According to the biblical record, Manasseh was the most evil king of Judah (2 Kings 21: 1-18; 2 Chronicles 33: 1-20). However, when one of the Assyrian monarchs (perhaps Esar-haddon or Ashurbanipal) takes him captive to Babylon, he reacts and prays to "Jehovah his God, greatly humbled in the presence of the God of his fathers" (2 Chronicles 33:12 ). This prayer, which leads him to his restoration to Judah and to his throne, is recorded "in the acts of the kings of Israel" (verse 18).
The Apocryphal Manasseh Prayer purports to be that recovered supplication. Its 15 verses convey a spirit of sincere penance and deep religious sentiment, although it is not really the authentic prayer of the King of Judah. This short work is not among the books accepted by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent, and in the authorized editions of the Latin Vulgate it is placed as an appendix to the apocrypha. Originally it was included in both the German Luther Bible and the KJV. It was included in the Bear Bible of 1569 and in the Geneva Bible of 1599.
The Prayer of Manasseh
1. O Lord Almighty, God of our ancestors, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of his righteous descendants;
2 . you who made heaven and earth with all its order;
3. who chained the sea by your command word, who confined the deep and sealed with your terrible and glorious name;
4. in whom all things tremble, and tremble at your power,
5. because your glorious splendor cannot be endured, and the wrath of your threat to sinners is incalculable;
6. however immeasurable and unattainable is your promised mercy,
7. You are the Most High Lord, of great compassion, continuous care, and very merciful, and you appease yourself in the face of human suffering. O Lord, according to your great goodness You have promised repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against You, and in the multitude of your mercies you have designated repentance for sinners, so they can be saved.
8. therefore you, O Lord, God of the righteous, you have not appointed repentance for the righteous, because Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not sin against you, but you have designated repentance for me, that I am a sinner.
9. Because the sins that I have committed are more in number than the sand of the sea; my transgressions are multiplied, O Lord, they are multiplied! I am not worthy to look up and see the vastness of the sky because of the multitude of my iniquities.
10. I feel heavy, like bound with many iron chains, and therefore I am rejected because of my sins, and I have no relief; because I have provoked your anger and I have done what is evil in your sight, creating abominations and multiplying offenses.
11. And now I bend the knee of my heart, imploring you for your kindness.
12. I have sinned Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge my transgressions.
13. I honestly implore you, Forgive me, O Lord, forgive me! Do not destroy me with my transgressions! Do not be angry with me forever, or keep evil for me; do not condemn me to the depths of the earth. Because You, O Lord, are the God of those who repent.
14. and in me you will manifest your goodness; because, unworthy even as I am, you will save me according to your great mercy,
15. And I will praise you continually every day of my life. Because the whole multitude of heaven sings your praise, and yours is the glory forever.
Amen
