation trembles at the presence of Your power, for Your greatness is boundless, and the fury of Your anger against sinners is unbearable, yet the mercy of Your promise is limitless and unending. You are the Lord who is patient, O God, and according to Your abundant goodness, You grant repentance to sinners, establishing repentance leading to salvation. Therefore, You have not granted repentance to the righteous, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not sinned against You; but You have granted repentance to me, a sinner, for I have sinned beyond number. My transgressions are countless, O Lord, I can hardly lift my gaze toward heaven because of my many iniquities, burdened by iron chains, for I have provoked Your wrath and sinned before You, multiplying offenses. I now bow my heart in prayer, seeking Your kindness. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, I acknowledge my wrongdoings, and I implore You: ‘Let me go, Lord, do not let me perish because of my sins, do not forever retain my iniquities in Your wrath, and do not condemn me to the pit, for You are the God of the repentant. Display all Your goodness towards me, for You will save the unworthy according to Your immense mercy. I will praise You always throughout my life, for the entire heavenly host sings Your praises, and Yours is the glory forever. Amen.’ The Lord heard his supplication and showed compassion on him; flames of fire surrounded him, melting all his chains. The Lord healed Manasseh from his trials and returned him to Jerusalem and his kingdom. Manasseh learned that the Lord alone is God and began to serve Him wholeheartedly for all his days, deemed righteous. He dismantled the foreign gods and the idol within the Lord's house, tore down all the shrines he had erected on the Temple mount and throughout Jerusalem, casting them out of the city. He repaired the Lord’s altar and made offerings of thanksgiving and praise upon it, instructing the people of Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. You have heard, beloved children, how the Lord swiftly administered punishment upon one who practiced idolatry and committed many acts of violence against the innocent, yet he repented, and upon forgiving his transgressions, the Lord restored him to his kingdom. The Lord not only forgives those who turn back to Him but also elevates them to their previous honor.