Translation by James Rendel Harris (1852 - 1941)
As the work of the husbandman is the...
Language: English  after the Aramaic (ܪܡܝܐ)
The beauty of God's creation. 1 As the work of the husbandman is the ploughshare: and the work of the steersman is the guidance of the ship: 2 So also my work is the Psalm of the Lord: my craft and my occupation are in His praises: [3 Because His love bath nourished my heart, and even to my lips His fruits He poured out. 4 For my love is the Lord, and therefore I will sing unto Him: 5 For I am made strong in His praise, and I have faith in Him. 6 I will open my mouth and His spirit will utter in me the glory of the Lord and His beauty; the work of His hands and the operation of His fingers: 7 The multitude of His mercies and the strength of His word. 8 For the word of the Lord searches out all things, both the invisible and that which reveals His thought; 9 For the eye sees His works, and the ear hears His thought; 10 He spread out the earth and He settled the waters in the sea: 11 He measured the heavens and fixed the stars: and He established the creation and set it up: 12 And He rested from His works: 13 And created things run in their courses, and do their works: 14 And they know not how to stand and be idle; and His heavenly hosts are subject to His word. 15 The treasure-chamber of the light is the sun, and the treasury of the darkness is the night: 16 And He made the sun for the day that it may be bright, but night brings darkness over the face of the land; 17 And their alternations one to the other speak the beauty of God: IS And there is nothing that is without the Lord; for He was before any thing came into being: 19 And the worlds were made by His word, and by the thought of His heart. Glory and honour to His name. Hallelujah.]1
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 omitted by Hovhaness.
Authorship:
- by James Rendel Harris (1852 - 1941), "Ode 16", appears in The Forgotten Books of Eden, in The Odes of Solomon, first published 1926 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Aramaic (ܪܡܝܐ) by Bible or other Sacred Texts , from the Greek, 1st century A.D.? [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Alan Hovhaness (1911 - 2000), "As the work of the husbandman", op. 5 no. 2 (1935) [medium voice and piano], from 3 Odes of Solomon, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Jean Nandi
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-29
Line count: 29
Word count: 340