Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Chronicles 33:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence: “For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Manasseh reverses reform and sacrifices children.”
Read It With
- 2 Chronicles 33:1–9
Read 2 Chronicles 33:3 with 33:1–9. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Manasseh rebuilds high places, worships heavenly bodies, installs altars and an image in the temple, practices divination, burns children, and leads Judah beyond the nations' evils.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Manasseh reverses reform and sacrifices children,” 2 Chronicles 33:3 advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence through the wording “For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The reign systematically reverses Hezekiah's work and profanes the house whose promises are explicitly recalled. 2 Chronicles 32:32–33 has just established this prior movement: Isaiah's vision and the kings' record are cited, Hezekiah is buried in an honored location, Judah mourns, and Manasseh succeeds. Together those details explain why “Manasseh reverses reform and sacrifices children” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 2 Chronicles 33:1–9 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Chronicles 33:1–9 forms the complete movement “Manasseh reverses reform and sacrifices children”: Manasseh rebuilds high places, worships heavenly bodies, installs altars and an image in the temple, practices divination, burns children, and leads Judah beyond the nations' evils.
Verse 1. 1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
Verse 2. 2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
Verse 3. 3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
Verse 4. 4 Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
Verse 5. 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
Verse 6. 6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Verse 7. 7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
Verse 8. 8 Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
Verse 9. 9 So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.
What Remains True
Severe wrongdoing, humility, reform, authoritative interpretation, covenant renewal, celebration, and fatal error show that repentance matters while accountability and wise correction remain necessary. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Manasseh rebuilds high places, worships heavenly bodies, installs altars and an image in the temple, practices divination, burns children, and leads Judah beyond the nations' evils. In 2 Chronicles 33:3, the concrete line “For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up….” Treat repentance as sustained repair, hear qualified interpreters regardless of gender, protect those harmed by prior practice, and verify warnings before a respected leader takes a dangerous course. This response follows from the unit's own movement: Manasseh rebuilds high places, worships heavenly bodies, installs altars and an image in the temple, practices divination, burns children, and leads Judah beyond the nations' evils.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Chronicles 33:1–9 — Manasseh reverses reform and sacrifices childrenSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Chronicles 33:1–9, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 33:1–9
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 2 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 2 Chronicles 33:1–9, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗