The Prayer of Manasseh – What is it?

TL;DR

The true biblical story of King Manasseh shows God’s mercy in response to genuine repentance, though the Bible doesn’t record the words of his prayer. The so-called Prayer of Manasseh found in the Apocrypha is a later, non-biblical work falsely attributed to him.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The Prayer of Manasseh is based on the biblical account of a wicked king of Judah (Manasseh), who pleaded with God after being taken captive by the Assyrians. God responded positively to Manasseh’s humble request by bringing him back to Jerusalem (Chronicles 33:12-13), and the king in turn chose to walk away from his wickedness and help bring his people back to God. According to 2 Chronicles 33:18-19, while Manasseh’s prayer was indeed recorded, it was written in the Chronicles of the Seers, which is not included in the Bible. This means that apocryphal work called The Prayer of Manasseh is not biblical. This is especially true because of its claims about certain biblical characters being sinless, which directly stands against passages like Romans 3:10-12.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

In the Bible, King Manasseh lived as an idolatrous king who was captured by the Assyrians and imprisoned in Babylon (2 Chronicles 33). During his time in Babylon, Manasseh prayed for mercy and repented. Second Chronicles 33:12-13 records this: "And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God."

While Scripture records that Manasseh prayed, we are not told the contents of this prayer. Instead, 2 Chronicles 33:18-19 states that his prayer was recorded elsewhere: "Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. And his prayer, and how God was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites on which he built high places and set up the Asherim and the images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers." Since the Bible does not contain the Chronicles of the Seers, we do not know the specifics of Manasseh’s prayer.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

Despite its short length, the Prayer of Manasseh includes some content inconsistent with the Bible. For example, verse 8 notes men such as Abraham who did not need to repent because they did not sin. However, Scripture makes it clear that all people have sinned (Romans 3:10-12). This instantly negates the validity of the apocryphal work of the Prayer of Manasseh because it contracts one of the most important teachings in the Bible—that we are all sinful and are in need of God’s forgiveness.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

The Prayer of Manasseh is an apocryphal work of fifteen verses falsely attributed to King Manasseh of Judah. It may have been composed as early as the second century BC. Though the Prayer of Manasseh is not considered a work by Manasseh, a fourth century version of the Latin Vulgate added this work to the end of 2 Chronicles. It later also appeared in the 1537 Matthews Bible and Geneva Bible of 1599 as well as in the Apocrypha of the King James Version. While the biblical account of Manasseh's prayer was indeed powerful and righteous, the writing called the Prayer of Manasseh is not part of the biblical text and is to be considered a later writing.

UNDERSTAND

The Prayer of Manasseh is a non-biblical, apocryphal text.

Manasseh was a real king who sinned greatly, repented, and was restored by God, but the Bible doesn’t record his prayer.

The Prayer of Manasseh contradicts the Bible by implying some people were sinless.

REFLECT

How does Manasseh’s genuine repentance inspire you to turn to God when you recognize your own sins?

How do you rely on God’s mercy and restoration in your personal life, and how could you grow in trusting Him more?

How do you discern between biblical truth and non-biblical writings?

ENGAGE

Why is it important for us to distinguish between biblical accounts and apocryphal writings like the Prayer of Manasseh?

How can we encourage each other to pursue repentance and rely on God’s mercy in our daily lives, as Manasseh did?

How does understanding the limitations of non-biblical texts help us better interpret what is in the Bible?