Apocrypha
Prayer of Manasseh
Repentance
1 chapter · read and listen
Reading note
An apocryphal or pseudepigraphal text — outside the canon of the Western churches, yet widely circulated among ancient Jews and Christians. Published here from a public-domain translation, edited for continuous reading.
Chapters
Dossier
Fifteen verses: the prayer the most wicked king of Judah is said to have made, imprisoned in Babylon, when he understood the size of what he had done.
Where this text comes from
Greek, probably from the 2nd or 1st century BC. It was written to fill a gap: 2 Chronicles 33 says Manasseh prayed and was heard, but does not record the prayer. Someone wrote the one that was missing.
Why it is not in the Bible
One of the most curious in-between cases here. It is not canonical for Catholics or Protestants, but it was printed as an appendix in the Clementine Vulgate, is canonical for several Eastern Orthodox churches, and entered the penitential liturgy of a number of traditions.
What you will find
- It is the one piece here that can be read whole in three minutes.
- The line about there being no limit to the mercy shown to the repentant entered liturgical use and never left.
- Manasseh pleads no mitigating circumstances: he lists what he did before asking forgiveness.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Prayer of Manasseh in the Catholic Bible?
- Not in the canon, but it was printed as an appendix in the Clementine Vulgate. It is canonical in Eastern Orthodox churches and appears in the apocrypha of older Protestant Bibles, such as the 1611 King James.