THE SONG OF DAVID

An epic poem

By Torsten Schwanke

CANTO I

This is the book of David. Lord God

Have mercy, give me singing skills, very

Patiently will I sing, I will be fit

To be a servant of God. O how beautiful eyes

David had, he was handsome of face

And his bare skin was sunlit,

He had a pleasant countenance

And was about fifteen years old,

When he came before Samuel.

And Jehovah said unto the priest, Take the oil,

Come on, anoint him, for this is the one. -

Samuel the priest took the horn of oil

And came near unto David the shepherd, and anointed him

In the midst of the brethren. And the spirit

Of Jehovah, which is eternal, as it is said,

Was upon David from that day forward

And continued upon his soul. Then

Samuel went away to Ramah,

And David sang of the incarnate Word.

God said unto my Lord, Sit thou then

At my right hand, till I surely

Make thine enemies thy footstool

For thy feet. - Jehovah will stretch out the rod

Of power out of Sion. Alas,

God is in heaven, which he gave to angels,

But the earth to human churches.

Thou dost fear in the midst of thine enemies!

If thou muster thine army, thy people

Will willingly follow thee in the holy ornament.

The children shall be born unto thee

Like drops of dew in the dawn, look!

Jehovah has sworn by the ever-new Cross,

And it shall never repent him:

Thou shalt be a priest after the manner

of Melchisedec. - The Lord at thy right hand,

A stronghold for widow and for orphan,

Shall smite in the day of his wrath

Lings in the day of his wrath.

As raging waters of the righteous fountain

All the heathen shall be afflicted, he shall judge

And smite many, and bruise many a head,

And they shall write of the place of the skull!

My Master shall be by the way in the weathers

Drinking from the fountain of waters the long life

Forever, he will lift up the holy head.

From King Saul the spirit of the Lord did not depart,

Yet an evil spirit from the Lord

Came to King Saul in his mourning soul.

The great ones said, Our Lord command

The servants to seek out a man

Who can play well on his harp,

That he may bow the strings with his hand,

The evil spirit from his soul depart! -

Then Saul said one thing and not many,

Bring one who knows how to play his harp,

That it may be better with me,

Bring him to me, that he may sing me comfort and healing. -

Then said a young man unto the king, Behold,

I have seen the son of Jesse,

He cometh from Bethlehem, and is very fair,

Plays on the stringed instrument soft notes,

Ten strings, the gittit, and well the harp,

The flute in the morning, if I may say so;

Is virtuous and fights with strength and courage,

His mind is wise, his speech is good,

He plays the cymbal to the ringing song,

He dances with fine foot and sings very pure.

(Once he dines and drinks in Mahanaim.)

The Lord God of Judah is with him.

Ah Jehovah, how many enemies I have!

How terribly many are against me!

How many pour out mockery upon me

And say, He has no help from God. -

But thou, Jehovah, art my shield and my gate,

Are my glory, lift up my head.

I call and cry aloud with my voice

To Jehovah, O Sabaot! God of Israel!

Terrify them with your wrath and your fury!

Then he hears me from his holy rock.

I lay and slept, and awoke very early,

For Jehovah keepeth me day and night for ever.

Before many thousands I am not afraid,

Who lie down around me, long.

Up, Jehovah, help me! God! I am perishing!

You strike the cheek of all the enemies,

You smite their teeth. Turn back!

O Jehovah, help me, God! Immanuel!

Be over my head thy blessing. Amen.

Saul now sent messengers to Jesse,

Saying to the Bethlehemite, Look,

I want you to send David, your son,

Who is a shepherd in the fold,

Who is with the sheep. - Thus said the messenger.

And Jesse took a wineskin, loaves,

A kid of the goats, a she-ass,

And sent it unto King Saul by David.

And so David came to Saul

And ministered before him, and was accepted

By the king, who loved him well.

As David wrote down his psalms

Of the deer that early in the morning the hunter pursued,

Saul appointed the man to bear arms.

Saul sent a message after three days

To Jesse, saying to Davids‘s father,

Let thy son be a servant unto me,

For David hath found favour in mine eyes. -

As often as the evil spirit came from God

Upon the king, it was that David took

The harp, and played upon it with his hand,

That king Saul found relief,

And through the psalms he was made better.

But Saul held in his hand a knife......

O God's army Mahanaim!

Philistines encamped at Dammim

In Judah. King Saul came like a rock,

Together all the men of Israel.

There encamped in the oak ground the brethren,

Ready for battle against the Philistines;

Who stood beyond in the mountain regions,

On a mountain the Israelites

On this side, and between them was a valley.

And there stood forth a giant, upon the field,

And this was a Philistine man of Gath,

Goliath was about six cubits high.

With an iron helmet on his head the man,

He had on a coat of iron

Many thousand shekels of brass,

A throwing spear on his shoulder, on his legs

Iron rails. Thus he stood in space.

The shaft of the spear was like a weaver's tree,

The brass tip weighed six hundred pounds,

A bearer before him bore the shields red.

He stood there on a rock

And called thus to the host of Israel,

Why are ye come forth with the staves

And prepare yourselves for battle, to take us?

Am I not a Philistine and in the right

And ye are but servants of the king of the Jews?

Choose one of you with the staff,

Let him come down to Goliath.

If he be able to fight against me, and

He will slay me at this very hour,

Then we will be your servants.

(Then a stone came loose as if of its own accord.)

If I am victorious and slay him,

Then you shall be our servants and lament. -

And so the son of the Philistines cried out,

Of Israel this day I speak openly scorn,

I said, Ye shall give me a man,

We wrestle together for life

And death. - When Saul in his soul

Heard these words, and all Israel,

They were sore afraid with pale cheeks,

And blood running and fearful trembling.

Let Jehovah hear you in your distress,

Send help to thee, who always watches!

May the heaven of hosts protect you

And send thee good power out of Sion!

Remember thy brightness in the morning

And of thy waters crystal splendour.

May God restore your hopes

And bring all thy thoughts to a good end.

We will rejoice when he fulfils your plans

Because he has helped! In the name

Of our God we let the flags

Waving in the wind, golden lilies.

May Jehovah truly fulfil your forebodings,

For thy supplications have come to his ears!

I believe God will save the anointed one

From heaven, from the throne of his places.

Those rely on horse and chariot,

But we will give thanks to the name

Of our God Jehovah! Never do we complain,

And we stand firm, but they stagger

And have fallen and have fallen. In these days

Will freedom be around us. They fall ill,

But we are like unbent reeds.

Be Jehovah our King, our helper!

Jesse was in the house of Bethlehem

And David said, The king of Salem

Melchisedec came once with bread and wine,

So eternally shall there once be a priest.

My heart is broken, like a candle melting

I am, yet I sing to the King of Israel. -

We have honey here and we have butter,

Said the mother in promised Bethlehem.

Then I will ask, Lord, what is her name?

Then the shepherd sang his psalm to the Amen,

Jehovah, I trust in thee, a man on earth,

Thou wilt never let me be put to shame.

My God, in thee I trust indeed

From childhood, even from my mother's womb

I am thine, from my mother's womb

Thou didst draw me. I praise you forever!

David was the son of a family

In Bethlehem in Judah, a lily

And a rose full of sympathy.

Jesse had eight other sons

And was too old in Saul the king's day,

To go forth as a warrior to battle.

Three sons went with Saul into the field

To fight for Judah, bearing bow and arrow.

The firstborn was Eliab,

The second young man was Abinadab,

And Shammah of the elders the third;

And David was the youngest. That he should go

From Saul to Bethlehem from time to time,

The king gave him leave, and in the quiet time

He sang many a psalm from his heart:

When I tend my father's sheep,

Lord Jehovah, I am a young lamb myself

And thou my shepherd, my path's light. -

But the Philistine came in the morning

And evening and he stood there unconcealed,

For forty days he stood in wait

And would try the king of Israel.

Saith Jesse unto David, Take the cake,

Crunchy grains with you and these loaves

And run faster than a messenger from heaven

To thy brethren in the camp;

And this cheese shall satisfy the captain of the guard;

And see after thy brethren, if it go well

With them, whether in the tide of battle

God's almighty hand protect them,

And bring me from them a pledge. -

So David set out early in the morning

And cast all his cares

On God, and left the sheep to a shepherd,

And he gathered up the few that strayed;

He loaded the things and went thither,

As Jesse had commanded in

The little Bethlehem in Judah‘s ground.

And he came into the camp at that hour,

When the clouds flew from the sun;

And the whole host was gone forth

And had arrayed themselves for battle.

The war cry from the mountain to the ether resounded.

The children of Israel with the brethren,

They stood there against the Philistines.

Then young David left his baggage

Which he had carried, and went away

And left it with the guard of the troop.

And he hasted with the swiftness of the horse

And came thither, and asked his brethren,

And asked his brethren how they were. Stones

Are gathered there by the solid rock:

God indeed protects the children of Israel!

David spoke softly to his brothers and sisters,

Then came the mightiest of the Philistines,

Goliath of Gath, standing on the rock

And sneered aloud at the people of Israel,

And David heard his words.

Who heard the words were greatly afraid.

All my friends have become strangers to me,

I have become an abomination to them through thy works.

I no longer see the mountain of God in the north,

Trapped I lie in the districts.

My eye yearns daily from misery,

Jehovah! I call to thee, be mercy to me,

Thou art with thy spirit animating me,

I stretch out my hands to thee.

Will you one day perform miracles on the dead

And shall the dead rise

And they will rest at your heart

And sing thanks and see your face?

Deliver me from the torment of Immanuel,

And walk with me in the heavens. Amen.

Will they proclaim thy goodness in the grave

And praise thy faithfulness among the dead?

Will you be known, wonders in the mind,

In darkness and in the dawn?

In the land of forgetfulness,

Lord, will the sing of thy righteousness?

But you, Jehovah! Thou hearest my cries

And always my prayer in the morning time:

Why dost thou my soul's light cast out?

Why dost thou but hide thy face

From me, as in the mountains the jewels?

Alas, I am wretched and near death

From my youth on, and I suffer terror,

I almost despair!

Where then is thy comfort, thy rod and thy staff?

Thy wrath and thy fury are upon me, and fury

Destroys me and terrors without number.

Every day I am surrounded as by a flood,

Powers surround me now at all times.

You have alienated my friends and neighbours,

Alienated all dear and known friends;

But I cry out, Jehovah, to you;

You keep my relatives far from me.

At that time on the rock that was covered with water

Israel stood, the men of Israel

Raised their loud voices then,

Have ye not seen that man coming?

He cometh up, and mocketh the king

And Israel from that rocky throne.

Whoso slayeth him, the king shall make him rich

And will give him his daughter: Soft

And white as the snow and the dawn,

Like the rising of the sun of hosts

In the month of Easter, or in the month of May;

And his father's tabernacle shall he make

Free of burdens in the land of Israel. -

Then said David thus, My soul!

Ye men or proverbial branches

On the vine of God, what shall be given to him,

Who now ends the Philistine's life

And so turn away the reproach from Israel?

Who is the uncircumcised Philistine,

Who speaks scorn to my brothers and sisters,

To all the host of the living God

With a tongue full of venom and mockery? -

Then said the people unto him as before,

He mocks God's living army,

All the camps of Mahanaim

And those of mount Ephraim,

He who takes his life will be punished.

The king will give him this and that.

The king shall make the father's tabernacle free

And gives the man a daughter as beautiful as May:

We know not whether Merab, or Michel.

The voice of David was like the sound of a cymbal.

Offer Jehovah, heavenly ones of the sphere,

Bring grace, wisdom, strength and power!

Bring glory to Jehovah of this name

And worship Jehovah in holy splendour!

The voice of Jehovah soughs over seas

And roars with waters, thunders from the spheres!

The voice of Jehovah fills the vast ether,

The voice of Jehovah sings with beautiful sound;

He breaks the tall pine, the broad cedar,

He breaks the pine tree of Lebanon.

Then like a lamb Lebanon leaps

And like a young ram the Sirion!

The voice of Jehovah sparks like flames of fire,

The voice of Jehovah makes the desert tremble,

The deserts of Sin and Kadesh all together,

And knows how to give a way in the valley of salt.

The voice of Jehovah makes cypresses whirl;

In his temple all sing: Glory!

The voice of Jehovah can twirl the clouds;

Jehovah has a stony throne above the sea

And is a king in eternity

And gives bliss to souls!

When Eliab, the brother of David, heard him

With those men, it seemed

He was angry with David, that upright man,

And said, Why hast thou come hither?

To whom then hast thou left the sheep

There in the wilderness? Oh, I cannot believe it,

Thy presumption is known unto me

And the wickedness of thy heart; in this land

Hast thou come to see the battle! -

Then said David, What shall I confess?

What have I done? Let it be said

With all my shame, I only asked! -

Then the people answered him again,

He who delivers Israel from Goliath

Shall receive the blessing from the king of Israel! -

But when the many people along the way

Heard the words of David, they brought

This before the king to earn sympathy

From the king, who tore their tongues,

Broke their mouths, brought this before Saul;

And he sent for David.

And David came, the eyes coals of fire.

And David said unto Saul,

Thou shalt not be dismayed because of this:

Thy servant shall go, and shall indeed

Fight with the Philistine Goliat. -

And Saul said unto David, Thou canst not

Go into judgment with the Philistine

And fight against him that is of Gath, for thou

Art too young and small and weak to do so,

But he is a man of war from his youth on

And instructed in every virtue of battle. -

Then said David, King Saul, thy servant

Took care of his father's sheep

And when there came a lion or a bear

From the mountain or from the forest

And carried away a lamb from my flock,

I ran after him on this wide earth,

Rescued the lamb from its jaws. -

Then David said again to Saul,

I took him by the beard, and slew him.

Thus hath thy servant and thy shepherd in trouble

Slain the lion and the bear

And the Philistine in these days,

The uncircumcised shall likewise be done;

O by the voice in burning thorns;

For he hath mocked the host of the living God,

God's army, therefore I will defeat him! -

And David said, God Jehovah will save me

From the Philistine in the rocky places,

Because he saved me from the lion and the bear.

And turned the sea red with blood! -

And King Saul said thus unto David,:

Go in peace, Jehovah is with you. -

I will praise Jehovah with my heart,

I will declare thy works, all the many deeds.

In the Lord I will rejoice and I will jest,

Playing the melody of the Master's name.

When all my enemies draw back,

Then they stumble and perish before thee.

Thou art enthroned righteous in thy heavenly realms

And thou art a faithful judge, an advocate for me.

The wicked thou wilt rebuke and destroy

And blot out their names for ever.

Thou wilt judge the heathen and the enemies

And their place, the city, will never be remembered.

By God and his dear Servant,

Jehovah sitteth upon his throne for ever,

He will judge the nations with justice,

His righteousness shall follow his justice.

The oppressed shall see Jehovah,

The wretched and poor and afflicted;

Who know thy name and trust in thee,

You help him even in the prison.

Jehovah sings, who dwells in Sion,

He sweetly proclaims his deeds to every nation,

Who knows of Golgotha and knows of Dion,

Crying souls shall rest with him.

Show me favour, Jehovah, see my misery,

Who lifted me out of the gates of death,

I will praise thee, thou art my soul‘s soul,

To the daughter of Sion I will praise thee.

The heathen have sunk into the grave,

They have gone into their own nets;

My God is judge, and he holds the rod;

They are entangled in their own doings.

Deliver me from chastisement, Immanuel,

And walk with me in the heavens. Amen.

The wicked shall go to the dead,

Jehovah will not forget the wretched,

The nations not, nor the poor messengers,

He fulfil the meek‘s hope unmeasured.

Arise, my Lord, resist the mockery

And judge them with thy face,

Put the fear of God in them, beloved God,

Mortals they are, and they shall not stand.

Deliver me from torment, Immanuel,

And walk with me in the heavens. Amen.

Behold the pure beauty of Israel,

Hold erect on the white rock,

Like the sound of water is the sweet voice

And like the manna of Mahanaim,

Her body is like the bread of heaven,

White as snow, indeed her blood like the dawn!

And David took on the helmet of salvation

And put on the armour of faith. From the man

King Saul this was given to him

And David girded on the sword alive.

But in the armour he laboured much

And all in vain, and it was to heavy for him;

But with it he could not escape,

He had not yet tried;

And David said thus unto Saul,

I cannot go with it. - And he said then,

I am not used to it. The shepherd's crook

I am used to. - So David put it down.

Then he took his staff in his hand

And chose for himself five stones,

Took them from the brook and put them in his pocket,

Which was his quiver. My hands I wash

In innocence in this narrow river.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent!

Then he chose as stones a jasper,

Stone tongue from the genus Odontaspis,

The sardius, favourite stone of God's handmaid,

Then he took a greenish emerald,

Last, a small peridot.

Now Jehovah help me, Lord of hosts! -

He left the beryls on the ground

And took in his hand the little slingshot,

He took leave of his own brothers and sisters

And went to meet the Goliath of the Philistines.

The Philistine drew nearer and nearer

To David, and he grew fierce and fiercer,

A strong youth bore the shield before him.

O Jehovah, Lord of all the host of heaven,

Help me in this battle, in this war,

Give victory to thy servant and to peace! -

Now when Goliath the Philistine saw

David, did he despise the youth,

Sun-coloured, blood-young, beautiful.

And David came with a praying sound.

And the Philistine's mouth watered,

What thinkest thou that I am a cowardly dog?

That thou shouldest come to Goliath with a rod? -

O Jehovah, help me, for I am in terror! -

And the Philistine said a curse

To David by gis god and his book

And said unto David, Come hither unto me,

What thinkest thou, good child, what will I give thee?

I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air

And to the beasts of the field, the multitude. -

But David cried out, Deliver me from death,

My God, Lord Jehovah, Lord of hosts! -

And David said unto the Philistine,

Thou comest at me with a lance

And with the sharp sword and with the spear.

But now I come wrapped in a fleece

In the name of Jehovah, Lord of hosts,

Saviour on the blood of death,

Saviour, stronghold and faithful rock,

God of all the camps of Israel!

Today Jehovah will surely give you into my hand!

I will hold the stones in my hand,

That I may slay thee and cut off thy head,

That thy dead body may gather dust,

The corpses of all the Philistines now,

Who in their scorn and mockery have taken vengeance,

To the birds of the air and the foxes of the earth!

So let all the world know today,

That God is with Israel as a hero.

So that all mankind may become aware,

My Jehovah does not want to help by the sword:

My Jehovah wants to be a peaceful help

And therefore gave into my hand the stone;

The battle is Jehovah's and life eternal

And he will give you into our hands. -

So Goliath went and came

Towards David, who cried out God's name.

And David now ran with haste with the blessing

From the battle lines towards that man.

He cried out, Let me not seek the wind! -

He put his hand into his shepherd's pocket

And took from it the little stone

And hurled it fast, and it smote,

Hit the Philistine in the forehead, the stone

Hit him in the forehead and he fell to the ground,

To the earth dead, on his face!

And David sang, Lord Jehovah, you alone

Are my salvation and my fortress and my stone!

CANTO II

O God, let me sing now the poem

Of David, give me patience and spirit;

Perfect was the child of Bethlehem;

That the psalmist himself may instruct me

And lead me pleasantly to the goal,

I have long desired, and it is said,

The Lord grant my prayers. Then I will rest.

O Muse of Sion, sing of David's deeds.

In Bethlehem David was once born,

Where Jesse built a little house

And dwelt with his beloved chosen,

With Mary in the house, his bride.

On seven other children lost in dreams

Mary looked upon them in the evening,

But in the morning David was the eighth,

When she awoke from a sweet dream.

And when he was young he went into the pasture

And tended the sheep and the lambs

And sang many a psalm in his sorrow,

Around his soul was a gentle twilight.

Then the heath blossomed on the rocky slope

And in the firmament the starry skies

Appeared to him like the letters of the Hebrews.

God talked with David in the weather.

At that time there came to Samuel the priest

The word of Jehovah, and he spake with power,

Pour thou the royal oil

Upon a son of Jesse; he watcheth

In Bethlehem; there is a cave,

In which I will work a miracle,

I will work a miracle. But go thither

And always keep my word in your mind.

And Samuel came to the little town

And had with him for sacrifice a heifer,

That he might invite Jesse.

And there came to him

The elders and spoke this word,

Does your coming mean sweet rest for us? -

Said Samuel, I come with the calf

And more important, with Jehovah's ointment.

There sat Mary and Jesse,

And in order, the seven beautiful sons.

The priest looked at them, and thought, Behold,

I mean that I crown Eliab now. -

But Jehovah said, I never look

At what a man looks, at the beautiful;

I look at the spirit of the heart.

God is well pleased with a man of sorrows.

Abinadab, thou too art not chosen,

Shammah, thou too shalt not be king. -

The sons of Jesse are already numbered,

To all seven Jehovah said, No,

I have not wedded myself to them.

Are these all the boys? -

There is a young man with our sheep in the pasture,

Said Mary with a silent sorrow.

Said Samuel, Send, then, the shepherd

To this house, the swift steps take.

We will stand still till he come.

We will pray when Jehovah is angry,

Singing a song of thanksgiving when he gives comfort. -

Where David just tunes his harp

To wake gently the dawning

Of day, a messenger came to him.

Peace be with thee! Come to the tabernacle

In Bethlehem, a priest waits there. -

And David said, If my soul were to suffer,

Then in Jehovah comfort would be near.

So be it. - And they turned their steps

To the house of Jesse. And David saw

The mother Mary standing in the gate

And looking for the most beloved child.

And Samuel looked upon David,

And Jehovah said, This is he, anoint him unto me. -

And Samuel, the chosen man,

Took now the horn of oil, richly decked with ornament,

And poured out the oil upon David, and then

Said Samuel, Jehovah be with thee

And let his spirit abide after this anointing bath

Upon thee and in thee abide the grace of God.

You shall be a king, you young shepherd,

So it is promised, so it is prophesied.

Obtain for yourself the city that is yours,

Receive the consolation of love after sorrow, -

Said Samuel, who now led the way

To Ramah. But David's soul grew wide,

His soul sang his thanks to God,

O, thy Love is a happy thought! -

At that time the king of the Jews was Saul,

Who was troubled with the evil spirit

Of God, so sometimes his mouth foamed,

The darkness tore at his soul.

There came a servant on a horse

And said, My king Saul, Jehovah

Assigns to you a comforter who will come:

David the harpist and the shepherd.

Then Saul sent messengers for the boy,

That he might come to the royal court.

God, do even the dead sing your praises?

David recently began a new verse.

And silence was commanded in the king's court,

For Saul was weary. So a maid went,

To deck the king's daughter Michal fair,

She was gifted with grace in all things.

And David came over from Bethlehem

And held in his hand the stringed instrument

And sang to himself a song

Of beautiful youth and of the goal of faith

Of blessed life for evermore. Much rather

He would be in the house of Jehovah now,

Happiness is in eternity.

But David was patient in suffering.

He sat down on a chair and sang,

The king listened to him from his throne

To the strings of sweet song,

There was already a comfort to the afflicted,

Who was terribly afraid in his soul.

I love you as my own son,

I love thee as I love my Jonathan, -

Saul said, as David described the glory.

I will make thee my armourbearer,

But now I will be glad with thee.

A good meat have I of my hunter,

Delicious bread and of the grapes old wine. -

But the accuser drew near to the king

And Saul began again to cry terribly,

He became fierce and he became rough.

And David sang unto God a song of praise.

Then the king became gentle and quiet again

And fell asleep on his bed.

And David sang, May God's will be done,

Jehovah forgive me my trespasses alone. -

David was as tense as a slingshot,

And behold, Michal came in adorned

And with a sweet voice spoke to David,

Thee I know not yet, who art thou? -

And David had sunshine on his face

And was shaped like a young tree

And his eyes were honey-light

And on his cheeks yet no down blossomed,

Melodious his sweet voice speaks

And is like a song of praise in the silent room,

Beautiful are you, daughter of the king, fair and fine,

I wish thou wouldst be my girl-friend.

In those days Saul went to war

And with the king was a great host,

Philistines gathered to gain victory

In battle. But who

Has Jehovah's mercy now? Messenger, fly,

While the warriors surge like the sea,

And lead God's might Mahanaim

To the camp of Israel, Efes-dammim.

Then the Philistines had indeed

Set themselves up on a throne of rock,

Then came the insolent giant Goliath,

Spake scorn to Israel and to his king,

Then the man of Gath mocked,

The rock shall be red, but not with poppies!

Why will Israel prepare for battle?

But I will boast of my victory!

If you are able to beat the Philistine army,

We will be your king's servants;

Or else ye shall again mourn in bondage,

When Israel is enslaved,- said the wicked one.

Give me but one man in these days

To the deciding battle, and my right hand

Shall slay him here on this rock. -

Then all the men of Israel trembled.

And David was in the pasture at that time

And was tending the sheep as a shepherd.

In Bethlehem there was a weeping willow tree

And myrtle was fragrant on the vine,

Efrata was the name of the place, where in sorrow

Jacob led the sweet-beloved Rachel

By his hand, and she bore a child:

To Benoni, the unfortunate child, gave birth Rahel.

So she called the child, but Jacob said so,

Benjamin, child of good fortune. Rachel's memorial stone

Still stood there in Efrata, where

Now Bethlehem began on the myrtle meadow

And where the hind fled from the hunter,

Wine grew on hills in the sun,

The sheep grazed on green hills,

Where turtledoves beat their wings.

O Judah, chosen is your realm,

The angels go in and out of thee, -

David sang sweetly to the strings

And went back to his father's house,

Where Mary with her image

Of the completion of her temple building

Dreamed. And Jesse came from the forest

And said softly, I am too old for war.

Eight sons have I to fight,

To help the king of Israel in trouble.

If Shammah and Abinadab will but fight

And Eliab, then the enemies find death.

Consider that the starry worlds roll

At the word of Sabaot alone,

So let prayers fly to Jehovah

And Israel shall prevail in the battle.

And David went into the camp

And left the sheep by the wilderness side,

But the king, with fear in his mind,

Promised his daughter's hand to the victor.

And David came to Saul, and said,

I am come a deliverer into the land;

May Eliab despair, my brethren,

But I will fight against the Philistine.

Then said King Saul, leaning unto David,

To the victor will I give my daughter,

But I see thee in thy slender youth

And I fear in my heart for thy life,

For Goliath is skilled in arms

And the firm mountains tremble

Before his giant step, in the garb of brass

The conqueror came to our land.

And David said, Though I be but of the earth,

I have often fought with lions and with bears,

When they have taken from me one of the flock.

But Goliath mocked the Lord of the spheres,

So that I shall slay him in anger.

Enemies go about, giving birth to curses,

And make their rounds every night

And bark as to the moon young dogs.

Saul said, Take my armour all of brass

And go gloriously into battle as a hero,

Now gird thee with the gold of the sword

And beseech the Lord in the starry firmament,

That he may give thee courage and strength in thy heart,

To overcome this evil world. -

The armour was terrible to behold,

But David said, I cannot walk in it.

He put off the armour with the brazen glow

And went to a narrow brook

And took his shepherd's bag of fine linen

And from that stream he lifted flat

Four smooth stones, a fifth stone.

All at once the dreamer David woke up,

Sang a psalm to the God of Israel,

Thou my salvation, my fortress and my rock!

So he went with the spar of rock

In his shepherd's bag to the enemy.

For forty days Goliath had been mocking.

And the whole camp of Judah wept

For fear and for shame. He of Gath

Began to laugh, Whether the young man comes

To me like a fox with a stick

And a staff, to cast me in the sand? -

David said to himself, I am quiet

And wait upon my God in trouble.

Then he took a stone and a slingshot,

But the smooth stone was the red of the morning,

And put it in, and said, The will of my God

Be done , the will of my God Sabaot. -

And he shot the stone, and heard the whistle of it,

And smote the giant in the midst of the forehead.

Then the giant fell on his face

And the Philistine Goliat was dead!

So David overcame him in judgment

With a smooth stone as morning red.

The shepherd had only the stones, not

A golden sword in his hands.

So he went, or else shepherd in the pasture,

And drew the enemy's sword from its sheath.

Then he cut off the head of Goliath, and gave

Him a second death; as never before done,

He gave his enemy to the grave.

The men of Israel came to the gate

Of Ekron, and on the staff

David sang before, and Israel was choir,

The host of Mahanaim

Was victorious unto the place of Shaaraim! -

And Israel went down to Gath

And pitched at Ekron's gate.

And David took the head of Goliath

And brought it to the capital of all the earth:

Jerusalem! And his armoury

He put it in his tent as a trophy.

And Abner brought David into the city

To King Saul, who was ill as usual.

In his faintness and in his fear

King Saul spoke this word to David,

Who art thou, whose son, that art not afraid

To fight? - David sat with the king there

And sighed, My soul that sang

Is the child of God! I am of the place

Of Efrata, I was born in Bethlehem,

That I may never be ashamed of my parents:

I am the son of Jesse, the servant

Of the king; my mother is Mary,

Who is of a worthy generation.

I feed the lamb near Bethlehem

And rightly call myself a psalm-singer.

And I am of the seed of Judah.

God drew me from my mother's womb and led me

And brought me hither; Jehovah is my shepherd.

When David no longer spoke to the king's pain

The gentle words of comfort,

David and the king's son met. In the ore

Of the people was a gold stone Jonathan.

And there went over lovingly the heart

Of the king's child to the heart of David. O Swan

Of Jordan, David, who wrote the Psalms!

Young Jonathan loved you!

And David dwelt now in the palace

Of King Saul, and came no more back

To his father's house, which

Was freed and blessed with happiness.

And Jonathan spake this word, Thou art fit

To me as the eyelid to the moment,

As my heart is to me, as my mouth is to my tongue.

Come, let us make a covenant! -

And Jonathan stripped the robe from his body

And gave it to David, linen white as the waves,

And gave him the golden sword, and said, Win

Victory over all enemies. -

And he gave him a girdle, which a woman

Would gladly suffer, and the bow.

All these things gave to David gladly

The soul of Jonathan in brotherly love.

With armour and sword, with bow and arrow

The young man David waged the wars

Of the Lord Jehovah, in the waves of battle

He was a rock and a pledge of victory.

He went into the land of the Philistines

And sang, God grant that I may not be defeated. -

Saul set David over great multitudes

That he might destroy them that hate Jehovah.

And David returned from his victory

And women from the cities of Israel

Received him; but the king held his peace.

The women in garments white as enamel

Sang a song, Jehovah is the warrior,

He is a god-hero and a solid rock. -

They went with singing and ringing,

With rejoicing for the king's long silence.

With timpani and with cymbals, old violins

And strings the women sang thus

And danced a roundelay,

Saul slew a thousand in the horror,

But David slew ten thousand! - Out of the silence

Saul arose, he was fierce to behold:

They sang to David more in glory,

I fear soon my kingship is his. -

And Saul looked askance on David from that day

And the evil spirit came upon him

And he went into a rage,

I have a boil on me, a lion is tearing at me. -

And David sang to the harp a lamentation

And with the melody he instructed

Saul. And David sat on a fleece

And King Saul held in his hand the spear

And pulls out the spear and wanted to spear David

Against the wall. But David avoided him,

Twice he avoided him skillfully. And there

The tears of mourning were poured out on him:

What have I done? I have sat on fleeces,

I have sat on fleeces and sung lovingly. -

The king, with the accuser by his side,

Said thus to David, Thou my armourbearer,

I have made thee chief of men,

Thou hast done right in all thy doings,

Thy good harp knows how to banish from me

The evil spirit, lets my soul rest. -

While David's tears were still flowing,

The king of the Jews thought to himself, Well,

How the beautiful women sang his praises? -

And Saul began to be afraid of David.

But Israel and Judah loved very much

David, that warrior with the harp,

For he went out and came in before them,

Whom God's enemies never subdued.

His soul surged like the sea,

He girded himself gloriously with a sharp sword,

He girded himself gloriously like a hero

And sang the psalms under the firmament of heaven.

King Saul spoke thus to David just now,

Behold, my first daughter Merab,

I will give her to you as a trusted wife;

Do what Jehovah wants you to do,

Thou shalt weave thyself in the net of battles. -

Thus said the king, for he thought silently,

The youth shall lose his life

And die in fighting, and die not of kisses. -

And David's speech flowed from his lip

Before Saul, who rested on the king's throne,

Who am I? And what is my family,

That thou shouldest choose me thy son in law?

My life is like seed on the tip of a spike,

But Merab flourisheth as the poppy in May. -

And David's eyes were troubled,

But secretly the young man preferred Michal.

And Merab had dew in her eyes

And had sorrow in her soul.

The king gave the little daughter to wife

To Adriel, the man from Mehola,

For he said unto the damsel, Behold,

The treasure's chosen jewel

You are of mine and I give you to the world. -

But Michal loved David as a hero.

And Michal spake with a sweet voice,

The golden hair was like a veil,

My father, cease from thy wrath,

Grant me the peace of love,

That I may not glow with lust,

I will be dear to David's lyre

And he shall be my singing man, -

Michal said in the high royal hall.

And David said, I am a poor man,

How shall I be the king's son-in-law?

And hold Michal in my arms then

As my strings before the king's throne? -

But the great ones told David

The bride-price, labour for the sweet reward,

By Michal paid, that were a hundred

Foreskins. But David was astonished.

Foreskins of the Philistines are required

From Saul alone, that they might slay David.

But because David's heart was set on Michal,

As often his lips to the flutes,

So he went with his men, trembling

And trembled with fear in the morning light,

And has done it! And gave the prize to the bride,

Then Michal was entrusted to David.

When Saul saw and perceived that the blessing

Of the Lord Jehovah was upon David

And that he knew how to make Michal excited

And she loved him dearly evidently

And David loved Michal wildly,

Then Saul feared still more, Danger

Has David become to me, I am afraid. -

He became his enemy for all his lifetime.

As often as the princes went into battle,

The Philistines against Judah,

David won the victory, who in the waves of war

Still with his soul composed psalms.

Praise has flown before him,

That he had broken the ranks of the enemies.

But Saul's soul was filled with envy,

He wished the beloved David harm.

And Saul spake unto Jonathan,

I will kill this young man David. -

Then a plan was hatched in the king's son.

He came to David, who had made himself new flutes

Of boxwood. Friend, I warn you,

Thou art surrounded by danger and trouble,

Saul wants to kill you! Beware in the morning,

Hide thyself, my friend, and stay hidden!

Thou shalt see me set up with the king

From the hiding place and I will speak

With my father in the wide field

About thee. I will not break thy heart,

Thou shalt hear it all, but the world

Is evil with the envious surfaces. -

And David trembled in his soul,

He hid himself quickly in a rocky cave.

To the king the soul of the child spoke,

To Saul thus spoke the soul of Jonathan,

Let no sin come upon thee,

For David is devoted to thee,

That I may not find thee stained with blood

After the completion of the dark plan! -

Then Saul heard the voice of his heir

And said, O Jehovah! David shall not die! -

And Jonathan went to David

And said unto him softly every word

And said to the hidden one, I have been

An intercessor unto thee in the place

Where I stood with my father in mind

As well in spirit, I have spoken there

For thee and to the king came the breath. -

And David served Saul as before.

At that time the Philistines arose,

But David went out and overcame

And came back victorious from the course.

And the evil spirit came into the land

To King Saul, who at the pommel of the sword

Laid his trembling, pale hand,

It did not help, and he became fearful and anxious.

He sat in his house and called the singer.

And David played the Gittite before him,

Jehovah's voice is like mountain quakes,

Is like the sound of the water at Kittim,

Stirs the hinds with new life,

Is like the honey of Mahanaim

And rushes like the promised stream of the vines,

The forests tremble on Lebanon,

The stars shine on Sirion.

Thus sang the soul of David on the fleece,

He stroked the strings softly with his hand.

But King Saul held in his hand the spear

To spear David against the wall of the room,

He hurled the spear, he would this,

To send David into the shadowy land

That he might sing his psalms to the dead.

David escaped. Saul sent for the messenger.

Saul sent messengers to David's tent,

That they might watch it all night,

That they might kill him in the morning. Please, -

Said Michal, David's wife, to the honey-man,

Believe me, I hear the footsteps of death. -

The tears flow from Michal's eyes:

Wilt thou not save thyself in these hours,

Tomorrow thou shalt lie down with the dead.

So flee from the window at the right side! -

She let him down softly, and David vanished.

Silent night lay dark upon the expanse.

And Michal beckoned him with her hand,

Then she blew fire on a log

And took the idol unblinking,

It was of a stone of nature

And had a human figure.

Then she put the idol to bed,

Then she took a braid of goat's hair

And hung it on the head with a chain

And covered it all with a rare

Linen cloth, so that in this place

The nightly invading hosts of the king

Would think to behold David in his sleep.

So thought Michal, the epitome of women.

When the king's messengers came in the night,

They thought David was sick,

And they went away. And Michal, like a lily

So pale, she sang praise and thanksgiving to Jehovah.

When the king's ears heard this,

That David lay in the bed, he drank a cup of wine,

He drank a cup of wine, and said to the messenger,

Fetch David to me and bring him to the dead!

Then the king's messengers entered wildly

Into David's tabernacle, and saw in the place

With goat's hair only the graven image

In the linen robe lying in the bed;

Then they told it Saul. The king scolded,

How then said my daughter, I saved

The king's enemy, let him escape!?

O daughter Michal, are you out of your mind?

Thou hast the king of Israel as father

And let his worst enemy escape! -

But Michal was gently moved by the Spirit,

To speak to Saul, By the true sign,

He is flown away like a dove! -

She had gleams in her eye-ponds:

Let me go into the morning light,

Said David, lest otherwise I slay thee! -

And David fled, and came to Samuel

To Ramah, where they talked together,

The old priest and the young soul,

We are all cast out of Eden!

Though Saul be king of Israel,

By his house the vines flourish,

But he has driven me out unjustly,

I had to leave Michal, my beloved.

They spoke these words in Naioth.

Then the king sent his messengers,

To seize David in the morning glow

And to send him into the land of the dead.

But David sang the praise of Sabaot

In his purple mantle, golden and red.

But the messengers saw holy praying

Samuel and multitudes of prophets.

And the Spirit of God came upon

The king's messengers, and they were raptured.

They spoke of the resurrection of the dead

And of eternity and happiness,

Of a miracle of multiplication of the loaves,

Of wine as the blood of Jehovah. In rapture

Are their souls, in rapture

Floated and glistened with tongues of fire!

When King Saul heard of the delights

Of the messengers, the king himself went down

And came to the great well in Sechu

And asked there at his shepherd's staff,

Where are Samuel and David now? - Suns

Rejoiced these names. Answer gave

A child of men,: In Ramah, in Naioth.

They praise aloud Jehovah Sabaot! -

And there Saul went down the road to Naioth

In Ramah, and the spirit came upon him

And the rapture from the Lord Sabaot,

Enraptured, the king was seen to go on

To Naioth, where he in the morning light

Arrived and sank down and said, I serve

Jehovah! - Naked the king was seen praying,

And men said, Is Saul also among the prophets?

And David fled before the king out of Naioth

And threw on his cloak of saffiano.

The white evening star in the evening glow

Shone sweetly on his path.

The soul was grieved unto death.

And David spake unto Jonathan,

What have I done? In what have I sinned,

That king Saul should deny me his friendship?

Thy father seeketh after my life? -

And Jonathan spake unto David's soul,

Who was troubled, whose sight was dim,

My dear David, this may be far from me,

Thou shalt not die. I have always hearkened

To every word that king Saul spake in peace

And in excitement has spoken and is speaking

And will speak, and I will not keep it from thee.

My father does not do great things or small things

And would not make it known to me, his son.

Why then should he hide the plan for thee? -

Then the speech of David flowed from his mouth,

The king would hide the plan for me

From thee, because thou for my heart's desire,

With thy sweet heart thou art devoted to me.

Saul would not grieve Jonathan.

Verily, as Jehovah liveth, as verily

Thou livest, my love: there is but One step

Between death and me! - And David was

Afflicted, suffering terror in his soul,

Until that day when it shall be revealed,

The grace of God is seen in the light

With the Son of Man, He and his angels

Shall appear. Jonathan said, I will do it,

What thou desirest, let thy heart be at rest.

And David said, It is the new moon tomorrow,

I should sit at table with the king,

At the table. Let me be hid

In the field, and if the night also is fresh,

Till the third day‘s evening.

May Sabaot take care of me, lest

I shall be taken like a fish to die. -

Thus said David to the king's heir.

Just say that I have gone

To Bethlehem, for there is a feast every year,

A feast of sacrifice. When Saul in his mind

Speaks to you thus, This is good; so

My heart was troubled for nothing.

But if he be angry, it shall be known,

That evil is determined in the king's mind. -

Thus said David to his beloved.

Now show mercy to thy servant,

Thou hast made a covenant in Jehovah

With thy servant, that is true and right.

But if evil came out of my mouth

And if I have brought iniquity upon myself,

Slay thy servant and destroy me.

Then I will sing no more.

What wilt thou bring me to thy father? -

Said Jonathan unto David, Far be it from me,

Lest I speak every word to thee,

That I hear from my father, gladly

Do I have mercy every day. -

In his heart was the light of the morning star

And David spake with a spirit of lamentation,

Who will tell me what is pleasing to King Saul? -

Said Jonathan, We will go into the field.

And Jonathan said unto David by the rock,

Which stood solitary in a wide field,

As the Lord lives, the God of Israel,

Jehovah Sabaot from the firmament of heaven!

Lest my heart melt like a candle,

I will tell thee what shall please King Saul,

Whether it be evil, or rather good,

By all the true love of my heart!

But thou may do the mercy

Of Jehovah upon me as long as I live;

And when I die after enduring sorrow,

With mercy and grace hovering

Thou blessedly over my head far on.

Oh that Jehovah would give thy enemies

Into thy hands at last, man by man! -

Spokel Jonathan then with David.

So swear to me by thy true love,

I love thee as my own heart:

When tomorrow around the moon a shadow dims,

The moon's silver hides in the shadow's ore,

Then thou wilt be missed, for there will remain

Your table empty. I know of pain,

I must know of pain with my heart,

On the third day you will be missed.

Come to the place where you hid yourself

In the day of action, and sit by the stone.

But I will walk in the morning

And with me is the boy, that little one,

With bow and arrow. Worry not

And don't be sad, darling, if I cry.

Three arrows I will shoot, not very many,

As if I am shooting well at the target.

I will then send the little boy

And say to him, Go, seek the arrows.

You will succeed in every undertaking,

When I speak to the boy in a little while,

There are the arrows. But trouble will press,

If I hasten to speak to the lad,

Here are the arrows. He whom I serve,

Jehovah thus saith unto thee, Thou shalt flee.

Go, hide thyself in that place,

There are many stones for thy protection.

For every sweetly spoken word

From thee to me and from me to thee is

A witness of the deity of Israel,

A refuge, a comfort when I weep:

Jehovah! - said Jonathan to David.

And David sang, God bless our way!

He hid himself in the field

And there he played the harp very softly.

When the new moon stood in the firmament,

A black veil before the starry ice,

In the king's house was set

The table of festivity for drink and food.

Then the king sat down, known to all

On his seat, his back to the wall.

And opposite Saul sat Jonathan,

Abner the captain of the host sat on the right side.

They had sweet wine from Canaan

And manna there. It was now the second day

Of the feast. In his madness

Saul said, Men, men, where is the son of Jesse?

Where is the son of Jesse? -

And Michal sighed deeply for her beloved.

Then said Jonathan, He besought me greatly,

That I would let him go to Bethlehem,

For this day the sacrifice is made there

Of his family, Am I pleasant

In thy sight with the sea of tears,

Let me go, though I be but clay,

The breath within me sighs for my pious ones.

So he has not come to the king's table. -

Then anger flared up in King Saul,

You son of a mother without honour!

I know well that thou hast chosen David,

Even if he were the king's enemy,

To you and to the mother who bore you,

To shame! For as long as on the sea

And on the earth David hath glory,

Thou shalt not endure, nor thy kingship.

So send and fetch me David,

He is a child of death! I exhort

My child, that thou do what I command. -

Then said Jonathan to his father,

His eyes suddenly like coals of fire,

Why should he die? What hath he done? -

And Saul shot his spear into the wood,

The death of the king's servant is decreed!

Then said Jonathan his father,

Why then shall thy servant David die?

What is he to die for? What has he done? -

Then was the soul of the king's heir

Enraged, and was full of wrath, and madness:

As much as sweet meat wooed him,

He eats nothing on the day after the new moon.

The lack of moonlight added to his grief.

For his soul was bowed down in mourning

For David, and what Saul had done to him.

But early in the morning, after the morning shower

Of the bath, Jonathan the youth went out

Into the field. There an old farmer

Walked by on the sown earth.

The morning was already awakened and sweet

And David stood hid by a rock.

By Jonathan's side went that boy

With bow and arrow, so that day.

Find me the arrow that I have shot, -

Said Jonathan, his voice sounding like a lament,

Here lies the arrow! - That was secret gift

And for David an answer to the question,

What now the king would do to him.

O woe, where shall my soul now rest? -

So David sighed softly, weary of his existence.

Then Jonathan sent the little boy

With bow and arrow back into the city.

The lovers who have a secret,

As Jehovah has one with Judah,

They want to feast on their reunion.

Jonathan sought David by the stones

And Jonathan and David‘s soul weep.

And David fell with his face

To the earth, which he kissed thrice.

Then upon Jonathan was his sight,

O that thy heart knew of my love!

I myself do not count my tears!

O that I may not miss by the Godhead

Each tear in the pitcher counted,

Who inspires me with sadness! -

And Jonathan said thus, Go in peace,

Jehovah has heard our vow,

Descendants for evermore

And child and child's children born:

Every word. - Thereupon the souls parted.

And David was lost in his dream

Thither the way, he was strangely dull,

And Jonathan went again into the city.

When David, wet with the dew of tears,

Came to the priest, Ahimelech by name,

He looked upon the man, and was amazed.

And sowed the seed of the word,

How came to me the soul that was wounded? -

Then the lily trembled upon the vine

And asked him, Why comest thou alone?

Will no man be with thy soul? -

100

And David said unto that priest,

The king hath commanded me

And said unto me, Let no man come nigh thee,

Thou shalt fetch me the secret thing.

But let no man know what hath happened,

And therefore didst thou walk upon coals of fire.

I sent my men to the place.

The king spoke the word mysteriously.

101

Have thou now something in thy hand, like bread,

That thou mayest put into my hands? -

The priest in the service of Sabaot

But spake thus, By my own life,

I have no ordinary bread to live by it,

I have only manna and the juice of the vine.

This I may entrust only to men,

Who abstain from the enjoyment of women. -

102

David said to the priest, Surely, women,

They have long been denied us.

But I will also trust you with my heart,

I rather held a beloved than a sword.

But nothing purer is to be looked upon,

Than those people are in the body. Honoured be

Samuel and his mother Hannah! -

Then the priest gave David some of the manna.

103

He gave him shewbread from the altar,

Which were ordinarily for the priests only,

Only because Ahimelech was merciful

And because the Lord Jehovah is not angry,

When one does good, for apparently

Desired David, who takes the manna,

For this consecrated bread of heaven

More than for a woman in the dawn.

104

And David said to the priest now,

Is here with thee a spear, perhaps a sword? -

The sword with which thou woundest Goliath

To death in the gauging ground, is as a value

Wrapped in a mantle laid down,

Is it honoured of thee,

Then take it, for it may one day guard thy life. -

No better is there, you may give this to me.

105

And David fled from Saul that day

And came to Achish, who was a king.

And they said, Is not the tale of David told?

Of whom women sang in song,

The king gave defeat to thousands,

And ten thousand David made manifest? -

And David took the words to heart

And was afraid, and knew not how to jest.

106

He acted as if he were overcome with madness,

King Achish stood there with the reed,

And David raged like an ocean

In their hands, crashing against the gate,

While the great ones of Gath saw it all,

The drool flowed in his beard's pile.

Then Achish said in the fragrance of myrrh

To his great ones, Behold, the man is mad.

107

Why did you bring him to me?

Mad is he! Look, in the sky above

Is a strange starless night.

I have madmen enough that rage

And rise in madness's power.

Shall he come into my halls? - Praise

David now began, O Sabaot, desist!

Will you send me to the shadows in the grave?

108

Let thy wrath and anger pass by,

You overwhelmed me with such terror!

My God, didst thou bring me forth for this reason,

That I might suffer? My rod and my staff,

I am a stone, rejected and lost,

To trouble many and to offend many.

But thou art enthroned in Sion on the mountain

And regard faith more than works.

109

A flame passed by in heaven.

And David went out from there. God save me

In the cave of Adullam! -

And his brothers ran

To him and his mother Mary

And Jesse his father to the place,

And also the maid of the house, all came

To David's cave in Jehovah's name.

110

Men gathered around him,

Four hundred men came out of trouble,

On them great debts lay heavy,

Bitterness of heart was unto death.

And David now became their chief

And was a servant of the divine Sabaot.

Four hundred sheep were round about the lamb

Gathered at the cave of Adullam.

111

And David departed thence unto Mizpeh

Into the land of Moab, and he said

To the king of Moab this word,

Leave my father, whom old age hath afflicted,

And my mother with you in that place,

Who oft despaired in her anguish for me,

Till I know what God will do for me. -

He now sang a song on the sorrow of old age:

112

Jehovah, God, with thee am I safe

From the womb on, you are my refuge.

You cast upon your Godhead all my sorrows,

Mercy are you according to your word. -

And David departed from Moab in the morning,

But his parents abode in the place

With the king, as long as their child

Was on the way with his little army.

113

But the prophet Gad spake this word

To David, Stay not in thy cave,

The stronghold of the mountains, thy refuge;

Go into the land of Judah, thy soul

Is peculiarly settled there. -

He followed the prophetic command

And arrived alone in Jaar-heret,

Looked upon it with spirit and soul.

114

And Saul was revealed in a dream,

That some speak of young David

And of his men under the starry space.

And in Gibeah the vines flourished.

And Saul sat under the tamarisk tree,

As Adam sat by the tree of knowledge of Eden,

On a high place, soft on a fleece

And in his right hand he held a spear.

115

Then Saul said to the multitude that stood by him,

The great ones round about the plain hill-throne,

Hear ye, Benjamites, with understanding,

Will the son of Jesse

Give you vineyards or arable land,

Will he give you dignity above the army as a reward?

Ye have all conspired against me

And no one brought anything to my ears.

116

I have not found you all faithful.

My son alone brought me a good word,

Who himself is joined to David.

Will none of you that I should recover?

And is no one grieved for my wounds?

Why does no one tell me with his mouth,

Thy own child hath provoked the servant,

That he pursues thee as the wind with wings?

117

And Doeg said, a shepherd and an Edomite,

I looked upon David, he came to Nob.

My lord and king, Saul the Benjamite,

David sang praise there with the priests.

Then he went into the land of Moab.

Ahimelech inquired of God himself whether

Of David was the sword of Goliath.

And David went to the kingdom of Gath.

118

Saul sent and called the priest

Ahimelech, the other priests also.

By the fingers of God that made the stars,

What art thou against me and gave to the belly

Of David bread from the steps of the altar

And gave the sword of the giant with the breath

Of the word of consecration into David's hands,

Questioned God for him, the beginning and the end? -

119

Ahimelech now said, Who is so faithful

As David, king, can ye tell me?

He is thy son-in-law, and chaste and timid,

He could smite the Philistines before thee,

He sings psalms ever anew to Jehovah,

Stands before thy bodyguard.

He who lacks his wife must suffer much.

By thy children he is highly honoured.

120

I went to inquire of God for David,

But only since this day? Let that be far from me!

Let not the king smite his servant. -

But the king, glowing in his eye,

Said thus, Thou must now renounce life,

From the pomegranate eat the seeds of death.

The king said to his bodyguard:

Kill the priests, this is my vengeance!

121

Jehovah's priests slay; their hand

Helped David in his flight. To death chosen

This priesthood is full of foolishness.

They brought not their knowledge to my ears. -

But the men stood unblinking.

And Doeg came, born in Edom,

And smote them dead. In priestly robes of linen

They sank down. The heavens were seen weeping.

122

Nob also, the priestly place, he smote heavily

With the edge of the sword like a conqueror.

There lay in the blood as in the sea

Men, women, youths and children,

Killed by the king's army

The sheep and the asses and the oxen.

Only one fled, who was the son of the priest,

To David fled Abiathar.

123

And David lay by the hill of his stronghold,

The beech-trees were there, and he lay in the grove.

And dreamed. And he saw the guests at the table,

And he saw Jesse his father alone

And Mary, the young maid, in the waistcoat.

So he went and gathered the stones

From a brook and he came to the hill

And drew the forehead with a seal.

124

Then he saw Saul with woe in his face

And saw the evil spirit shadowing him.

Jehovah! he exclaimed, and there was light.

He walked by mats of blue flowers,

Then he saw Michal, whose soul speaks

Into his soul softly, the good spouses

Are dear to each other with heartfelt feeling.

She saw him writing the lily psalm.

125

But it came to the ears of the man David

That the Philistines went to Keilah.

Keila's threshingfloors were already lost.

There flew to the house of Jehovah

The soul of David, who was chosen,

Do I now take in my hands bow and arrow?-

Go, smite the Philistines in their places

With thy sword, thou shalt save Keilah!

126

The men of David said thus unto him,

Behold, sir, we are already afraid in Judah,

Is the army of Mahanaim with us? -

But David looked upon the honourable serpent,

Questioned Jehovah, said sublimely,

The Lord is with us, so not for long

And the Philistine armies are smitten,

Keilah will be ours at the day of peace. -

127

They went down to Keilah now

And David was on the side of Abiathar.

And David sang: My rod and my staff!

Grant me life for evermore!

Raise my soul from the grave,

Grant me life for evermore! -

With them was the ephod on the train,

Before whom Jehovah often beseeched David.

128

When Saul heard from the messenger with the wings,

That David was come to Keilah,

Then thought he on one of the hills,

God has indeed accepted my prayer,

In a place with gates and bars

David is shut up. - Eyes gleamed

To the king, and he said, This is his end,

For God hath delivered David into my hand.

129

And Saul now summoned all his armies,

To harass David in Keilah.

And David perceived this, as the seas perceive

Notice of the moon's motion. In the narrows

Of the camp David said, Lord of honour,

What shall I do? - By the tent poles

Was set up by the priest Abiathar

The ephod, which was a mystery.

130

God of Israel! Will Saul come down,

As I have heard? - Jehovah said, Yes. -

God of Israel! Have I heard this rightly

And is my calamity once more near? -

The soul trembled with fear in the pious man,

Will the men of Keilah there

Deliver me into his hands? -

The Lord Jehovah said, Yes, quickly.

131

Then David and his men departed,

Leaving Keilah behind them

And roamed about the region here and there

And David sang about the longing for happiness.

When King Saul heard in his place,

That David at that very moment

Had left Keilah in a hurry, he saw

In his royal city his whole army.

132

And David hid himself again in the strongholds

Of the mountains, always he stayed in the mountains

Of the desert of Sif. The wind came softly from the west

And lifted the grains of sand in the district.

The owls sat sadly on the branches,

The barn owl on the birch tree.

But Saul, as much as he sought, found him not,

For David was veiled in the light of God.

133

The man-child remained there in the wilderness,

The king sought his life.

And Jonathan came now to Horeshah,

To give David a comfort of faith,

Jehovah said yes to you once!

And will you also be in mortal danger,

Fear not, thou shalt be a king.

And I am beside thee, the rock, the stone. -

134

They made a covenant with each other

Before the Lord Jehovah, with the word of his mouth.

In the place of Horeshah David stayed,

The young man Jonathan went away again.

But the Sifites once made known

To the king: David is in a place

In the wilderness of Sif, near Gibeah-Hachilah,

To Jeshimon he came from the place of Keilah.

135

And now, O king, if it be thy desire,

We will deliver him into thy hand.

Then said Saul, in the anguish of his soul,

Blessed are ye from the beginning and from the end,

Jehovah, that ye have begun these things.

Go and gird up the loins of the soul,

See where the sojourner of David is,

Who surpasses even a vixen in cunning.

136

In Judah will I find my sacrifice!

Explore every hidden place,

Search the caves of the rocks, the hollow lime trees,

And if you see him, speak a word,

Then I will go to overcome him. -

And David dwelt in the wilderness there

By the name of Maon, on the steppes to the south.

Of Jeshimon he was once at ease.

137

And in the wilderness of Maon is a rock,

There went David now, to whom it was said:

The king of Israel is already following you.

Then he lifted up his soul

And wrapped himself in his bear's skin

And sighed once more for his maid,

Then he hastened to escape the king:

Jehovah! Will I see the Messiah? -

138

But David's people were already surrounded

By Saul and his men. Are we dead

And near the entrance to heaven? -

So asked David's people. And a messenger

Came now to Saul, the ruler of this world,

Philistines have transgressed the commandments

And have invaded the land of Judah.

Come again with haste into the king's halls! -

139

Saul went away at the first light of dawn.

By day the rock was as white as enamel,

Then said David, Sela-Machlekoth

I call the place, that is, Separation Rock.

I give thanks with songs Sabaot,

Jehovah, God of the children of Israel!

He brought us together who found us weary,

As he gathereth the brooks also in the south. -

140

And David went up now into the wilderness

Of En-Gedi, and with him the free men.

And Saul heard it, and said, That he had repented,

My kingship shall not be a prey to David,

Who once kissed my daughter Michal! -

And king Saul went with a troop

Of warriors hastened to the Ibex rocks.

The vultures hovered with bent necks.

141

Saul said, If I could but catch David,

I would make peace in my soul.

And there was a stumblingblock by the mountains

Of sheep, and by the way a cave,

There the king lay down in dignity

To sleep. By his own command

The men sat in the cave behind

And before the cave stood terebinths.

142

Jehovah said, so that the mountains quake,

To his favourite David,: Behold, I

Will deliver thine enemy into thy hand,

That thou mayest do to him that which pleaseth thee. -

And David went, his walk was a hovering,

And sang unto the Lord inaudibly intimately,

And cut a corner from the king's skirt.

And the top of the rock trembled.

143

And David said in his gentle soul,

Jehovah be my witness, that it be far off,

Though it were possible in this cave,

That I might lay hands on my Lord;

On his head shine anointing oils

Of Sabaot, of the Lord, of the Morning Star,

More than the queen of heaven Ashtaroth,

The king is anointed by Sabaot!

144

And Saul went away, and David went after him

And cried, My lord and king! - And back

King Saul looked upon him, and David felt

On his knees in the king's sight,

Whereupon he said in a humble voice,

Thinkest thou that I have not sought thy fortune?

I have spared thee this day in this cave,

Because thou art anointed with the oil of Jehovah.

145

The end of thy skirt I have cut off,

But I have not given thee to death.

See that evil serpents have not slipped

From my hands. O by Sabaot!

I have often suffered persecution,

My king became my distress,

Thou wouldst have my death. But God is judge

And will be an avenger to the psalmist.

146

Whom didst thou hunt, my lord? Whom did

The king of Israel hunt in anger?

Thou didst but hunt for a butterfly;

A little fox that fell down in death,

Thou hast hunted in the morning, as I sing.

Jehovah is righteous, and will do

Justice for me, O king, against thee. -

And Saul heard it, and wept bitterly.

147

Saul said, My David, this is thy voice,

Though I be wicked, thou art righteous.

Thou hast not slain me in thy wrath

And thou hast been a faithful servant to thy king.

Where is a man like thee, and seeth the vile

And practiseth mercy before justice?

But Jehovah reward thee with good,

This I pray with the passion of my blood.

148

Now behold, I know thou shalt become the king,

The kingship shall be through thee for ever.

So swear with the most pious of gestures:

Do not destroy my name, but let

My house in the earth to come

Be established in Sabaot alone. -

And David sware by the demiurge.

And went away to the mountain, to his castle.

149

And Samuel died that day,

Then came all the children of Israel

And mourned thirty days:

If I melt in the bones like wax,

I cannot bear the shadow of death any longer,

Then I cry to the rock of salvation:

My God, my God, deliver me from death!

Give eternity, Jehovah Sabaot!

150

And David went down to Maon, there

He met a man child in a gate,

He had many sheep that were seen,

And goats on the slopes of the meadow.

And David came near unto the man child,

Who sheared his sheep three thousand times over,

The man's name was Nabal, and he was in Carmel.

And David gathered white marble.

151

And Abigail was entrusted

To the shepherd. She was fair of face,

As David looked with lowered eyes,

She spoke intelligently and like a poem.

When spirit and light together dimmed,

Then it was like Abigajil. Light

And spirit was embodied in the beautiful one,

So that David sounded his strings.

152

And David sent his messengers unto Nabal,

Who said, Peace to thee and to thine own.

We heard that thou hadst sheep-shearing.

In the red dawning morning the stars shone. -

Now were his shepherds, as with the dead,

With David's people. David wept

With thanksgiving. While they were in Carmel

There was much good merchandise.

153

Let my dear people find grace

Before your eyes, for we have come

To the feast day. May you be subdued

To give to thy son David. - There glow

The sunbeams above the grove of lime-trees

And Nabal hath taken the rod of speech,

Who then is David, hath he a throne?

Who then is the son of Jesse?

154

Many servants have now run away.

Shall I take my water and my bread

And give the flesh of the lamb: are they righteous?

To whom it is due? O by Sabaot,

I know not the dignity of this generation,

Then perhaps giving will be my death? -

The people of David went in the way

To him and told him; he gave the blessing.

155

Now David said to his men,

Every man gird his sword about now. -

The cedar tree was followed by four hundred fir trees,

Ready to do many a good deed.

But Abigail and an angel pondered,

Where now David was, where would he rest,

Was he already forgotten by the dead?

But David sent messengers to the girl.

156

Ah, David sent the message

And greeted her, and greeted her lord;

But he hath not turned away his own,

And meekness was far from him.

And Abigail in the promised land

Spake, and she was a morning star,

The people of David were good to us,

They did us no harm, nor shed blood.

157

As long as we have wandered

With them or were in the field,

We fared well. Like a wall in the wind

They have been. As on the hair of lambs

There was peace. When we were in the pastures

Tending the sheep, there were multitudes

Of heavenly protection: By the rock of Carmel

The people of David, host of Israel!

158

Consider now and see what you

Have to do. A calamity is sure

Decided upon our lord, and to be

Executed on the whole house. Oh, I miss

David, - she confessed: like eternal rest.

Unholy Nabal, whose heart was torn

By folly! No one knew how to dare

To say to him something better knowing.

159

And Abigail hastened alone

And had with her two hundred loaves of bread,

Two jars of wine, of a good wine,

Five sheep, and they were fragrant dead,

Five ephahs of roast grain, well ground,

A hundred cakes of sultanas, rosy red,

Two hundred cakes of ripe figs.

She loaded it on donkeys and went in silence.

160

And Abigail said unto her people,

Go before me, and I will come straight after you. -

She would not signify unto her husband

Whither her dreaming thought had already swum.

She rode on an ass, and her eyes were glad

And her eyes were glad when the stars shone,

And she rode in the shelter of the mountain, and behold,

There she saw David in the early morning.

161

And David thought, Have I now pastured

The stranger's sheep in the wilderness for nothing?

I have not envied his riches,

Nor have I longed for his treasure.

Why then does my soul suffer so much?

Whether this burden an innocent man hath atoned?

And he repayeth me evil for good! -

And David came upon her, the well-pleased.

162

God grant David this and much more,

If I leave Nabal one man to spare.

In the morning light there's a sea of blood.

The man's thigh and the steed's race

Is gone and no one speaks of them.

When Abigail, the pale of lilies,

Saw David the shepherd, she hasted

From the ass. David healed her.

163

She fell down at David's feet

And bowed herself to the ground, and she said,

O my Lord, I will atone for it all.

Put on thy ears how my soul lamented,

When I was a girl I wanted to greet the Saviour:

Have mercy on my soul, my afflicted one

Is full of supplications and miserable and in distress!

Help me, Lord, Jehovah Sabaot!

164

And Abigail said, Be not troubled,

My lord, my husband is a fool by name,

As Nabal indeed oft speaketh in folly.

But I heard not with mine ear

Of thy people, and before my face

No multitude came. I was lost

In the loneliness of the mountains. -

And David smiled mildly on the fair one.

165

David said, Would that my works were burned

And I were slain in the sorrow of my existence! -

Abigail, fairest of the land, said,

As Jehovah is light in all days,

That thou helpest not thyself with thine own hand,

To incur the guilt of blood! So let it be said to thee,

Here is the blessing of thy handmaid.

I know my lord hath long lamented.

166

Forgive me, David, for presumption!

The Lord will establish a house for my lord

Of diamonds of stability.

No evil shall ever be found in thee;

And if anyone should pursue thee far,

Then may God bind thee in the bundle

Of the living. By the God of the handmaid

And to thy God Jehovah be it said.

167

But if thou shalt become a prince unto the Jews,

Then thou shalt be free from thine own guilt

Of bloodshed. Thou shalt stand in the door

Of the house of Judah, golden in love.

Then may you remember the maid, thirsting,

She will thirst no more, the fruits of patience

Are then ripened, the pomegranates red -

Said Abigaiil, Praise be to Sabaot!

168

Said David, Praise be to the deity of Israel,

Who this day Abigaiil hath sent to me!

Blessed be thy wisdom, O wise rock,

Blessed is thy mind and thy understanding,

Blessed is thy beauty, white as enamel.

Thou hast restrained my hand,

That I might not do myself harm

And so became guilty of blood before the Lord.

169

As Jehovah liveth, who hath protected me,

Who fends off all my enemies from me:

If thou hadst not arrived, nothing availed,

I would have lifted up my sword,

So that the blood of Nabal's men would have spurted.

And until the morning light

The field, they would all lie with the dead.

O loveliest of all messengers of joy!

170

And David took from her white hand

What Abigaiil had brought him for food.

He said, Now go in peace to thy land,

I heard thy voice sweet and low,

Who found thy countenance very bright and fair,

Thou art also very wise and prudent,

Thy face again be lifted up,

Together let us praise the Godhead.

171

And Abigaiil came again to Nabal,

Behold, to a royal banquet.

His heart was in good mood, joyful songs

He sang drunkenly in the wide hall.

Then he sank down till the light of morning,

Then she spoke words without number,

Then his heart went down in his limbs,

In his folly he became a stone.

172

Ten days later Jehovah smote him

So that he died. And Abigail lamented.

Now when the rumours came to David,

He said, Praise and glory to Jehovah, who has judged

Righteous as a judge; He has forgiven me,

He denied victory to the wicked. -

Now to Abigail David sent,

That he might rest faithful by her side.

173

Then he sent words through his servants,

They told her he wanted her for his wife.

The star of the morning was seen to dawn

And on the wings of the butterfly some dew,

Then they saw the rock of Carmel towering high,

The footstool in front of the high heavenly building;

There knelt Abigail, the sweet,

And washed the feet of the servants of David.

174

And Abigail went up to David

On an ass, and there went with her

Five maidens, in inward rest,

Because her mistress suffered in her soul.

She came to David, and in a moment

Familiar with him, sitting as well as walking.

Like the dawn over white marble

Abigail was from Mount Carmel.

175

David also had taken Ahinoam

For wife, who came from Jezreel

And he loved her dearly,

The women with the loving soul.

But the daughter Michal was a virgin.

The king of all Israel gave her

To Palti, Laiish's son from Gallim. These

Are all later in paradise with David.

176

And David hid himself in the hill

Hashilah, just opposite Jeshimon.

Then Saul put the golden reins on his horse

And went down from Gibeah, from the throne

Down to the wilderness of Sif with swiftness of wings,

Three thousand men with the Son of Man.

And David sent messengers out of the wilderness,

To see if Saul would greet him as his offering.

177

And David came down, and saw Saul lying

In the camp, Abner his captain of the host

Was by his side, where round about bend

The circles of the soldiers. David then

Spake thus unto Abishai, the words flying

To the son of Zeruiah thus, When

I go into the camp, as into the grave,

Who will go down with me to King Saul?

178

So they came into the camp.

Said Abishai, God hath now delivered thine enemy

And given thee into thy hands. If

He had not willed and had not meant,

It would not be so. No human being shall save

Now Saul, for whom the daughter wept,

For I will spear him

At once to death on this earth.

179

So said David, Lay thy hand

Not on the anointed, Jehovah's son.

He is a king over our land

And will find reward for his deeds.

He will die unrecognised in war,

Perhaps he will be slain on the throne;

Let Jehovah be it far from me,

That I should strike the king with a stone.

180

Take now the water jug and take the spit

From the king and anointed, let us go. -

They slept, and Saul also, upon a fleece.

And perceived nothing, nor could they see.

From the cup of sleep milk of dreams flowed

And angels' wings may waft around them,

Who do with might the will of the Lord Jehovah

And are like silence in the night that is still.

181

And David stood on a mountain top

And called afar off unto the king's people.

And Abner stood in the camp under the top

Of the beech tree, wrapped in a cloud,

And he cried, Why do you tug at the king's bough? -

And David said, Art thou of the sea and of the whey

And protectest not the king as his man

And hast thou not put a ban upon the camp?

182

Children of death are you! Ye have not guarded

The king, the anointed lord.

Somebody nearly killed him,

He lay in the camp like the fruit of the pit.

Where is the water jar this night,

Where is the spear, by this bright star? -

Then King Saul, in his anger,

By Sabaot, surely this is David's voice!

183

Then said David, Why persecutest thou me?

What evil is in my hand?

Does the Lord Jehovah provoke thee against me?

He shall smell the meat offering upon the land;

If they be men, let them be accursed. Yea, I

Tell thee, they stir up my lord known

To fight against his servant, saying

He serves gods now in these days.

184

Let not my blood now flow upon the earth

Far from the face of Sabaoth!

The king of Israel, the shepherd of the flock,

Moved against me to give me death,

As against a butterfly. I am

Hunted like a deer in the morning.

So they chase me up and down the mountains. -

Saul said: I have sinned, son, come again!

185

And David said, Here is the king's spear,

Let one come and fetch it.

Jehovah will recompense moreover

Every righteousness. Serving in faithfulness.

I laid not my hand upon the fleece,

On the Anointed One, who has forgiven me.

He hath esteemed my life this day

And save me, when once I'm in a fainting mood.

186

Saul said unto David, With thee be the blessing

Of Jehovah upon thee, and thou shalt prosper. -

And David went on his way,

A golden sword in his clean hands.

From his eyes flowed a rain of tears,

He hardly knew which way to turn,

And went on his way. By a palm tree

He sang to the harp a youthful psalm.

187

But David thought: One day

I will fall into the king's outstretched hand,

Before whom I sang in his royal hall.

I had best to flee to the land of the Philistines,

He will no longer set a trap for me

In Israel, if I disappear thither. -

And David set out for Achish,

To the lord of Gath he took the swift course.

188

And David stayed in Achish, stayed in Gath,

Six hundred men were there with him.

But with David indeed were

The two women whom his eye saw:

From Jezreel came Ahinoam late

And Abigail came near from Carmel.

Love was like a wide sea.

But Saul sought David no more.

189

And David said unto Achish, If I have found grace

In thy sight, give me a tabernacle

Where in the land I may bathe there

In nature. How shall I be in the midst

Of the king's place all of gold and jade

In peace dwell, and in purity of manners? -

Then king Achish gave that day

To David, who asked him, the place Ziklag.

190

And David invaded many a land,

Left neither man nor woman nor child alive;

And sheep, and oxen, and asses, did the stone smite.

And took away much of the linen.

And he returned to Achish alone,

And he asked him with a quivering voice

Where he had been, whom he now found weary,

David only said, I was in the south country.

191

And none came to Gath, by David's power,

He thought they might betray him.

And Achish David believed, as in the night.

The stars, heaven-sown seeds:

He disgraced himself,

Among his people Israel, with deeds;

So now he is my servant for evermore.

So Achish thought, he was almost in the right.

192

And Samuel was already departed unto God

And Israel sang to him the dirge.

Peace be with him in the kingdom of heaven

And let there be light around him as in the day,

But his dust shall find rest in the grave hereafter

Until the last day of the Jewish legend.

They sang, Lama asabtani? -

Buried Samuel in the place of Ramah.

193

But Saul was afraid of the great multitudes

Of the Philistines and he asked the lot,

But neither light nor right will reveal

What he should do now. In the dream the Rose

Was silent, prophets with demeanour

Angry silence did not let him go.

Then he went to the woman of En-Dor,

She looked ahead and stood in the gate.

194

She was a woman who could summon the dead,

Saul went to her in disguise to En-Dor.

Prophesy, because thou canst beguile spirits,

Call up to me now through the gate of death

The soul whose name thou shalt hear. -

But the woman spoke in the black pile:

Spirit-charmers, sign-tellers

Have been driven out by Saul.

195

Shall I now be slain myself? -

But Saul swore, As Jehovah lives,

The Lord of the heavens and the earth,

Innocent shalt thou be. My being strives,

To see the priest Samuel. - Gestures

Made the woman as a spider weaves,

Suddenly cried aloud from a toothless mouth,

Why dost thou deceive me? Yes, you are Saul!

196

The king now said, Fear thou not.

But what seest thou? - She spake this word,

I see a spirit of white light

Rising out of the fiery hoard. -

What does he look like, what is his face? -

An old man in a priest's robe stands there. -

Then Saul knew that Samuel had come;

He was cold, but his eyes glowed.

197

And Samuel said unto Saul, Why hast thou

Disturbed my rest, and caused me to rise

From the valley of sleep? - Saul said, I am now

Troubled, and God will no longer show me

The way, neither by dreams, nor by rest,

Nor by prophets, which are ever silent unto me.

What shall I do with the Philistines, say!

(And David was sleeping at that time in Ziklag.)

198

Saith Samuel, What shall I do, from the Lord

Thy goodly kingdom was snatched from thee,

Given to David, our morning star!

You wanted to know from Jehovah yourself,

What to do now; would you not willingly

To execute on Amalek the certain

Divine wrath of Jehovah, who in his wrath

Spoke to thee with his voice?

199

Your kingdom is now given to David!

And Israel will fall to the Philistines.

Tomorrow you will with all your life

Be with me in the everlasting rest. -

And Saul fell to the earth, all trembling,

And great fear came upon him. O thou,

Spirit of Samuel, thou hast now done it,

I have no more strength, no more power!

200

But the woman looked at Saul steadfastly,

As he lay in trembling dismay:

My life is in thy hollow hand.

Yes, your maid will do what she can.

But another shall be king in this land,

Shall be the king (and know Abishag).

But now take a piece of my bread

And go thy way in the morning light.

201

But Saul said, I do not want to eat now. -

But his servants, and also that woman,

They said he should eat. And with an iron

They slew a calf, and the carcase thereof

Roasted they gave to the king. Silent

Saul gave thanks for the wine and for the loaf

Of cake unleavened; flour dough baked

To the king that enchanting woman.

202

Saul and the servants ate that cake

And departed in the early night time.

O Muse of Sion, David now to seek,

Take thou flight, and speak thou thy word.

O Cicada of Ziklag, in the grove of beeches

Thou sangst thy song in peace sweetly there.

But Amalekites are in the south,

With torches they overcame the weary.

203

They led away the women and the children,

But they brought death to none.

When David came into the city, where the wind was soft,

He cried aloud to Sabaot,

The Lord of the Hosts of Heaven,

Call thou up the dawn of peace! -

The many carried away women trembling,

The sons and the daughters are captives.

204

And David and the people that were with him,

Began to weep and weep some more

When there was strength in them, Oh, now

The two wives are gone, the two of mine,

Ahinoam with her bright eyes

And Abigail in the white linen;

The one was a marble from Jezreel,

A pearl the other was from Carmel.

205

And David came into great distress,

The people tried to stone him:

Thou didst bring near death to our children

And our wives were a prey to the mob. -

Then David strengthened himself with Sabaot:

Be thou as ever a help this day. -

Then he said to Abiathar the priest,

Bring the ephod, God‘s oracle forever.

206

And David consulted Sabaot

Jehovah his God, living in the ephod:

Do I give the plunderers deserved death?

Haste I, with wings on my feet hovering,

And catch them up to their own distress? -

The deity spoke, giving words in the ephod,

Yes, chase after them! - Then was freed

The one dear maid and also the other dear maid.

207

They came to the valley of the brook Besor,

David and the six hundred men with him.

David went on, and with him in a choir

Four hundred men rode thither sublimely.

The rest remained in the valley in the pile,

Two hundred men and some of Shittim.

The waves leaped wave by wave before them

In the watery valley of the Besor torrent.

208

Two hundred men remained in Besor,

In the valley of the torrent all the weary stayed.

They sang a hymn of peace,

So they praised the kingdom of heaven and peace

And advanced to the gates of heaven

With their voices, quiet in the south.

O Muse of Sion, speaach flow from the mouth

About the end and of King Saul.

209

In battle the Philistines smote hard

All Israel on mount Giboa.

Then the angel of death was revealed

To the beautiful king's son Malkishoah;

The king's son Abinadab with a beard;

The sinless one, like Noah of old:

To the king's son Jonathan was now

Death revealed: Let him rest.

210

The battles became heavy, the king cried

To his armourbearer, I will die!

Thy sharp knife pierce me deep,

Lest the uncut ones cut me. -

But the armour-bearer was asleep,

He would not. The king of all heirs

Took the sword and plunged in.

The king's warm blood flowed in the grass…

CANTO III

And David sang the lamentation of the end

Of Saul the king and Jonathan his son

And held up his hands before his eyes.

The heroes of Israel fallen, man

Fallen man by man in the battle of Israel!

Tell not the Philistines in Ashkelon,

Be not ye pleasing to the daughters of the Philistines,

Be not the triumph of the uncircumcised.

Ye mountains of Gilboa, ye before all,

Let there be no rain upon the mountains,

No thawing on the treacherous mountains,

For there ye have blunted the edge

On the anointed head of Saul the meek.

The bow of Jonathan never failed,

Striking at the heart of the uncut savage.

And Saul and Jonathan, inspired of God,

In life they were joined together,

In death, not parted, God-steeled.

Jonathan was swifter than an eagle

And Saul was strong as a lion king.

O daughter of Israel, weep for the man,

For Saul, who struck his enemies to the marrow,

And weep for Jonathan, who was my delight

And whose sister hid me in times to come.

O daughter of Israel, O beautiful sun,

The king gave thee a fair garment,

O daughter of Israel, the Lord's Virgin,

He adorned thee with golden jewels,

How the hero fell in the battle!

As Jonathan also on Gilboa falls!

I am sorry for thee, my heart grows wide

Of grief for the dear friend's heart.

He was dearer to me than women‘s love,

Now I bear my grief for my hero.

Soon David inquired of his Lord,

Shall I go over to Judea? -

And the Lord said, Go up, my morning star. -

And David said, Whither then shall I flee? -

And the Lord said, To Hebron go. -

And David felt that all was forgiven

And went in his joyful love

With Abigail from mount Carmel

And Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess.

They took a house in Hebron, empty.

And dwelt there, and near by many Jews.

And Judah anointed David as king.

When King David heard from the good

Messenger: Saul also was buried,

Then he said, Saul must bleed to death,

But black ravens shall not devour him,

He found a grave from which he shall rise!

Blessed are those who have buried him!

But captain Abner, as I see,

Leads Ish-Bosheth away to Mahanayim

And anointed him with the oil

To the king of Israel in that place. -

House of Judah, be thou faithful to David,

Who is the Lord's anointed,

In Judah his son's heart rejoices!

And unto David were born seven sons

In Hebron: Amnon was the firstborn,

By Jezreel's Ahinoam chosen;

And was baptised at the shallow ford of Jordan.

Kilab, Abigail's first son,

He wore the loin-belt from the third year;

And it was given by Maachah as a reward of love

The son of David, whose name was Absalom,

Who early desired the throne of the king;

And Adonijah, son of Haggit, pious,

Was born to him in the house of Hebron,

There was a sweet aroma in the house;

And from Abital came Shephatiah the son

And was a most golden child

And early stammered of the God Jah;

The sixth, Jitream, from Egla fine,

He sucked eagerly at his mother's breast

And longed to be the darling of his father's heart;

The seventh was David's greatest delight!

And Abner spake unto David this word,

I will bring Israel in health

To the king in the place that is dear to God,

Jerusalem. - And the king's mouth said,

O my dear Abner, I shall rejoice!

I will make a covenant with your spirit,

But one thing I will, that thou shalt not shun,

To bring Saul‘s daughter Michal before my face,

To bring her, to bring her to her faithful one. -

And David said to Ish-bosheth in the light

In the morning, Bring your sister Michal

Before my lovelorn eyes.

I have exchanged her for a hundred rings,

Foreskins of the Philistines, from the Lord

And Father, to whom I sing songs for ever. -

And Abner went to Hebron afar off,

And David made him a supper.

Then Abner said under the evening star,

I will give thee Israel to be thy bride,

That thou mayest make a covenant of love

With God's dearest daughter once,

That thou mayest be king with a sweet mouth

And she heaven's bride and queen,

As your heart desires in this hour. -

And David sent him away in peace.

And all the tribes of Israel came

To Hebron before David their lord,

Before the anointed king, Judah's rock,

And said, Are we not of thy seed

And marrow, of thy flesh and bone?

Shall you not be a morning star to Israel

And shepherd, David, thou alone?

Thou shalt be a prince of God in Israel.

The Lord, give us bread and wine. -

An ancient of Israel came without mockery

And gave the royal anointing to David's head:

King of Israel by Sabaot!

And thirty years old was he that believed

And anointed king and rock.

And thirty and three years he stood his ground.

King David, king of Israel.

The king went with angels and with men

To the gates of Jerusalem,

With dear wives, and children, and prophets,

That the Messiah once in Bethlehem

Will be born. And David took the city of Sion

With his hand, pleasing to God.

Then David dwelt long full of life

In that castle which was called David's city,

Which dawned in the morning pearly;

He built round about Millo's walls

To a Sabaot altar within;

The Lord was with the favourite of all the wise.

And David was a great man in loving

And took wives beside concubines

And gave the women dew-white linen

From Tyre, whose king came to build

A house of cedar for the anointed lord,

Stonecutters helped him, and carpenters.

And sons were born to David's wives

And daughters were born to him gladly:

Like Shammua, the eyes of a mouse,

Like Shoab, who babbled Ah and Oh,

Like Nathan, whose eyes were sweet and mild,

Like Solomon, the wise Solomon,

Like Jibhar, who whistled like the wind of the sea,

Like Elishua, who wept softly,

Like Nefeg, who loved the milk of the heifer,

Like Japhia, whose cheek was red and white,

Like Elishama, who was gentle and shy,

Like Eljada, who was David's offshoot,

Like Elephelet, childlike, drunk and sober.

And David gathered all Israel,

All the young men, thirty thousand,

And with him was the angel Michael,

And he went with his people, roaring in peace,

To a place in Judah, to see

The ark of the Lord with loud singing

To bring up from thence, with the grace

Of the Lord of the cherubim, God Sabaot,

Who sat upon a throne of white jade

And white jasper. And the covenant with God,

The ark of the covenant, came on a chariot

And came down from the hill, all pure.

Then Israel danced in those days

And David with it, before the Lord God,

With all their might in a round dance,

With songs of the dear morning star,

With angels' harps and prophets' psalteries,

With timbrels and cymbals gladly.

And David was trembling like the butterflies,

In his heart the fear of the Lord came upon him,

The reverence be praised of all ages!

How shall the ark take its course

Into my tabernacle? - And there he went

And brought her up from her house

And brought her in with a spirit of joy

To Sion. And there he cut his hair,

And went before the Sabaot of heaven

And offered a sacrifice unto the Eternal.

And David danced before the ark of the covenant.

And with him danced virgin Israel

With shouts of joy, with trumpets of grace;

And when the covenant of the Lord with Israel,

The ark came into David's Sion city,

Then from the window looked not Michael,

From the window looked Michal, all dim.

Her eyes had grown dim, but suddenly

She laughed, and what did she say?

She saw the king dancing in splendour

And leaping before the Lord, and rejoicing.

And Michal spake the word,

I despise such joy in my heart! -

And the ark of the covenant came into the tent,

Which David pitched all alone.

Then he gave thanks in the firmament of heaven

To the Father, and he offered the burnt offering

And pronounced the blessing, which is pleasing God.

Then he gave Israel the fruit of the land,

And white bread, and beef, and cakes of sultanas.

And whatsoever else he found in their storehouses.

And all the people went home to seek rest.

And David brought blessing to his house

(A blessing was he, and he could not curse).

Then Saul's daughter walked in his ways

And said, How gloriously my lord danced this day!

All bare before his handmaidens every way! -

Said David, When I dance hither and thither,

Then will I dance joyfully with Israel

And the Lord God shall give us good,

Who hath chosen me to be prince

Of all the people of Israel. I will be lower

And lower and lower my lances

And find honour as a shepherd of flocks

And find honour also in the handmaid and the girl. -

But Saul's daughter not conceived on this earth,

Was not with child by the king.

Thus speaketh Sabaot, I took you from lambs

To the city, that thou mightest be

A prince, for Israel as a dawn.

I will make thee a prince, as Michael

The prince of angels, and give thee a name,

Like a great one, for the joy of thy soul.

The tribes of Israel came home

And found with thee the prepared place,

There grow cyclamen also for Solomon,

There will I plant Israel, who

Shall have no more fear there,

To you I give rest, and I save your children!

The Lord proclaims to you with his breath:

The Lord will build you a house of love,

Where the sacrifices smoke faithfully at the altar.

From thy womb he cometh, in him shalt thou trust,

In whom I confirm his kingship,

His throne stands forever in Sion's meadows.

I will be his father and his glory,

He shall be called the Son of God.

You are the King of Judah,

The Lord is enthroned on his throne for ever.

O Lord, what am I to you that you have brought me

To this place and my dear house? -

Was in the prayer David's word, benighted.

So thy servant took heart in rest,

That he prayed to his God,

Thy word is truth, Master, ever and ever.

Thou hast spoken to thy faithful servant

And from thy face thou hast pronounced a blessing

With thy spirit of God, which bloweth

Whithersoever it will, that my heart may be at rest

Forever before thee, and for evermore.

For thou, O Lord, dost promise me:

With thy blessing, I am blessed for ever.

And at Jerusalem in the evening

David arose from his couch and went up to the roof,

And there shone the moon,

A lot of silver, and there he saw a goodly

And beautiful woman washing her hands

And her feet, and from her eyes

The sleep, so fair, so lovely without end,

With fine hair and dew-white cheeks.

Oh, never take your eyes off her!

And David came down from the roof

And asked his servants for the woman.

And they said, Batshebe is she, with long

Black hair and light grey eyes.

Batshebe was the daughter of Eliam,

And David sent messengers out of the den

And fetched her. In the cloak of a lamb

She came to him with a sweet mouth

And breasts of doves, child of the tribe of Judah.

There they dwelt together sweetly and

In love, she was pure of blood,

Her womb was round as the cave of a vixen.

Said David, What if one does fornication?

And Nathan the prophet said unto David,

I have anointed thee in Israel,

That thou mayest be called King David,

I will do more unto thee, I will Israel

And thee bless with God's blessing,

For with us is the angel Michael.

Yet thou didst sin in the midst

In Israel, the city of Jerusalem:

The guilt of blood is thine; therefore hath God suffered.

Therefore said the Lord, I take thee, O clay,

All the women from thy side. -

Sin is never acceptable to God.

Said David, Lord, prepare me grace,

I have sinned, wash it from me,

Deliver my soul from this affliction. -

And Nathan said as from a grave,

Thy sin also is forgiven thee.

But thou hast not been honourable, and therefore

I heard with mine ear: He will not live,

The first child of thy sin shall live no more. -

Then he was sick, his heart was seen to quake

And the child's eye was sick unto death.

And David sought God for the child

And did not eat, and lay on the ground.

The inner wounds prayed: Give blessing of life. -

On the seventh day the child died.

There was a stirring of inner turmoil

In Israel the old-ordered men

And David, with tears of sorrow

From his hand-covered eyes ran.

And then he arose, embers in his veins:

Now that he is dead, what longer shall I lament

And wail bitterly for him? -

And David went back to his chambers

And David was comforted by Batshebe.

And she brought forth Jedidiah,

To whom the queen of Sheba once spoke.

Alas, alas, son of David! - To Amnon said

The friend named Jonadab the word,

Why eatest thou no more, and sighest alas? -

And Amnon said, Alas, my heart's refuge!

Tamar is my sister by the father.

And she is a virgin, here in the place

Of Jerusalem. What sayest thou unto me, my counsellor?

How can I draw near to her in love?

Tell her to bring me cakes; the father

Will allow the mercifully pious maiden,

Whom already in gentle sisterly love chastely

The grey and blue eyes gleam.

Alas, I am lovesick in my flesh

And only eat cranberry pie

From her hand with a thankful sound. -

Said David to Tamar, Go, visit

The brother, he is sick for a reason,

Which I know not. Go thou with delicious cakes

And make him a feast for the sick at this hour. -

She took the dough and kneaded and baked

And brought him the bread, that he might be well.

So it was that the sick brother asked her,

When will we finally be alone? -

And sent the others away. Falsehood and deceit

Was then in his no more happy being.

Then said the sister, Speak to the king's ear,

So shall I be thine. -

She wore her fair hair like a phoenix.

And David turned to flee away

Before the rebellion of Absalom. Jerusalem

He left because of the rebel son.

Then went with him in his flight, acceptable

To the Lord, the Cretans and the Pletes all

And said, David, thou of Bethlehem,

Where ever the sound of thy strings

And the word of your psalms rises up to God,

There we are with thee, King, everywhere. -

And where the multitude of the God Sabaot

Were passed by, men were seen crying

With a loud voice like a bassoon.

The brook Kidron rushed on the white stones,

Then the king and the multitude passed over

Even to the wilderness under the sunshine.

Levites carried the instruments rather

And they carried the ark

Of the covenant, and they brought it down.

But David said, Bring ye the ark of the covenant

Home to our fair city of Sion.

But if I find grace before the Messiah,

He will bring me back full of life

To my Jerusalem, where I shall find

The Holy Ark with God's blessing.

Behold, I wait with thirst-teared mouth

Here in the desert for the return,

I wait at the fords till the hour,

The great happiness of homecoming. - But he

Went to the Mount of Olives and there he wept

And his tears ran like a sea,

His head was covered and he stood there

With bare feet. All those with him

With their heads covered, stood by his side,

They wept: Abiathar of Karnaiim

And priest Zadok, Ahimaaz also

And Jonathan of the place Adoraiim.

And David prayed with the breath of the Spirit.

And when they came to the edge of Jordan,

Ziba met him with joy and gladness

With a murmur like a baka tree,

With a pair of asses in the way

And with the colt of an ass

Bringing with him bread and God's blessing

And a bottle of red wine from Zin,

Sultana cakes from Nazareth

And fruit fresh from the earth in abundance. I am

(Said Ziba) humbly in prayer

Called to give donkeys to present to your house.

And the spirit that blows

Whithersoever he will, he spake the words,

I give bread and wine for food and drink

And the fruits of Eden out of my hand

To the people when they are weary. - Thanks

To thee, - said David, and stood by the river

With his own poems, the book of Psalms.

They all went over Jordan, foot by foot

The whole company of David's men.

And when the bright dawn's kiss

Kissed the sky (what does that mean?)

Then all were gathered together before the Lord,

In the prophetic camel's hair skins

David stood, and he carried in his arms a lamb.

And David entered into Mahanajim

And there in Mahanajim he found rest,

He laid his head on a stone

And saw three sons of God coming

And brought beds soft as dew and down

And basins, earthen vessels to use

And golden-white wheat.

Would you not have a little barley?

Peanuts, beans, lentils, smoke

And honey from the bee's wing breath,

Sheep's cheese, cow's milk, golden-white butter,

To give David strength through the belly.

For Mahanajim was like a Mother.

He cried, O Absalom, my son, my son,

O Absalom, O my son beautiful and clear,

Would to God I had died for the son!

O Absalom, thou of fair hair,

O Absalom, you of the fair hair!

My son! - He wept indeed wonderfully.

And all wept aloud and like a torrent

The tears flowed in Jerusalem,

A sweet aroma to the saint

Of comfort, pleasant to his soul,

As he mourned, Alas, my son, and alas! -

Then wept he, the man from Bethlehem,

Then the king cried aloud, Alas and alas!

The king wept aloud for his son.

And the day was dark upon the king's housetop.

And Joab came to the king before the throne

And said, Thou hast made the servants red with shame.

(And above shone the constellation Sirion)

Who saved thy royal rights

To life, because thou hast loved them that hate thee,

And hated them that loved thee. As I would think

Thou wouldst not care for war's masses

And rulers, I know this day:

If thou couldst but touch thy son,

If only he were alive, as once he was at Eschkol,

On the grape stream, we'd all be dead,

That would be fine with you! - Then the bright pole

Was in the sky in white and glowing red.

Said Joab, Arise and come forth

Out of thy mourning and thy suffering

And come out of thy house of mourning

Into the open, friend! If thou wilt not come,

This night shall not stay man nor mouse

With thee, not Ahinoam, Solomon

Neither will it, and it will be worse for thee

And will be thy evil. Ah I say,

My king, help thyself, thou fair dainty

Of Jerusalem. With God's help, up!

The king followed like a shepherd a lamb

And stood in the gate and went up to the court.

And Judah came before their king

And all the men said unto the Lord

In their king's subject sense,

Come back thou and thy people,

To be our star in a great dawn! -

So he came, and he came gladly.

There was a boat rocking quietly on the Jordan,

And when it came to the water, there went

The people of Judea also with bread

And wine, went out to meet him, all flying

To the heart of the king. Shimei was among them,

Who was well pleased with King David,

A Benjamite who offered a swan's egg

To the Lord. Ziba came along

And let the slaves, all fools, free

For the sake of King David, who in a moment

Crossed the Jordan with dry foot.

And Shimei, tempest in his soul's rest,

Fell down before the king, a servant at the feet

Of the lord and king of Jerusalem,

And asked for his blessing's loving greeting.

And said, God was not pleased with the guilt,

Which I have laid upon my head,

King of the Jews, thou of Bethlehem,

Forgive me my sin which

Thou hast come to me to bear. -

Because I have looked upon thee with mercy,

Thou shalt not die, - David said it, he is

A gracious king of Israel.

The king swore to the man, and without guile

He fulfilled his word, a solid rock,

And gave life to the man. Who said, Thank you,

My Lord, O Saviour of Israel,

Thou art like unto the angel, that I falter not. -

And Barzillai was eighty years old

And had always prepared his supper for the Lord

And had warmed and folded his linen garment,

And had accompanied him to every place

And so to the edge of Jordan's bank.

Said Barzillai, My heart is enlarged,

I will no more be a shadow here in a dream,

A burden to the lord and king.

Leave me alone by this tree,

By this baka tree leave me alone.

But take Kimham with thee, my son. -

And the king said, Come, Kimham, take the wine

And take the bread, and come to my throne,

I will do unto thee that which is good in thy sight

And what thou desirest of me, I will give reward

After all, my kingdom is not of this world.

Now that the barley harvest had begun,

Rizna, daughter of Aias, took the dress

Of a wailing woman; lamentations sounded.

And rain dripped on the dead at that time,

She put on her garment, sackcloth.

The maiden returned from the field of the dead

To Jerusalem's gate in the fair land

Of Judah, and David was told,

What Saul's wife did with her hand.

And David lamented in his heart

For king Saul's and Jonathan's bones,

Which lay open in the misty day.

And David brought the bones alone

Up from Beth-shean, to go up

To Israel's beloved white stone,

To the sepulchre in the land of Benjamin.

My Lord is my faithful white stone

And my Christmas castle of Bethlehem

And my deliverer from the glare of death.

God is my refuge, O bride Jerusalem,

God is my shield, my rocky cloister intimate

And home and shelter for my poor clay.

You help me out of violence and injustice,

I call upon the Lord, the most blessed,

And I shall be saved from my enemies.

The waves of death raged around me,

The pestilence of calamity was the terror of God to me,

Death's noose was bound on the tried,

Death's rod was like thee, my rod and staff,

And when I was afraid, I called upon Jehovah!

Then he heard from the table with four corners

The cry, when to him the man of God cried.

The ground of heaven cried out in his wrath,

The earth trembled, swayed, then wavered,

Flames of Pentecost sprang from the mouth

And wreaths of Pentecostal peonies he scattered,

From heaven he came, born as a child,

And darkness was his way and a sea,

He flew softly on Mahanajim,

He floated on the fragrance, the army of peace,

He made darkness his tent,

From black clouds the Lord made wrath,

From his brightness came a fire

And thunder roared from heaven's defence.

The Most High spoke his word of love,

He shot out arrows so sharp,

That in a moment the lightning struck the place.

Then the bed of the sea was seen lying,

It quivered furiously on the sea's port

At the rebuke of my master, whose victory

Was his breath. The horns blew a storm.

He reached out and caught me to fly

And led me from the deep sea to the tower.

He drew me away from foes mighty strong,

From my haters passion worm,

They pierced my marrow in the time of adversity;

The Lord went to my right side,

He led me forth, who faithfully sheltered me.

He had delight in my childish sense.

The Lord has given me happiness since one day,

He giveth me since I was clean of hands.

To the saints a saint, I like

The faithful bride of the Messiah, God's Virgin,

The pure child of whom I speak pure.

Most perverse sex perverted, consecrated

A helper of all poor wretched people,

Humiliator of the proud of this age.

You, Lord, are my cloud of fire of grace,

You made my darkness a light.

With thee I can make war on the black scourge.

In love I can overcome, your face

Makes me leap over the wall with delight.

The ways of God go to judgment,

The Master's word is more than dust,

It is purified like fine gold,

He is a schield and a mother's breast!

For who is God but the Messiah?

And who, but God, is rock and stone to us

And mountain from which a stone rolls down?

God strengthens me with power, with bread and wine,

And leaves me right the paths and stairs.

He makes my feet like a deer‘s feet

And sets me on high to fly

And teaches the hand to hold the sword fast,

To draw a bow by the cradle,

And give me thy shield against the arrows of pestilence,

And thy mercy maketh me great and gracious.

Thou leadest me to the pious rest of Judea,

Where my feet walk in patience.

The enemies I overcome in love

And am a doer with guilt of conscience.

I smote angrily, I struck thirty blows,

That they might not inherit true life,

That those people might remain in darkness.

Thou hast made me strong to die the first death,

Thou hast subdued mine enemies to me,

Thou hast turned my destruction to flight,

That I may destroy them that love not,

They look around, there is no helper,

They call him, but there is no forgiveness,

I will crush them like pebbles,

I'll crush them like dirt in the street.

You helped me out of my rebellions,

My troubled heart and lend you have blessed,

Anointing me from the multitude of the old heathen

And Israel became my sympathy,

The sons of strangers will I feed in peace,

That they may hear my voice;

The sons of strangers suffer to languish

And come out of the city with fear of wrath.

The king liveth, blessed be my rock,

For God says, Here is my mercy!

My God, power and strength of Israel,

He lays the nations at my feet.

He giveth me the lamb's skin against frost.

You surpass the knowledge of my enemies,

Thou art my saviour from the man of violence.

Therefore I will thank thee with kisses of love

And sing praise in all weathers

To the Lord, the King, for his grace.

And to the anointed are serving the gods of love,

And David's sons, and David's wives.

This sings the anointed of his Lord,

The sweet songbird of Israel,

The gentle Spirit of the Lord spoke through me,

His word is on my tongue, my rock

Is he, and is my Lord, and hath spoken

With his new Pentecost fire-melting,

Which is like the light of spring, as prayed for

The morning star in the cloudless sky

And when the grass of the earth prays beautifully

And flowers also blossom. A tumult

Of the blessed is then in Sion's house

With God who sits enthroned in the heavens.

He pronounced the covenant to my spirit,

In all things well ordered and secure.

There he casteth out nettles from the heap!

And my desire he fulfils in the morning!

Amen.

Josef Maria von der Ewigen Weisheit – Werke

Inhalt

THE SONG OF DAVID

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Unsere Liebe Frau