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Repentance of Nineveh
St Ephrem the Syrian, tr. Burgess, 1853
10. Part the Tenth
They thread the mount and gain its top
That they might see the land of promise;
That although they might not enter it,
They might not be deprived of the sight of it.
They ascended, and cast their eyes below,
And viewed the whole country.
They trembled and were affrighted,
And mortal pangs laid hold upon them;
For there were altars upon the hills,
And images upon the high places.
Among the groves there was idolatry,
Among the oaks there was uncleanness.
Carved images were near their doors,
And as they entered they worshipped them.
Their idols were without number,
And their vices could not be reckoned.
By their fountains there were purifications,
And washings by their streams;
Upon the housetops there were their statues,
And their whoredoms in the gardens;
Soothsayers walked the streets,
And enchanters filled the ways.
They ascended higher and looked upon their roofs,
And the altars were innumerable;
One was worshipping a graven image,
Another poured out libations to a demon.
Within their borders there were set up,
The calves made by Jeroboam;
One was placed in Beersheba,
And the other in Dan.
Incense there ascended,
And drink-offerings and holocausts.
Before those dead calves
Living calves were sacrificed;
And before his graven image and idol
Every man struck his head.
Avarice was also there,
And its companion, Oppression;
There was Prodigality,
With its sister, Intemperance;
There was Lasciviousness,
With its ally, Fornication;
There also was Falsehood,
And its kinsman, Robbery;
There was Incantation,
And its close confidant, Magic;
There also was Chaldæism,
And its acquaintance, Soothsaying;
There was public Injustice,
And its yoke-fellow, secret Wickedness.
There they witnessed crime in public,
The injustice and oppression of the inhabitants;
Men were associating with the harlots,
The mother stood with her daughter and daughter-in-law
Like snares in the streets.
Death altogether reigned there,
With Satan his fellow-king.
There princes were iniquitous,
And their judges flagitious.
Covetousness among them was like a fire,
And greediness of gain as Gehennah;
Their habitations were a deep ditch,
And their temples a whirlpool.
The borrower was like a fiery pit,
And the creditor as Satan;
They both were vexing one another
Who would go to one torment.
Even their children were swearing
By the names of their gods.
Among the heathen there was one portion of evil,
But with them ninety and nine.
Who was able to oppose himself,
To the compact mass of their crimes?
They had multiplied the number of their offences
As satyrs, the children of Semolo.
The Ninevites were filled with horror,
And trembled at the iniquity they saw.
One man said to his fellow,—
“Is what we look upon a dream?
Is this the land of promise,
Or are we contemplating Sodom?
Is this the race of Abraham,
Or are we looking upon devils?
Are these we see men,
Or unsubstantial shadows?
Surely the iniquity which has fled from us
Hath but changed its place and come hither;
The idols which we there brake in pieces
Are here restored again;
The altars which we pulled down
Have obtained wings and fled hither;
The pestilence which hath ceased in our land,
How eagerly is it here desired!
The star which we have rejected,
How is it here adored!
Soothsaying, which is humbled among us
Here walks at large;
The idolatry which hath departed from us
Here looks out of all windows;
The signs of the zodiac, which we have blotted out,
Are here painted upon their doors.
The arrogance which we have cast aside,
Here resides on their foreheads.
The lasciviousness which we have deserted,
Has its dwelling in their looks;
It is visible in their eyes,
And perceptible in their nostrils.
The sun, which is not worshipped yonder,
How it is here treated with honour!
The calves, which elsewhere are thought lightly of,
How are they here adored!
But if we say that our customs
Have fled, and behold they are here,
There are, further, many new ones,
And entirely abominable;
For here are vile things,
Which in our land did not exist;
Here sins are wrought,
Which among us were not committed.
“Micha introduced the form
Of the idol with four faces.
In our country no man sacrifices
To a brazen serpent and worships it;
But among this people there resides
The curse of the old serpent;
They are execrated like the living serpent,
Who sacrifice to the dead one.
We do not immolate our children to devils,
But here we see they are slain;
Brute animals are sacrificed by us,
But here their daughters are offered up.
How vile is the mode of life
Of the people who have such saviours!
How licentious are the actions
Of the people who have such customs!
How execrable is the education
Of those who have such parents!
If such is the god of the people,
They will desire graven images.—
Thus a nation which has but one Creator,
Is a maker and seller of idols!
“These boast in names alone,
Because they are called the children of the upright;
It suffices to them that they think
They are named the sons of Jacob;
By pious titles which they put on
They foolishly believe they shall be justified.
Their name is spread abroad through the world,
With their sinful actions.
“They think they are righteous children,
On account of their father Abraham;
But that they have on them the name of Israel,
Is but the pride of words.
Their whole boast is this,
That they are circumcised, although they are sinners;
But their manner of life does not resemble
That of the true children of Abraham.
The name of Abraham is greater in their esteem,
And his circumcision is far greater
Than the faith which he possessed.
The Sabbath, which God gave them,
Is exalted by them above God.
They even complain of God,
As though He should abrogate His laws,
And they should appoint a law
Even to the Lawgiver Himself;
They would be without the law themselves,
But God should be subjected to it.
With them the law is superior
To Him who appointed it;
Not that they may observe His law,
But that they may blame the giver of it.
In their eyes Moses and the prophets
Are inferior to sacrifices;
Their whole glorying is in slain-offerings,
And their pride in incense.
It is sufficient to these arrogant ones,
If they are sprinkled with blood and filth;
They think God loves the incense
More than the simple truth He has taught them.”