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Hymns and Homilies

St Ephrem the Syrian, tr. Burgess, 1853

13. Hymn 13: Hymn on the Resurrection

When the air of the Resurrection shall breathe softly,
The bones of the righteous shall be gathered together;
And at the voice of the trumpet they shall arise,
By the power of God which causeth them to stand up.

In the day when the righteous shall awake,
The heaven and the earth will be made new;
And men will give an account of themselves,
And the children of the bridechamber shall not be found wanting.

The perfect shall exult in the kingdom,
And be united with the angels;
And hearing the loud sound of the trumpet,
Shall overthrow death with songs of triumph.

When the rising of the righteous is manifested,
Evil men and deceivers shall be condemned;
In fire and darkness they shall be tormented,
Who in their arrogancy despised the upright.

When they come to the gate of Paradise,
Of its own accord it shall open to them;
The guarding cherub shall salute them worshipfully,
Playing on his harp and coming to meet them.

They see the bridegroom when he is revealed
And cometh from the East with rejoicings;
He will give them wings, and without delay,
They will fly through the air and worship him.

“Come, enter ye children of the light!”
Jesus will cry to His beloved ones in that hour:
“Receive your crowns, the reward of your labour,
Ye heirs of an everlasting kingdom!”

Both the just and the unjust shall pass through
The fire which is to try them, and shall be proved by it;
The righteous pass and the flame is quiet,
But it burneth the wicked and snatcheth them away

Solitary is Hades—it hath become a desolate land!
The graves are opened and emptied;
And the children of Adam rise from the dust,
And the creatures ascend to their Lord!