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Audiobook edition · 28 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 22 pagesAbout this book
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.
Who will love it
This is for readers who love the psalms and ancient prayers, for anyone drawn to stories of guilt and second chances, and for those curious about the books at the edges of the Bible and how they were used.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Manasseh is recalled as Judah's worst king
- Chronicles gives Manasseh a prayer but not its words
- An unknown writer filled the gap, and communities kept it
- The prayer opens with praise before any confession
- God's promise of mercy is for sinners like him
- The confession names sin without softening it
- The plea asks for mercy and ends in praise
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The Prayer of Manasseh
by Attributed to King Manasseh
A king in iron chains in Babylon has nothing left but a prayer, and fifteen verses to say it.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to readEnglish
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“Do not destroy me along with my sins.”
In short
What would you say if you had done great wrong, and every defence you once leaned on was gone? The Prayer of Manasseh imagines a king of Judah in exactly that place.
The Prayer of Manasseh at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 min1 min fast, 2 min slow
- Length
- 413 words3 chapters
- Pages
- 22 pages30 in large print
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Listen freeOr hold it in print: paperback, hardcover or large print, at costFrom the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Manasseh is recalled as Judah's worst king
The prayer is about a man, so first meet him. Manasseh was a king of Judah. The Second Book of Kings says he reigned fifty-five years, the longest reign of any king in the Davidic dynasty.
His father Hezekiah was a reformer who had pulled down shrines and called the people back to the worship of one God. Manasseh undid this work. He rebuilt the high places, which were local shrines his father had torn down, and set up altars to foreign gods. He even placed altars in the courts of the Temple in Jerusalem.
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A king in iron chains in Babylon has nothing left but a prayer, and fifteen verses to say it.
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- English
- Listening time
- 28 min
- Level
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- Paperback
- 22 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 30 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
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For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Manasseh. The Prayer of Manasseh. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-prayer-of-manasseh.
Manasseh. (2026). The prayer of Manasseh. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-prayer-of-manasseh
Manasseh. The Prayer of Manasseh. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-prayer-of-manasseh.
@book{manasseh2026prayer,
author = {Manasseh},
title = {The Prayer of Manasseh},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-prayer-of-manasseh}
}
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What is the Prayer of Manasseh about?
It is the prayer of a wicked king of Judah, bound in chains in Babylon, who confesses his many sins and asks God for forgiveness. It moves from praise to confession to a plea for mercy and a vow of thanks.
Who was King Manasseh?
Manasseh was a king of Judah who reigned fifty-five years. Kings records his idol worship and bloodshed, and Chronicles adds that he was taken to Babylon, prayed, and was restored to his throne.
Why is the Prayer of Manasseh not in most Bibles?
It was never part of the Hebrew Bible, which Protestant reformers followed for the Old Testament. It appears in some Greek and Latin manuscripts and is valued in Orthodox worship, but it is outside most canons.
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