Chapter I

1 And it came to pass in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah that he called Manasseh his son. Now he was his only one. 2. And he called him into the presence of Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet, and into the presence of Josab the son of Isaiah, in order to deliver unto him the words of righteousness which the king himself had seen: 3. And of the eternal judgements and the torments of Gehenna and of the prince of this world, and of his angels, and his authorities and his powers, 4. And the words of the faith of the Beloved which he himself had seen in the fifteenth year of his reign during his illness. 5. And he delivered unto him the written words which Samnas the scribe had written and also those which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, had given to him, and also to the prophets, that they might write and store up with him what he himself had seen in the king's house regarding the judgement of the angels, and the destruction of this world, and regarding the garments of the saints and their going forth, and regarding their transformation and the persecution and ascension of the Beloved.

6 In the twentieth year of the reign of Hezekiah, Isaiah had seen the words of this prophecy and had delivered them to Josab his son. And whilst he (Hezekiah) gave commands, Josab the son of Isaiah standing by, 7. Isaiah said to Hezekiah the king, but not in the presence of Manasseh only did he say unto him: "As the Lord liveth, whose name hath not been sent into this world, and as the Beloved of my Lord [is His servant], and the Spirit which speaketh in me [is His angel], all these commands and these words will be made of none effect by Manasseh thy son, and through the agency of his hands I shall depart amid the torture of my body. 8. And Sammael [Satan] Malchira will serve Manasseh, and execute all his desire, and he will become a follower of Beliar rather than of me: 9. And many in Jerusalem and in Judaea he will cause to abandon the true faith, and Beliar will dwell in Manasseh, and by his hands I shall be sawn asunder." 10. And when Hezekiah heard these words he wept very bitterly, and rent his garments, and placed earth upon his head, and fell on his face. 11. And Isaiah said unto him: "The counsel of Sammael against Manasseh is consummated: nought will avail thee." 12. And on that day Hezekiah resolved in his heart to slay Manasseh his son. 13. And Isaiah said to Hezekiah: "[GOD] hath made of none effect thy design, and the purpose of thy heart will not be accomplished, for with this calling have I been called and I shall inherit the heritage of the Beloved."

Chapter II

1 And it came to pass after that Hezekiah died and Manasseh became king, that he did not remember the commands of Hezekiah his father but forgat them, and Sammael abode in Manasseh and clung fast to him. 2. And Manasseh forsook the service of the GOD of his father, and he served Satan and his angels and his powers. 3. And he turned aside the house of his father which had been before the face of Hezekiah (from) the words of wisdom and from the service of GOD. 4. And Manasseh turned aside his heart to serve Beliar; for the angel of lawlessness, who is the ruler of this world, is Beliar, whose name is Matanbuchus. And he delighted in Jerusalem because of Manasseh, and he made him strong in apostatizing (Israel) and in the lawlessness which was spread abroad in Jerusalem. 5. And witchcraft and magic increased, and divination and auguration, and fornication, (and adultery), and the persecution of the righteous by Manasseh and (Belachira, and) Tobia the Canaanite, and John of Anathoth, and by (Zadok) the chief of the works. 6. And the rest of the acts, behold they are written in the book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 7. And, when Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw the lawlessness which was being perpetrated in Jerusalem and the worship of Satan and his wantonness, he withdrew from Jerusalem and settled in Bethlehem of Judah. 8. And there also there was much lawlessness, and withdrawing from Bethlehem he settled on a mountain in a desert place. 9. And Micaiah the prophet, and the aged Ananias, and Joel and Habakkuk, and his son Josab, and many of the faithful who believed in the ascension into heaven, withdrew and settled on the mountain. 10. They were all clothed with garments of hair, and they were all prophets. And they had nothing with them, but were naked, and they all lamented with a great lamentation because of the going astray of Israel. 11. And these ate nothing save wild herbs which they gathered on the mountains, and having cooked them, they lived thereon together with Isaiah the prophet. And they spent two years of days on the mountains and hills. 12. And after this, whilst they were in the desert, there was a certain man in Samaria named Belchira, of the family of Zedekiah, the son of Chenaan, a false prophet, whose dwelling was in Bethlehem. Now Hezekiah the son of Chanani, who was the brother of his father, and in the days of Ahab, king of Israel, had been the teacher of the 400 prophets of Baal, had himself smitten and reproved Micaiah the son of Amada the prophet. 13. And he, Micaiah, had been reproved by Ahab and cast into prison. (And he was) with Zedekiah the prophet: they were with Ahaziah the son of Ahab, king in Samaria. 14. And Elijah the prophet of Tebon of Gilead was reproving Ahaziah and Samaria, and prophesied regarding Ahaziah that he should die on his bed of sickness, and that Samaria should be delivered into the hand of Leba Nasr because he had slain the prophets of GOD. 15. And when the false prophets, who were with Ahaziah the son of Ahab and their teacher Jalerjas of Mount Joel, had heard-- 16. Now he was a brother of Zedekiah-- when they had heard, they persuaded Ahaziah the king of Aguaron and (slew) Micaiah.

Chapter III

1 And Belchira recognized and saw the place of Isaiah and the prophets who were with him; for he dwelt in the region of Bethlehem, and was an adherent of Manasseh. And he prophesied falsely in Jerusalem, and many belonging to Jerusalem were confederate with him, and he was a Samaritan. 2. And it came to pass when Alagar Zagar, king of Assyria, had come and captured Samaria and taken the nine (and a half) tribes captive, and led them away to the mountains of the Medes and the rivers of Tazon; 3. This (Belchira), whilst still a youth, had escaped and come to Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, but he walked not in the ways of his father of Samaria; for he feared Hezekiah. 4. And he was found in the days of Hezekiah speaking words of lawlessness in Jerusalem. 5. And the servants of Hezekiah accused him, and he made his escape to the region of Bethlehem. And they persuaded ... 6. And Balchira accused Isaiah and the prophets who were with him, saying: "Isaiah and those who are with him prophesy against Jerusalem and against the cities of Judah that they shall be laid waste, and (against the children of Judah and) Benjamin also that they shall go into captivity, and also against thee, O Lord the king, that thou shalt go (bound) with hooks and iron chains:" 7. But they prophesy falsely against Israel and Judah. 8. And Isaiah himself hath said: "I see more than Moses the prophet." 9. But Moses said: "No man can see GOD and live"; and Isaiah hath said: "I have seen [the glory of] GOD and, behold, I live." 10. Know, therefore, O king, that he is lying. And Jerusalem also he hath called Sodom, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem he hath declared to be the people of Gomorrah. And he brought many accusations against Isaiah and the prophets before Manasseh. 11. But Beliar dwelt in the heart of Manasseh and in the heart of the princes of Judah and Benjamin and of the eunuchs and of the councillors of the king. 12. And the words of Belchira pleased him (exceedingly), and he sent and seized Isaiah.