Manasseh's Prayer of Repentance

Prayer of Manasseh 1

Manasseh addresses the Lord Almighty, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, praising him as maker of heaven and earth and sea, whose glory is unendurable yet whose mercy toward the repentant is boundless. Confessing that his sins outnumber the sand of the sea and have bowed him down like iron bonds, he pleads for release and forgiveness, vowing to praise the Lord continually all his days.

About these editions

The Septuagint (LXX) in Greek, with Charles Thomson’s 1808 and Sir Lancelot Brenton’s 1851 English translations, set beside the King James Version and the Jewish Masoretic text (JPS 1917) where they align, so you can compare the Greek and the Hebrew. All public domain; choose which to show with the controls above.

Brenton 1851Septuagint

Greek · BrentonSeptuagint

BrentonO Lord Almighty, the God of our fathers Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous seed;

GreekΚΥΡΙΕ παντοκράτωπ, ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν τοῦʼ Αβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ καὶ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῶν τοῦ δικαίου.

Brentonthat hast made the heaven and the earth with all their adornment;

GreekὉ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν σὺν πάντι τῷ κόσμῳ αὐτῶν.

Brentonthat hast bound the sea with the word of thy commandment; that hast closed the abyss and sealed it with thy fearful and glorious name;

GreekὉ πεδήσας τὴν θάλασσαν τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ προστάγματός σου, ὁ κλείσας τὴν ἄβυσσον καὶ σφραγισάμενος αὐτὴν τῷ φοβερῷ καὶ ἐνδόξῳ ὀνόματί σου·

Brentonwhom all things revere and tremble before the face of thy power,

Greekὃν πάντα φρίσσει καὶ τρέμει ἀπὸ προσώπου δυνάμεώς σου,

Brentonbecause the magnificence of thy glory is unendurable and irresistible the wrath of thy threatening against sinners:

Greekὅτι ἄστεκτος ἡ μεγαλοπρέπεια τῆς δόξης σου, καὶ ἀνυπόστατος ἡ ὀργὴ τῆς ἐπὶ ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἀπειλῆς σου·

Brentonthe mercy of thy promise is both immeasurable and inscrutable;

Greekἀμέτρητόν τε καὶ ἀνεξιχνίαστον τὸ ἔλεος τῆς ἐπαγγελίας σου·

Brentonfor thou art the Lord most high, compassionate, longsuffering, and most merciful, repenting of the evils of men. Thou, Lord, according to the abundance of thy goodness, hast proclaimed repentance and forgiveness to those that have sinned against thee, and in the multitude of thy kindnesses thou hast decreed for sinners repentance unto salvation.

Greekσὺ γὰρ εἶ Κύριος ὕψιστος, εὔσπλαγχνος, μακρόθυμος καὶ πολυέλεος, μετανοῶν ἐπὶ κακίαις ἀνθρώπων. Σὺ, Κύριε, κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χρηστότητός σου ἐπηγγείλω μετάνοιαν καὶ ἄφεσιν τοῖς ἡμαρτηκόσιν σοι, καὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου ὥρισας μετάνοιαν ἁμαρτωλοῖς εἰς σωτηρίαν.

BrentonSurely thou, O Lord, the God of the just, hast not appointed repentance for the just, for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob who have not sinned against thee; but thou hast appointed repentance for me a sinner:

GreekΣὺ οὖν, Κύριε, ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δικαίων, οὐκ ἔθου μετάνοιαν δικαίοις, τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ, τοῖς οὐχ ἡμαρτηκόσιν σοι,

Brentonfor I have sinned above the number of the sand of the sea. My transgressions are multiplied, O Lord, they are multiplied, and I am not worthy to look at or see the height of heaven, for the multitude of my iniquities,

GreekἘπλήθυναν αἱ ἀνομίαι μου, Κύριε, ἐπλήθυναν, καὶ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἄξιος ἀτενίσαι καὶ ἰδεῖν τὸ ὕψος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἀπὸ πλήθους τῶν ἀδικιῶν μου,

Brentonbeing bowed down by many iron bonds, so that I cannot uplift my head, and there is no release for me, because I have provoked thy anger, and have done evil before thee, not doing thy will, nor keeping thy commandments, but setting up abominations and multiplying offences.

Greekκατακαμπτόμενος πολλῷ δεσμῷ σιδηρῷ εἰς τὸ μὴ ἀνανεῦσαι τὴν κεφαλήν μου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν μοι ἄνεσις, διότι παρώργισα τὸν θυμόν σου, καὶ τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιόν σου ἐποίησα, μὴ ποιήσας τὸ θέλημά σου καὶ μὴ φυλάξας τὰ προστάγματά σου, στήσας βδελύγματα καὶ πληθύνας προσοχθίσματα.

BrentonAnd now I bend the knee of my heart, beseeching thy goodness:

GreekΚαὶ νῦν κλίνω γόνυ καρδίας μου δεόμενος τῆς παθὰ σοῦ χρηστότητος· ἡμάρτηκα,

BrentonI have sinned, Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge my transgressions:

GreekΚύριε, ἡμάρτηκα, καὶ τὰς ἀνομίας μου ἐγὼ γινώσκω. Ἀλλʼ αἰτοῦμαι δεόμενός σου· ἄνες μοι,

Brentonbut I pray and beseech thee, release me, Lord, release me, and destroy me not with my transgressions; keep not evils for me in anger for ever, nor condemn me to the lowest parts of the earth: because thou art God, the God of the repenting;

GreekΚύριε, ἄνες μοι, καὶ μὴ συναπολέσῃς με ταῖς ἀνομίαις μου, μηδὲ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μηνίσας τηρήσῃς τὰ κακά μαι, μηδὲ καταδικάσῃς με ἐν τοῖς κατωτάτοις τῆς γῆς, διότι σὺ εἶ Θεὸς, Θεὶς τῶν μετανοούντων.

Brentonand in me thou wilt shew all thy benevolence, for that me unworthy thou wilt save, according to thy great mercy:

GreekΚαὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ δείξεις πᾶσαν τῆν ἀγαθωσύνην σου, ὁτι ἀνάξιον ὄντα σώσεις με κατὰ τὸ πολὺ ἔλεός σου.

Brentonand I will praise thee continually all the days of my life: for all the host of the heavens sings to thee, and thine is the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

GreekΚαὶ αἰνέσω σε διὰ παντὸς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς ζωῆς μου, ὅτι σὲ ὑμνεῖ πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ σοῦ ἐστὶν ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶναι. Ἀμήν