The parable of the Old Man and the Young | So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went

by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918)

The parable of the Old Man and the Young

Language: English

Our translations: CAT FRE SPA

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
And builded parapets and trenched there,
And streched forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! and angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.

But the old man would not so, but slew his son, 
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• B. Britten

Text Authorship:

by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918), "The parable of the Old Man and the Young", from Poems, first published 1920 [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 Albert Tepper (b. 1921), "The parable of the Old Man and the Young", 1969 [ SSATTBB chorus, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, 2 percussion ], from cantata Cantata 1969 [sung text not yet checked]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Offertorium", op. 66 no. 3, published 1961 [ soprano, tenor, baritone, satb chorus, boys' chorus, orchestra, chamber orchestra, organ ], from War Requiem, no. 3
- View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-01-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 131