מלכים ב, פרק כ״א, פסוק י׳

Following a period of deep spiritual decline and moral decay, God sends a sharp prophetic message to the people. This divine communication comes as a direct response to the severe actions of King Manasseh, who actively led the kingdom into sin [מצודת דוד]. The prophecy draws a clear distinction between the guilt of the king and the guilt of the general public. Manasseh bears the primary responsibility because he was the main source of the evil, deliberately misleading the nation to follow his path. Because the king's offenses are significantly heavier than those of the people, God's anger will not result in the complete destruction of the nation, as happened to the Ten Tribes. Instead, His wrath will be directed mainly at the physical city of Jerusalem and its buildings [אלשיך].

The specific messengers chosen to deliver this warning are left unnamed in the narrative. Commentators agree on their identities, with some pointing to the prophets Joel, Nahum, and Habakkuk [רד״ק], while others identify them as just Nahum and Habakkuk [רש״י]. The omission of their names is intentional. Furthermore, the individual books of these prophets never mention that they operated during Manasseh's reign. This deliberate silence stems from the king's overwhelming wickedness. Because of his terrible deeds, the historical record completely avoids associating the era of these prophets with his rule, refusing to link their names to his reign [רש״י, רד״ק].