The Death of Jesus
Und von der sechsten Stunde
Recitative
•Evangelist, Jesus, Chorus
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No. 60part_70Evangelist
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying:
Jesus
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
Evangelist
That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said:
Chorus
He calleth for Elias.
Evangelist
And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said:
Chorus
Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
German
English
Evangelist
Und von der sechsten Stunde an ward eine Finsternis über das ganze Land bis zu der neunten Stunde. Und um die neunte Stunde schriee Jesus laut und sprach:
Evangelist
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying:
Jesus
Eli, Eli, lama asabthani?
Jesus
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
Evangelist
Das ist: Mein Gott, mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen? Etliche aber, die da stunden, da sie das höreten, sprachen sie:
Evangelist
That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said:
Chor
Der rufet dem Elias!
Chorus
He calleth for Elias.
Evangelist
Und bald lief einer unter ihnen, nahm einen Schwamm und füllete ihn mit Essig und steckte ihn auf ein Rohr und tränkete ihn. Die andern aber sprachen:
Evangelist
And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said:
Chor
Halt, lass sehen, ob Elias komme und ihm helfe.
Chorus
Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
Modern adaptation
It turns dark. Jesus cries out: 'My God, why have you forsaken me?' Bystanders think he is calling Elijah. One gives him vinegar, others mockingly wait.
Did you know?
This is the only moment in the entire Passion where Jesus sings without his 'Musical Halo' (the strings). This symbolizes his total abandonment by God.
Did you know?
The Evangelist sings something different from the Bible. Matthew 27:46 has "lema sabachtani" (Aramaic), but the St Matthew Passion sounds "lama asabthani" — the Hebrew original. That discrepancy travelled via a 14th-century scholar (Nicholas of Lyra), Erasmus and Luther straight into Bach's score. Had Bach known the Aramaic version, he would have had to write different notes.
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