Read this if you…
- like a 15-verse penitential prayer attributed to Judah's wickedest king
- care about deuterocanonical texts that argue mercy reaches even the worst offender
- want one of the most quoted Apocryphal prayers in the Christian liturgical tradition
Skip this if you…
- don't want to read explicitly religious/Christian texts
Why It Matters
The Prayer of Manasses makes the case, plainly and well, that no sin is too far gone for God to forgive. That theology of total mercy shaped Christian penitential practice and the sacrament of confession.
Depicted in Art
Manasseh sits in profile, slumped in contemplative sorrow over his idolatry, while Meshullemeth holds the infant Amon at his back.
Michelangelo, 1512
Manasseh as captive in Babylon, dejected and isolated in his exile after the Assyrian conquest.
Maerten de Vos
Manasseh in fetters in a Babylonian prison, kneeling and praying upward toward a shaft of light.
Providence Lithograph Company, 1904
Recommended Editions
King James Version
Oxford University Press · 1611
The most influential and commonly quoted translation in English. The prose rhythm everyone else is responding to, even modern translations.
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Deep Dive
What It's About
This summary gives away plot details.
Notable Quotes
“I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge mine iniquities.”
“Now therefore I bow the knee of mine heart, beseeching thee of grace.”
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