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Repentance of Nineveh
St Ephrem the Syrian, tr. Burgess, 1853
1. Part the First
The just man, Jonah, opened his mouth;
Nineveh listened and was troubled.
A single Hebrew preacher
Made the whole city to fear.
His mouth spake and delivered its doom,
And distributed death to his hearers.
The feeble herald stood up,
In a city of mighty men.
His voice broke the heart of kings,
He overturned the city upon them.
By one word which cut off hope,
He made them drink the cup of wrath.
Kings heard him and were humbled,
They threw away their crowns and became lowly;
Noble men listened and were filled with consternation,
Instead of robes they clothed themselves with sackcloth;
Venerable old men heard him,
And covered their heads with ashes;
Rich men heard him and laid open
Their treasures before the poor;
Those heard him who had lent to others,
And gave their bills as alms;
Debtors heard him and became just,
So as not to deny their obligation;
Borrowers returned what they owed;
Creditors became forgiving;
Every man, respecting his salvation,
Became righteously solicitous.
No man was found there,
Who contrived how he might defraud;
They contended in a holy strive,
How each should gain his soul.
Robbers listened to Jonah,
And men of rapine left that which was their own.
Every man judged himself,
And was merciful to his fellow;
No one judged his companion,
For each one judged himself.
Every man reproved himself,
For wrath was reproving all men.
Murderers heard him and made confession,
For they cast off the fear of judges;
Judges also heard him and neglected their office;
Through the impending wrath plaints were silent;
They were unwilling to judge, even righteously,
Lest they should be righteously condemned.
Every man sowed mercy.
That from it he might reap salvation.
Sinners listened to Jonah,
And each one confessed his sins.
The polluted city heard him,
And quickly put off its abominations.
Masters also heard him,
And proclaimed freedom to their bondsmen;
Slaves heard him in righteousness,
And increased their respect for their masters.
At the voice of Jonah honourable women
Brought down their pride in sackcloth;
The repentance was indeed sincere,
When haughty women put on humility!
When compared with that repentance,
This of ours is like a dream;
In the presence of that supplication,
This of ours is but a shadow;
Compared with that humiliation,
This of ours is but the outward form.
For they were generous to forgive
Their debts in that fast.
The Ninevites gave alms,
Let us desist from oppressions;
The Ninevites set their slaves at liberty,
Do you have pity on freemen.
Now inasmuch as Jonah was sent
To that city full of crimes,
Justice armed him with severity;
She commissioned him with words of terror;
She gave him a stern decree against the city.
With searching medicines
He was sent, a terrible physician,
To a state abounding in evil deeds.
He opened and displayed his medicines—
They were terrible and penetrating.
For Grace on this condition
Had commissioned the Prophet—
Not that the city should be destroyed,
But should be saved when penitent;
Yet the preacher did not give counsel
To the citizens, that they should repent;
For he would shew that whoever is afflicted
Should be anxious respecting his health;
He held the door before them,
To indicate how they should knock at it.
Jonah preached a sentence of doom;
They assented to and approved it;
That it might be seen how powerful
Was repentance, to obtain conciliation;
And how strong was a penitent man
Who could obtain mercy by importunity.
For the malady was one of sin,
Of the free will and not of necessity.
A voice of terror made them fear,
Like the appearance of a drawn sword.
That the presumptuous by terror
Might be cured of his folly,
This physician, who went that he might heal,
Displayed the sword to his patient;
The city saw it and was alarmed.
Like an executioner he rose up,
The sick fell prostrate through fear;
They arose and hasted to repentance.
The voice of Jonah, like a sword,
Decreed the pains of torture;
He was a physician whose rod healed
More than the medicine of other men.
A physician heals by blandishments;
Jonah healed by preaching.
This healer whose visitation
Inflicted terror upon his patients,
By administering rebuke sharply
Wisely accomplished a cure.
The sick man left his bed
When he looked upon the rod of wrath;
Those became healthy who were sick
With the distemper of their lusts.
Every man rebuked his concupiscence,
Having become a physician to himself.
The feast of the kings ceased,
And the banquet of the princes.
If sucking children fasted from their milk,
Who would order a convivial meal?
They made the beasts abstain from water,
Who then would drink wine?
If the king clothed himself with sackcloth,
Who would put on his robes?
If unchaste women became holy,
Who would contemplate marriage?
If the jovial were made to tremble,
Who would indulge in laughter?
If those who were merry wept,
To whom could folly be pleasing?
If robbers became righteous,
Who could defraud his companion?
If the city was altogether shaken,
Who would protect his own home?
Throw away the gold
And no man will steal it;
Lay open the treasure
And none will violently enter it.
The gay laid restraint upon their eyes,
That they might not gaze on women;
Women laid aside their ornaments,
That those who looked on them might not stumble.
For they were persuaded of this,
That the ruin was a common one;
If they became a stumbling-block to others,
They themselves would not escape.
The beautiful would not disturb
The penitence of the men of the city;
For they knew that on their behalf
The repentant were mourning.
They thus both healed and were healed,
The one by the other, through repentance.
No one caused his neighbour to sin,
For every man was persecuting unrighteousness;
Every one drew on his companion
To prayer and supplication.
The whole city became one body,
Every one was watching every one,
Lest one should sin against his kinsman.
Each one instructed his neighbour,
That he might be clear from his fellow-member.
No man there offered up petitions,
That he might alone be saved;
They were alike as fellow-members,
For each prayed the one for the other.
All the city had been summoned
To destruction, as though it were one body.
Nor were the sober among them able
To live apart from sinners;
For as members they were bound together,
The good and the evil equally.
Their righteous men were offering prayers
For sinners, that they might be saved;
And sinners again were intreating
For the righteous, that they might be heard.
The just among them prayed
For the unrighteous, that they might be saved;
And the unjust, on the other hand, made supplication
That the prayer of the just might be accepted.