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Repentance of Nineveh
St Ephrem the Syrian, tr. Burgess, 1853
9. Part the Ninth
When Jonah arrived at his country,
To the border of the children of his people,
He dismissed those who accompanied him,
That they might depart from him in peace;
For he feared lest they should see
The idolatry of his countrymen;
And lest the penitent, entering among them,
Should be corrupted by the ungodly;
And lest, coming from the heathen,
They should learn iniquity from his people.
He hesitated lest should break out again,
The wound which was closed up and healed.
For the bad example of private persons
Causes the children of men to stumble;
How much then must his example injure,
Who falls from a high station!
And if a modest man may corrupt others.
Although the wrong is very private;
How bitter is the injury
Of him who presumptuously offends!
For he who is daring in his violence,
Instils his leaven into others;
For his intercourse and acquaintance,
Make others to possess his impudence.
Jonah therefore feared the people,
Who, corrupt themselves, corrupted all others;
Lest the reformed from among the heathen,
By coming among them should be injured.
But he blushed to dismiss them
Publicly, without reason;
Yet, should he foolishly neglect the matter,
He dreaded their going with him,
Lest the seed of Canaan entering in
Should contemn the sons of Abraham.
Jonah therefore returned thanks
To the party accompanying him;
He saluted them affectionately,
He freely gave them his blessing;
He exhorted them in wisdom,
He gave them sweet counsel,
That they would yield to the advice given them,
And be obedient to the word of his mouth.
He entreated them much, but they did not regard it;
He prayed, but they paid no reverence;
He counselled them, but no one tarried;
He kissed and dismissed them, but none remained behind.
“We will go with thee to thy home,
That we may derive from it great benefits;
We will learn from it its manner of life,
Its ordinances, and its rites.
We will learn righteousness in thy country,
From the people residing in it;
We will be taught purity in it
By the holy race dwelling there.
We will learn illustrious deeds
From the renowned which are in the midst of it.
We would enter and see the glorious people;
We would enter and see the elect ones;
We would enter and look upon the land
In which Faith makes her abode.
We would enter and see the place
To which idolatry has not reached.
We would enter and see, and give thanks
That there is no incantation.
We would enter and contemplate their Sabbaths,
When they cease from evil things;
We would enter and see the circumcised ones,
Who, with the body, have circumcised their heart;
We would enter and see the blessed,
Among whom iniquity does not reside.
A people that blame others,
Can have in them nothing sordid;
A people that accuse abominations,
How far must they be from hateful things.
A mirror, themselves, unto others,
How fair must they be!
Those who teach fasting to strangers,
Can they live in dissipation?
Those who teach truth to others,
Can they practise falsehood?
If they have despised us for our sins,
Who can treat them with contempt?
“Deprive not then, O Hebrew,
Our company of these benefits;
Through thee we have become penitent,
By thee let us be made righteous;
In return for the toils of our feet,
Grant that we may enter with thee.
We will receive and carry from thy place
Fair examples to our city;
We will enter and look on the young men,
A pattern full of good order;
We will enter and receive from the lads
Most profitable illustrations;
We will enter and see their King,
That ours may become like him;
We will also look upon your judges,
And take their example to our country.”
But who is able to enumerate
Whatever these penitents uttered?
And when they had said these things,
And others greater than these,
Jonah heard and was silent,
And bowed his head to the ground.
For he blushed for the children of his people,
The iniquitous and flagitious.
This was worse to the son of Mathai
Than the affair of the gourd,
When the sun glowed upon his head,
And his soul sought for death.
If he fled, where could he find rest,
And whither should he retreat if he entered a ship?
These men troubled him more
Than those who took him up and threw him in the sea.
How could Jonah conceal
The blemishes of the children of his people?
He completed his guileful conduct at the sea,
By his pretexts upon the dry land;
As he falsely persuaded
The mariners when he took to flight,
So he used lying arguments,
When separating from the Ninevites.
Jonah seized hold of excuses,
And constructed his abundant wiles:—
“There is a great feast,” he said, “in our country,
And a stranger may not enter it;
It is a festival of the children of the land,
And there is no part in it for the heathen;
It is a great feast of the circumcised,
And the uncircumcised may not walk there.
For although ye are penitent,
Ye have not yet been circumcised;
That holy feast would be profaned,
By the presence of the uncircumcision.
Depart then hence quietly,
And return to your land in peace;
After a season ye may come again,
When the festival is accomplished.
Receive our counsel obediently
And despise not our request.”
The simple people received from him,
The exhortation he offered in their presence;
They parted from him, and did him reverence,
And received his blessing.
The whole assembly was sorrowful,
And departed from him weeping;
Because of the untoward event
Of the feast which Jonah had mentioned.
Jonah did not fear so much
For the great falsehood he had practised,
As he trembled for the possibility
Of their refusing to remain behind.
When Jonah was a long way off,
And they were still on the border,
They saw a high mountain
Near where they remained;
And they reflected, and took counsel,
Quickly to go up it;
And, as far as possible, to look upon
The land which was before them.