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What can a king say when power offers no shelter from his own guilt?
The Prayer of Manasseh gives voice to a ruler with much to confess. Traditionally attributed to King Manasseh of Judah, this brief apocryphal prayer turns from praise to an admission of sin. There is no unfolding adventure here: the weight falls on a speaker who makes no excuses and asks God for mercy.
The prayer begins with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then moves into guilt, humility, and hope. Its author is unknown, but it belongs to Jewish and Christian traditions of penitential prayer. At its heart is the belief that repentance is a gift offered to sinners, not a privilege reserved for the righteous.
What you’ll discover
- Praise before confession Follow an opening that names the Creator before the speaker names his sins.
- Guilt without excuses Encounter a confession that compares the speaker’s sins to the sand of the sea.
- A king brought low Consider the distance between royal power and the humility of asking for mercy.
- Repentance as a gift Explore the prayer’s belief that God appoints repentance for those who need forgiveness.
- Hope within confession Find a short model of prayer that holds deep guilt alongside the possibility of mercy.
Is it for you?
This is for readers of the Apocrypha, for anyone who wants a short model of confession and hope, and for students of how the Bible grew. It will suit you less if you want history or narrative, since it is a prayer only.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A prayer the Chronicles mention but do not give
- The prayer begins by praising the Creator
- A confession that makes no excuses
- Repentance as a gift, and a prayer for many readers
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The Prayer of Manasseh
by Attributed to King Manasseh
A king confesses his sins and asks God for mercy.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
A prayer the Chronicles mention but do not give
The prayer grows out of two accounts of King Manasseh. The Book of Second Kings describes him as a ruler who rebuilt the shrines his father Hezekiah had torn down, set up altars to other gods, and shed much innocent blood. That account gives him no repentance at all, and it blames his reign for the troubles that later fell on Judah.
The Book of Second Chronicles tells it differently. There the Assyrians take Manasseh captive and bring him to Babylon. In distress he humbles himself before the God of his ancestors and prays. God hears him, brings him back to Jerusalem, and the king then works to undo some of the harm. Chronicles also says that his prayer was recorded, but it does not give the words.
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What is the Prayer of Manasseh about?
It is a short prayer of repentance spoken in the voice of Manasseh, a king of Judah. He praises God as Creator, confesses that his sins are beyond counting, and asks for forgiveness, trusting that God has appointed repentance for sinners.
Who was King Manasseh?
Manasseh was a king of Judah and son of Hezekiah. Second Kings remembers him for idolatry and violence. Second Chronicles adds that he was taken captive, humbled himself, prayed to God, and was restored to Jerusalem.
Did Manasseh really write the prayer?
Most scholars say no. The text was composed long after his lifetime, probably between the second century before Christ and the first century after. It was written to supply the prayer that Second Chronicles mentions but does not give.
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