Manasseh, King of Judah, stands as a stark example of wickedness among the rulers of Judah. He seduced the people with astrology, spiritism, witchcraft, human sacrifice, pagan altars, and idol groves, leading Judah into greater evil than the pagan nations God had commanded Israel to destroy. Manasseh destroyed all the good works of his predecessor, Hezekiah. Astonishingly, despite his profound wickedness, he repented while in captivity. Due to his former evils, he was not buried among the other kings of Judah. Yet, despite his grievous sins, Manasseh is included in the list of Christ's ancestors in Matthew 1, showing that relative evil or goodness did not necessarily determine inclusion in this lineage.

Manasseh, King of Judah, ascended to the throne at the tender age of twelve and reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. Despite being the son of Hezekiah, one of Judah's most revered kings, Manasseh did evil in the sight of the Lord, following the abominations of the nations that the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. He rebuilt the high places his father had destroyed, raised altars for the Baals, made wooden images, and worshipped the host of heaven, serving them. He built altars in the house of the Lord, a place where the Lord had declared His name would be forever, and even set a carved idol within it. Manasseh caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom, practiced soothsaying, witchcraft, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists, doing much evil to provoke the Lord to anger. He seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel, undoing all the good works of Hezekiah through astrology, spiritism, wizardry, human sacrifice, and the erection of idol groves. Yet, in captivity, Manasseh repented, though he was not permitted to be buried with the kings. Despite his profound wickedness, his name remains on the list of Christ's ancestors in Matthew 1, illustrating that even those with grave flaws are part of the lineage leading to Jesus Christ.

Manasseh became king of Judah at age twelve and reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. He committed greater evil than the Canaanite nations God had driven out, rebuilding high places, erecting altars to Baal and the host of heaven, placing idols inside the Temple itself, sacrificing his sons in the Valley of Hinnom, practicing witchcraft and consulting mediums, and filling Jerusalem with innocent blood. Through his leadership he seduced Judah and its inhabitants into deeper apostasy than any previous generation, rejecting the repeated warnings of the prophets. Because of these abominations the Lord brought the captains of Assyria against him. They bound him with hooks and fetters and carried him to Babylon. In his affliction Manasseh implored the Lord, humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed. God received his entreaty, restored him to Jerusalem, and returned him to his throne. Manasseh then knew that the Lord alone is God. After his return he removed the foreign gods and altars from the Temple and the city, repaired the altar of the Lord, offered peace and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord. Although the people continued sacrificing on the high places, they now directed those sacrifices to the Lord. Manasseh's repentance delayed the destruction of Judah for roughly two generations and prepared the way for the reforms of his grandson Josiah. The chronicler presents Manasseh's life as the clearest demonstration that God does exactly what He has said in the covenant: He brings the curses of exile and calamity upon persistent idolatry, yet He also restores and blesses those who turn from evil, fear Him, and keep His commandments.