How does 2 Kings 21:20 connect with the Ten Commandments?

2 Kings 21:20: “And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done.”

• Direct clash with Commandments 1 & 2

– Exodus 20:3–4: “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol …”

– Amon perpetuated the idol altars and foreign deities set up by Manasseh (2 Kings 21:21‒22), breaking the first two commands that demand exclusive, image-free worship of the LORD.

• Echo of the generational warning in Exodus 20:5

– “I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me.”

– Amon’s replication of Manasseh’s sins illustrates how parental disobedience influences descendants when repentance is absent.

• Violation of Commandment 3 (misusing God’s Name)

– Idolatry drags God’s name through the mud; the nation still bore His covenant name yet lived in open rebellion (cf. Leviticus 19:12).

• Likely disregard for Commandment 4 (Sabbath)

– Idolatrous systems routinely replaced or warped Sabbath worship, showing contempt for God’s ordained times (Ezekiel 20:16).

• Commandment 5 turned upside down

– Instead of honoring his father by learning obedience, Amon “walked in all the ways” of Manasseh’s wickedness (2 Kings 21:22), modeling dis-honor that corrodes family and society.

• Ripple effect on Commandments 6 – 10

– Manasseh “shed very much innocent blood” (2 Kings 21:16); Amon’s continuation of that regime fostered murder, immorality, theft, false witness, and covetous practices—evidence that rejecting the first table of the Law (commands 1-4) inevitably erodes the second (commands 5-10).

Bottom line: 2 Kings 21:20 is a snapshot of comprehensive rebellion against the Ten Commandments, beginning with forbidden gods and cascading into every other form of covenant breach, just as the Decalogue warns.