Das Leben für uns in den Tod gegeben

Here is my translation of the Passion hymn, “Das Leben für uns in den Tod gegeben” (Melchior Bischof, d. 1614), in ELGB #97. Fischer has no entry in his lexicon, but Fischer-Tümpel has the text from Psalmodia Sacra (Melchior Franck, 1634), a text evidently unavailable currently. It is a partly normalized metrical form of the old Kyrie trope used at Matins on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday; hence the irregular meter, varying from stanza to stanza, save for the refrain (cf. the Latin text in Ludecus’ Vesperale, p. 62f., 69f., 75f.). When an example of the exact melody becomes available it will be added here. Aside from that, the hymn occurs early in scattered hymnals, especially in Coburg. The Coburg Kirchenbuch appoints the hymn for Apostles’ Days in Lent. In the meantime, let the following notation, based on a transcription of Künstel’s melody in the Markuspassion (kindly provided by Joe Herl) suffice as an indication of the melody for all the stanzas, though the meter varies somewhat in the 2nd and 3rd.

 

THE Savior
Died to gain us God’s favor,
His dear blood outpouring,
Hell gloriously scouring;—
Jesus Christ, the one true God,
Obeyed His Father and bore the deadly rod:
O Christ our Lord!
To us Thy mercy ever afford!
Kyrie, ele-i-son!
Christe ele-i-son!
Kyrie ele---i-son, ele-i-son!

2 Thou who to death didst truly state:
O Death, I’ll be to thee a plague and crushing weight;—
Thou who wast slaughtered for us,
And won us life in heaven glorious:
O Christ our Lord!
To us Thy mercy ever afford!
Kyrie eleison!
Christe eleison!
Kyrie eleison, ele-i-son!

3 Thou, crucified for all our race,
Didst stretch Thy hands, all to embrace,
Awak’ning grace:
Thou who didst hear the thief’s lamenting,
Though late he came to his repenting:
O Christ our Lord!
To us Thy mercy ever afford!
Kyrie eleison!
Christe eleison!
Kyrie eleison, ele-i-son!

Translation © 2023 Matthew Carver.

GERMAN

Das Leben,
für uns in den Tod gegeben,
hat sein Blut verehret, […verröhret]
die Hölle zerstöret,
Christus Jesus wahrer Gott,
ward seinem Vater gehorsam bis in Tod.
Zu aller Frist
erbarm Dich unser, o Jesu Christ!
Kyrie, Eleison!
Christe, Eleison!
Kyrie, Eleison!

2 Der Du dem Tod verkündigt hast:
O Tod, ich will dir sein ein Gift und schwere Last;
der du für uns gestorben,
das ewig Leben hast erworben.
Zu aller Frist
erbarm Dich unser, o Jesu Christ!
Kyrie, Eleison!
Christe, Eleison!
Kyrie, Eleison!

3 Der du am Kreuze ausgestreckt
Dein Händ, nach allr Welt ausgereckt,
uns Gnad erweckt:
der du den Mördr hast angenommen,
wie wohl er spät zur Buß ist kommen.
Zu aller Frist
erbarm Dich unser, o Jesu Christ!
Kyrie, Eleison!
Christe, Eleison!
Kyrie, Eleison!