2 Kings 21:17

The rest of the acts. The most important of the items concerning Manasseh that the writer of Kings omits are his capture by the captains of the king of Assyria, his removal to Babylon, his repentance there, his restoration to his kingdom, and his religious reforms upon his return (2 Chron. 33:11-19). Esarhaddon includes Manasseh in a list of 22 kings of Western Asia of whom he demanded timber to be sent to Nineveh. Ashurbanipal, who succeeded Esarhaddon, includes Manasseh in a list of 22 kings who paid tribute to him.

His sin. The account of Manasseh in Kings gives only a few details concerning the iniquities of his reign. Not only did he offer his own son as a human sacrifice but he encouraged such abominations in the Valley of Hinnom (2 Chron. 33:6; cf. 2 Kings 23:10). It was evidently he who permitted the establishment of houses for the sodomites next to the Temple (2 Kings 23:7) and who may have removed the ark of the covenant from the Temple (2 Chron. 35:3).