Hymn XII (Carmina Nisibena XII)

Hymn XII is the petition hymn — the shortest of the Nisibene cycle, and perhaps the most concentrated theologically. The speaker (Nisibis, the soul) calls in her afflictions to the Power that held the Gadarene Legion — the demoniac of the Gospels becomes here an image of the city herself, captive to wrath, awaiting release. The theological heart comes in a double surprise: the Evil One repaid debts he never borrowed; the Good One repaid mercies never lent. Come wonder at both. The Good One divided the account: sins go to his grace to be wiped away, oppressions go to his justice to be avenged. Then a remarkable image — Sin herself was enraged and shamed when she saw Grace girding the soul for freedom, equipping it to overcome its own transgressions. The petition opens: let your love pour and your wrath flood open together — one to destroy the captivity, one to restore the captive. In the very days the Evil One threatened to fling the soul like a sling-stone to ruin, the Good One was at work, painting it and keeping it in the bundle of life — the image from 1 Samuel 25, in which Abigail promises David that his soul will be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD. The hymn closes with the confession that the ceaseless eloquent ones — the angels who never cease from praise, who kept the city amid the waves and held her from falling — must give thanks on her behalf. For who could ever suffice to face grace itself, surrounded as it is with mercies?

I.

In my afflictions I will call out
to the Power that holds all —
for he himself can restrain
the captive of wrath,
as he once constrained the Legion.

Refrain: Glory to his grace.

II.

The Evil One repaid me, my brothers,
debts he never borrowed from me;
the Good One too repaid me
mercies I never lent him.
Come, wonder at both.

III.

The Good One divided and gave:
my sins to his grace,
my wrong-suffered to his justice.
His compassion wiped my sins away;
his justice avenged my wrong.

IV.

Sin was greatly enraged
and shamed in confusion
when she saw grace
girding her for freedom —
that she might overcome her transgressions.

V.

Let it boil, my Lord!
Pour out your love,
and let your wrath flood open —
your wrath to destroy,
your love to restore the captive from captivity.

VI.

The days the Evil One threatened,
in which like a stone from a sling
he would fling me to ruin —
in those very days the Good One pictured me
and kept my soul in the bundle of life.

VII.

The eloquent ones who cease not
from giving praise at every hour —
they kept me amid the waves
and upheld me that I not fall.
Let them give thanks on my behalf, my Lord.

VIII.

For who is ever adequate
to face grace itself,
surrounded as it is with mercies,
that I could suffice to give thanks
for the mercies surrounding me?

Colophon

Carmina Nisibena XII — translated from Classical Syriac by the DSS Translator lineage, 2026-03-23. Translation independently derived from the Digital Syriac Corpus base text (Beck/DSC, CC-BY 4.0). McVey's Paulist edition not consulted. Lexical verification against Payne Smith's Thesaurus Syriacus and Costaz's Dictionnaire syriaque–français. The Blood Rule holds.

Meter: pentacolon stanzas — five cola per stanza, roughly heptasyllabic per colon. Melody group: ܗ ܒܰܪ ܩܳܠܶܗ (melody 5 "Bar Qaleh"). Refrain (ʿunīthā): ܫܽܘܒܚܳܐ ܠܛܰܝܒܽܘܬܶܗ — Glory to his grace — sung after each stanza. No alphabetic acrostic detected in this hymn (stanza-initial letters: ܐ, ܦ, ܦ, ܪ, ܪ, ܝ, ܡ, ܡ).

Voice and structure: First-person petition — Nisibis crying out in affliction, but the theological argument is continuous and tightly structured. Four movements: (I) The opening petition — the Legion as precedent: if God could constrain the Gadarene spirits, he can constrain the city's captor. (II) The double repayment paradox (II–III) — Evil One and Good One each "repaid" what was never owed; the Good One's repayment was systematic: he divided the debt into two columns (sins → grace → erasure; oppression → justice → vengeance), making the theological economy visible. (III) Sin's shame (IV–V) — Sin's own enraged reaction to grace-arming the soul is a signal of grace's power; the paradoxical double petition (love and wrath together) asks for both weapons simultaneously, since one destroys captivity and the other carries the captive to freedom. (IV) The bundle of life and the angels' praise (VI–VIII) — the Evil One's threats were active in the same days that the Good One quietly painted the soul and bound it in the bundle of life (1 Samuel 25:29 — the image Abigail used to reassure David that his soul was kept by God even amid mortal danger); the ceaseless eloquent ones (angels, rational spirits) kept the city through the waves and held her from collapse; the hymn ends in the acknowledgment that even these are inadequate to match grace, let alone the fallen city herself.

Key translation choices: ܚܰܝܠܳܐ ܚܳܣܶܢ ܟܽܠ (I) = the Power that holds all — ܚܳܣܶܢ (participle of ܚܣܢ = to protect, hold, contain) carries the connotation of fortified strength that both contains and restrains; the same root is used for "stronghold." ܫܰܒܳܝܳܐ ܕܪܽܘܓܙܳܐ (I) = the captive of wrath — the Legion-demoniac is read as the captive of the wrath of the Evil One, just as Nisibis is the captive of Shapur's wrath; the Legion image establishes the political-theological parallel immediately. ܕܰܥܼܨܳܐ ܠܠܶܓܝܽܘܢ (I) = as he constrained the Legion — ܥܨܳܐ = to press, compel, force; the word for Christ's command over the demons carries physical-legal force. ܚܰܘ̈ܒܶܐ ܕܠܳܐ ܝܺܙܶܦ (II) = debts he never borrowed — ܝܺܙܶܦ (aorist of ܝܙܦ = to borrow, lend; the same root governs both directions) — a legal metaphor: the Evil One collected on a debt he never had; the Good One paid out mercies that were never deposited. ܛܠܺܝܡܽܘܬܝ̱ (III) = my oppression / my wrong-suffered — ܛܠܡ = to wrong, oppress, treat unjustly; ܛܠܺܝܡܽܘܬܳܐ = the state of having been wronged — active injustice done to the city, given to God's justice to be avenged, not to his grace to be forgiven. The distinction is precise: sins (the city's own guilt) go to grace; wrongs-suffered (the city's victimhood) go to justice. ܕܚܰܨܬܳܗ̇ ܠܚܺܐܪܽܘܬܳܐ (IV) = girding her for freedom — ܚܨ = to gird, arm, equip for battle; grace girding the soul for freedom is grace going on the offensive; ܚܺܐܪܽܘܬܳܐ = freedom, liberty, the state of the free person as opposed to the slave. ܘܰܐܬܬܪܰܥ ܫܦܼܰܥ ܪܽܘܓܙܳܟ (V) = let your wrath flood open — ܐܬܬܪܰܥ is Ethpeal of a root suggesting opening/breaking through (related to ܬܪܥ = gate; ܐܬܬܪܥ = be opened, be breached); ܫܦܼܰܥ = overflow, flood; together "let your wrath burst its gate and flood out." The double petition — pour out love, let wrath flood — is paradoxical and deliberate: both are needed. ܨܼܳܪ (VI) = pictured / depicted / painted — ܨܪ = to paint, to portray, to form an image; the Good One "painted" the soul during the very days of mortal threat, as an artist works in secret; paired with ܢܛܰܪ (kept/guarded), it suggests the soul was both inscribed and protected. ܨܪܳܪ ܚ̈ܰܝܶܐ (VI) = the bundle of life — the exact phrase from 1 Samuel 25:29 (LXX ἐν δεσμῷ τῆς ζωῆς, Peshitta ܒܰܨܪܳܪ ܚ̈ܰܝܶܐ); Abigail promises David that even his enemies cannot reach him because God has bound his soul in this bundle; Ephrem uses it as the ultimate counter to the sling-stone threat: what the Evil One would fling to destruction, God has wrapped in life. ܡܠܺܝ̈ܠܶܐ (VII) = the eloquent ones — ܡܠܺܝܠܳܐ = rational, articulate, eloquent; in Syriac theological usage, the ܡܠܺܝ̈ܠܶܐ are the rational creatures — angels and humans — but here the context (ceaseless praise, keeping the city amid waves) points specifically to the angels or guardian spirits. ܠܩܽܘܒܳܠ ܛܰܝܒܽܘܬܳܐ (VIII) = to face grace itself — ܩܽܘܒܳܠ = opposite, facing, confronting; the image is of standing face-to-face with grace and being found adequate; no one is.

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Source Text: Ephrem the Syrian — Hymns on Nisibis, Hymn 12 (Carmina Nisibena 12)

ܥܰܠ ܩܳܠܳܐ (melody indicator): ܗ ܒܰܪ ܩܳܠܶܗ

1.

ܐܶܩܪܶܐ ܒܽܐܘ̈ܠܨܳܢܰܝ̱ ܠܚܰܝܠܳܐ ܚܳܣܶܢ ܟܽܠ
ܕܗܽܘܝܽܘ ܡܨܶܐ ܚܳܣܶܢ ܠܫܰܒܳܝܳܐ ܕܪܽܘܓܙܳܐ
ܐܰܝܟ ܕܰܥܼܨܳܐ ܠܠܶܓܝܽܘܢ

2.

ܦܰܪܥܰܢܝ̱ ܐܰܚ̈ܰܝ ܒܺܝܫܳܐ ܚܰܘ̈ܒܶܐ ܕܠܳܐ ܝܺܙܶܦ ܡܶܢܝ̱
ܦܰܪܥܰܢܝ̱ ܐܳܦ ܛܳܒܳܐ ܪ̈ܰܚܡܶܐ ܕܠܳܐ ܐܰܘܙܶܦܬܶܗ
ܬܰܘ ܬܡܰܗܘ̱ ܒܬܰܪ̈ܬܰܝܗܶܝܢ

3.

ܦܰܠܶܓ ܘܝܰܗ̱ܒ ܛܳܒܳܐ ܚܰܘ̈ܒܳܬܝ̱ ܠܛܰܝܒܽܘܬܶܗ
ܛܠܺܝܡܽܘܬܝ̱ ܠܟܺܐܢܽܘܬܶܗ ܚܰܘ̈ܒܳܬܝ̱ ܥܛܳܐ ܚܢܳܢܶܗ
ܛܠܺܝܡܽܘܬܝ̱ ܬܒܰܥ ܕܺܝܢܶܗ

4.

ܪܶܓܙܰܬ ܚܛܺܝܬܳܐ ܛܳܒ ܘܒܳܬܰܬ ܒܛܽܘܪܳܦܳܐ
ܕܰܚܙܳܬ ܠܛܰܝܒܽܘܬܳܐ ܕܚܰܨܬܳܗ̇ ܠܚܺܐܪܽܘܬܳܐ
ܕܬܶܙܟܶܐ ܠܫܳܪ̈ܥܳܬܳܐ

5.

ܪܬܰܚ ܡܳܪܝ̱ ܐܰܫܶܕ ܚܽܘܒܳܟ ܘܰܐܬܬܪܰܥ ܫܦܼܰܥ ܪܽܘܓܙܳܟ
ܪܽܘܓܙܳܟ ܠܡܰܘܒܳܕܽܘ ܚܽܘܒܳܟ ܠܡܰܥܕܳܝܽܘ
ܫܒܺܝܬܳܐ ܡܶܢ ܫܒܳܝܳܐ

6.

ܝܰܘ̈ܡܶܐ ܕܰܓܙܰܡ ܒܺܝܫܳܐ ܕܰܒܗܽܘܢ ܐܰܝܟ ܕܰܒܩܶܠܥܳܐ
ܢܶܫܕܶܝܢܝ̱ ܠܰܐܒܕܳܢܳܐ ܒܗܽܘܢ ܨܼܳܪ ܢܛܰܪ ܛܳܒܳܐ
ܢܰܦܫܳܐ ܒܰܨܪܳܪ ܚ̈ܰܝܶܐ

7.

ܡܠܺܝ̈ܠܶܐ ܕܠܳܐ ܫܳܠܶܝܢ ܕܢܰܘܕܽܘܢ ܒܟܽܠܥܶܕܳܢ
ܕܢܰܛܪܽܘܢܝ̱ ܒܓܰܘ ܓ̈ܰܠܠܶܐ ܘܣܰܡܟܽܘܢܝ̱ ܕܠܳܐ ܐܶܦܶܠ
ܢܰܘܕܽܘܢ ܚܠܳܦܰܝ ܡܳܪܝ̱

8.

ܡܰܢ ܓܶܝܪ ܣܳܦܶܩ ܡܶܢ ܡܬܽܘܡ ܠܩܽܘܒܳܠ ܛܰܝܒܽܘܬܳܐ
ܕܪ̈ܰܚܡܶܐ ܕܰܟܪܺܝܟܺܝܢ ܠܶܗ ܕܶܐܢܳܐ ܐܶܣܦܰܩ ܐܰܘܕܶܐ
ܠܪ̈ܰܚܡܶܐ ܕܰܚܕܺܝܪ̈ܺܝܢ ܠܺܝ

ܥܽܘܢܺܝܬܳܐ (Refrain): ܥܽܘܢܺܝܬܳܐ: ܫܽܘܒܚܳܐ ܠܛܰܝܒܽܘܬܶܗ

Source Colophon

Syriac text from the Digital Syriac Corpus (DSC), file 269.xml. TEI edition CC BY 4.0 (syriaccorpus.org/269). Based on the critical edition of Edmund Beck, Carmina Nisibena (CSCO 218/219, Louvain, 1961). Transcription by Michael Oez.

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