Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917.
By Solomon Ibn Gabirol (Trans. Nina Davis)A Song of Redemption
C
A handmaid as ’neath Egypt’s slavery;
Through the dark day of her bereavement sore
She looketh unto Thee.
Restore her sons, O Mighty One of old!
Her remnant tenth shall cause man’s strife to cease.
O speed the message; swiftly be she told
Good tidings, which Elijah shall unfold:
Daughter of Zion, sing aloud! behold
Thy Prince of Peace!
Mercy we crave!
O Lord, we hope in Thee alway,
Our King will save!
But mine enduring anguish hath no end;
My grievous years are spent in ceaseless flow,
My wound hath no amend.
O’erwhelmed, my helm doth fail, no hand is strong
To steer the bark to port, her longed for aim.
How long, O Lord, wilt Thou my doom prolong?
When shall be heard the dove’s sweet voice of song?
O leave us not to perish for our wrong,
Who bear Thy Name!
Mercy we crave!
O Lord, we hope in Thee alway,
Our King will save!
Despised and abject, outcast, trampled low;
How long, O Lord, shall I of violence cry,
My heart dissolve with woe?
How many years, without a gleam of light,
Has thraldom been our lot, our portion pain!
With Ishmael as a lion in his might,
And Persia as an owl of darksome night,
Beset on either side, behold our plight
Betwixt the twain.
Mercy we crave!
O Lord, we hope in Thee alway,
Our King will save!
The voice of captive Ariel’s woe unhealed?
Virgin of Israel, arise, rejoice!
In Daniel’s vision, lo, the end is sealed
When Michael on the height
Shall stand aloft in strength,
And shout aloud in might,
And a Redeemer come to Zion at length.
Amen, amen, behold
The Lord’s decree foretold.
E’en as Thou hast our souls afflicted sore,
So wilt Thou make us glad for evermore!
Mercy we crave!
O Lord, we hope in Thee alway,
Our King will save!