Ah God, look down from heaven

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by Martin Luther (1483 - 1546)

Translation © by Michael P Rosewall

Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG ITA

Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein
Und lass [dich dess]¹ erbarmen!
Wie wenig sind der Heilgen dein,
Verlassen sind wir Armen;
Dein Wort man [lässt nicht]² haben wahr,
Der Glaub ist auch verloschen gar
Bei allen Menschenkindern.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Bach

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Bach: "dich's doch"
² Bach: "nicht lässt"

Text Authorship:

by Martin Luther (1483 - 1546), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750), "Coro. Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein", BWV 2 no. 1 (1724) [ chorus and instrumental ensemble ], from cantata Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Johann Hermann Schein (1586 - 1630), "Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein", published 1618 [ SS chorus, continuo ], from Opella Nova, erste Abteilung, no. 19, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Gino Taschini) , "Coro. Oh Dio, guarda giù dal Cielo", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2020-01-28
Line count: 7
Word count: 39

Ah God, look down from heaven

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Ah God, look down from heaven
And have compassion on us!
How insignificant are your saints,
We poor are forlorn;
We do not deem your word to be true,
And faith has waned away
From the children of men.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein" = "Ah God, look down from heaven"
"Coro. Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein" = "Chorus. Ah God, look down from heaven"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2023 by Michael P Rosewall, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Martin Luther (1483 - 1546), no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-02-18
Line count: 7
Word count: 39