This chorale is the direct answer to the mockers' question ('Who hit you?'). The congregation effectively answers: 'WE did it, through our sins.' The melody is again 'O Welt, ich muss dich lassen'.
The Mocking
Wer hat dich so geschlagen
Chorale
•Congregation
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No. 39part_44
Who hath thee so stricken,
My Savior, and with torments
So ill treated thee?
Thou art indeed no sinner,
Like us and our children;
Of misdeeds thou knowest not.
German
English
Wer hat dich so geschlagen,
Mein Heil, und dich mit Plagen
So übel zugericht'?
Du bist ja nicht ein Sünder
Wie wir und unsre Kinder,
Von Missetaten weißt du nicht.
Who hath thee so stricken,
My Savior, and with torments
So ill treated thee?
Thou art indeed no sinner,
Like us and our children;
Of misdeeds thou knowest not.
Modern adaptation
Who has beaten you like this, my Savior? You are no sinner like us; you are completely innocent.
Theologie
Bach uses a clever textual device here. The torturers ask: 'Who hit you?' (as a game). The chorale answers seriously: 'Who hit you... (it was I)'.