1. Chorus
Dead, dead, dead!
Death, groan through the desolate night! 
Rocks join in the lament!
and you, waves of the sea,
howl from your depths:
Joseph the Great is dead!
Joseph, father of immortal deeds, is dead! 
alas, dead! 

2. Recitative for Bass 
A monster, [whose] name is fanaticism,
rose from the depths of Hell,
stretched itself out between the earth and the sun,
and there was night!

3. Aria for Bass 
Then came Joseph, with God’s strength,
he ripped down the raging monster,
tearing it from earth and heaven,
and stepped on its head.

4. Aria for soprano with Chorus 
Then Humanity ascended into the light,
then the earth could rotate happily around the sun,
and the sun could warm it with divine rays! 

5. Recitative for Soprano 
He sleeps free from his worldly responsibilities.
Still is the night, only a shivering zephyr
wafts, like a last gasp from the tomb, by my cheek.
Whoever’s undying soul you may be, Zephy, 
flutter gently! Here lies Joseph in his grave
and slumbers peacefully
awaiting the Day of Judgment, when you, 
felicitous grave, bear him to eternal crowns. 

6. Aria for Soprano 
Here slumbers in peace and quiet
the great Patient One,
who plucked no rosebud without a thorn,
who with a full heart
for the good of Humanity,
suffered until his life’s end.

7. Chorus [repeated from movement I] 
Dead, dead, dead!
Death, groan through the desolate night!
Rocks join in the lament!
And you, waves of the sea,
howl from your depths:
Joseph the Great is dead!
Joseph, father of immortal deeds,
is dead! Alas, dead!