Among the thorns; in some thicket where he thought to hide himself from the Assyrians till he could make an escape, as the Israelites formerly used to do, 1 Samuel 13:6. Or, with hooks; a metaphorical expression. Or, in his forts, i.e. in one of them. Carried him to Babylon; either therefore Esar-haddon, Sennacherib's successor, had recovered Babylon from Merodach-baladan; or rather, the king of Babylon is here called the king of Assyria, because at this time he had added Assyria to his empire; who having been informed by his ambassadors of the great riches which were in Hezekiah's treasures at Jerusalem, which he was desirous to enjoy; and withal, being assured of Manasseh's degeneracy from the piety and virtue of his father, and from that God whose power alone made Hezekiah formidable, he thought this a fit season to invade Manasseh's kingdom; which he did with success.

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