Hymn XVIII (Carmina Nisibena XVIII)

Hymn XVIII is the successor hymn — Ephrem's address to Bishop Abraham as the living portrait of his predecessor. The ruling image is one of visual imprinting: the deceased bishop's likenesses (ܕܶܡܘ̈ܳܬܶܗ) are portrayed in the successor and his footprints (ܥܳܩ̈ܒܳܬܶܗ) stamped upon him — the predecessor shines wholly from all the successor's person. This typological logic governs the first four stanzas: the fruit that bears and proclaims its own tree; the transmission of primacy received not with silver like Jacob nor with the jealousy that dogged Aaron, but in love like Moses — and the brothers rejoiced as Aaron rejoiced in Moses. The body-physiology of stanza 4 extends the earlier head-and-members motif: the head looks in all directions, lofty yet descending in compassion even to the heels, to receive from them the pain they carry. Stanza 5 marks the historical transition that Abraham's election crowned: a young athlete drove impurity, like smoke, from the hateful arena; paganism (ܚܰܢܦܽܘܬܳܐ) aged and expired. Stanza 6 makes Abraham a new David: a horn sounded from silence, hidden daily combat against Satan trained him for the manifest crown, and Goliath the Second fell. Stanza 7 is the fool-Satan meditation: Job, Joseph, Hananiah, Daniel — each tested by the adversary, each strengthened secretly until the hidden victory became public shame for their tester. Stanzas 8 and 9 are a farming pair sharing a single doxology — Blessed is he who multiplied your harvests — framing the godless farmer (thorns with the left hand) against the righteous one who cut off that left and sowed living words with his right; one deed is better than ten thousand words; may the sowing come a hundredfold, sixty, thirty. Stanza 10 arrays five images of episcopal necessity — light that must not dim, salt that must not grow insipid, a head without scurf, a mirror without filth, a lamp that banishes stumbling. Stanza 11 gives practical counsel: delegate scribes, judges, stewards, caregivers — distribute each matter so the mind rests, leaving the tongue free for the prayer that intercedes for all the people. The hymn closes with one of the cycle's most theologically compressed stanzas: the priest who offers the living body must be wholly crystalline at every hour, for he stands as mediator between God and humanity — and even the title "priest" is too small for what the ministry requires.

I.

O you who served after his master —
pure after the illustrious one,
chaste after the venerable one,
wakeful after the one who fasted —
your master has not departed from you:
in life we saw him as one departed.
For behold, his likenesses are portrayed in you
and his footprints are stamped upon you,
and he shone wholly from all of you.
Blessed is he who gave you to us in his place.

II.

A fruit in which its tree is depicted,
proclaiming its own root —
the flavors of its sweetness have not yet been stripped from us.
His words you showed in body,
for you completed them in deed.
In your conduct his teaching is depicted;
in your deeds, his interpretation;
and in your perfection, his commentary.
Blessed is he who made your purity illustrious.

III.

The last occasion that grew and became head over its members —
the lesser one who received the firstborn right,
not with silver, like Jacob,
and not with jealousy, like Aaron
whose brothers the Levites envied —
but in love he received it, as Moses,
though Moses was older than Aaron.
Your brothers rejoiced in you as they rejoiced in him.
Blessed is he who chose you in concord.

IV.

There is no envy and no jealousy
among the members of the body,
for in love they obey it
and in mercies it acts upon them.
It is seemly that the head look to the members in all directions:
it is lofty, yet humbles itself in its compassion
even to the heels,
to receive from them the pain they carry.
Blessed is he who blended your love in us.

V.

This was the very least of things:
that impurity should expire in old age —
old age lay down in its taste;
in its time youth prevailed gloriously,
for a young athlete carried him to the hateful arena he entered —
the compulsion full of impurity,
which, like smoke, stiffened and passed away,
together with its beginning, its end.
Blessed is he who breathed in it and it dissolved.

VI.

A sound of the horn from the silence —
it came and called you to battle.
You entered like David, anew;
Goliath the second was defeated by you.
Your combat was not that of an amateur:
the hidden battle every day
against the evil one you were accustomed to draw up,
trained in hidden contest to bring a manifest crown.
Blessed is he who chose you as our glory.

VII.

Before the testing of the head —
Job bore it in body and mind
and in testing was made illustrious;
and Joseph prevailed in the bedchamber;
the house of Hananiah in the furnace;
and in the midst of the pit, Daniel —
Satan was foolish: for when he tested them,
he strengthened their victory in secret,
and added to his being defeated openly.
Blessed is he who multiplied his shame.

VIII.

The farmer who was godless and crooked
sowed thorns with his left hand;
the righteous farmer burned with zeal for him
and cut off his left.
His right was full, and he sowed in the heart living words —
and lo, our minds are being cultivated
through his prophets and through his apostles;
in you may our souls be cultivated.
Blessed is he who multiplied your harvests.

IX.

And if your words are few,
cultivate our earth with deed —
for in great cultivation the stem and the root grow strong.
One beautiful deed is better
than the hearing of ten thousand words.
May your sowing come a hundredfold,
and the late crop sixtyfold,
and also the first cut thirtyfold.
Blessed is he who multiplied your harvests.

X.

Light ought not to grow dim;
salt ought not to grow insipid;
scurf is not fitting for a head,
nor filth for a mirror.
For if medicines are negligent, illnesses are not healed;
and if the lamp is dim, stumbling blocks too are many.
May your light drive out our darkness.
Blessed is he who made you our lamp.

XI.

Make for yourself scribes and judges,
also claimants and givers,
also stewards and caregivers —
entrust to each one his own matter,
lest with breadth it wear him down
and with reflection it be deflected from him.
Your mind is at rest, with the tongue by which you offer
supplication for the forgiveness of all the people.
Blessed is he who purifies your ministry.

XII.

As much as the mind is made clear,
so too the tongue grows crystalline;
as much as the hands are polished,
the whole body grows radiant.
Yet little is the priest and his titles —
the one who offers up the living body —
let him be wholly crystalline at every hour,
for he stands as mediator between God and humanity.
Blessed is he who purified his ministers.

Colophon

Carmina Nisibena XVIII — 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: quinticolon stanzas — five cola per stanza, each stanza closing with a unique doxology (Blessed is he who...). Melody: ܒܰܪ ܩܳܠܶܗ (Bar Qaleh — same as Hymns XIV and XVI). Unlike Hymn XVII, which sustained unique doxologies throughout twelve stanzas, Hymn XVIII has one deliberate doxological repetition: stanzas VIII and IX share ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗ̱ܽܘ ܕܰܐܣܓܺܝ ܥ̈ܰܠܠܳܬܳܟ (Blessed is he who multiplied your harvests), binding the two farming stanzas into a structural pair. All other doxologies are unique.

Voice and structure: Direct address — Ephrem speaks to Abraham in second person throughout, with one significant exception: the doxology of stanza XII shifts to third person (Blessed is he who purified his ministers), widening the lens from the individual bishop to all of God's eucharistic servants. Five movements: (I) The image-in-the-successor (I–II) — the predecessor's likenesses and footprints are visually imprinted on Abraham; the fruit-tree image extends this: the disciple is the fruit that depicts and proclaims the teacher-tree, and the flavors have not yet faded from the community. (II) The peaceful transmission (III–IV) — the typological contrast of three biblical figures: Jacob (purchased the birthright with silver), Aaron (received it amid jealousy), Moses (received it in love from one older than himself); Abraham is the Moses-type; the body-physiology of stanza IV extends the head-and-members motif from Hymn XV, adding the image of the head descending in compassion to the heels. (III) The historical transition (V–VI) — Abraham as the young athlete who drove the smoke of pagan compulsion from Nisibis; then as David facing Goliath the Second (Satan), trained in hidden daily warfare to win the manifest crown. (IV) Tested saints and Satan's foolishness (VII–IX) — Job, Joseph, Hananiah, Daniel: each tested, each strengthened; the farming pair: godless farmer (thorns, left hand) and righteous farmer (living words, right hand), with counsel to deed over word and the threefold Parable of the Sower harvest applied to Abraham's ministry. (V) Images of episcopal necessity and crystalline priesthood (X–XII) — five images of what must not fail: light, salt, clean head, clean mirror, burning lamp; administrative wisdom of delegation; the crystalline priest-as-mediator closing.

Key translation choices: ܕܶܡܘ̈ܳܬܶܗ (I) = his likenesses/images — from ܕܶܡܽܘܬܳܐ (image, form, likeness), the term used in Genesis 1:26 for the divine image; here used for the visual imprint of the predecessor in the successor; more visual than "qualities" or "character." ܥܳܩ̈ܒܳܬܶܗ (I) = his footprints — from ܥܩܒ (heel, footprint, trace); the predecessor has literally walked through the successor, leaving his marks; rendered "footprints" rather than "traces" to preserve the physicality. ܨܡܰܚ (I) = shone/radiated/dawned — the verb of sunrise and sudden light, used of the predecessor's manifestation through the successor's entire person. ܓܰܪܕܺܝ (II) = stripped — from ܓܪܕ (to scrape, peel, strip away); "the flavors have not yet been stripped from us" — the community still tastes the predecessor's sweetness in the successor; more specific than "faded." ܐ̱ܚܪܳܝܳܐ (III) = last — the last in a series of episcopal occasions (ܥ̈ܶܠܳܢܶܐ) who became first (head); the inversion echoes the Gospel "the last shall be first." ܐܰܘܳܝܽܘܬܳܐ (III) = concord/harmony/unity — from ܐܘܝ (to be at peace, to harmonize); chosen over the expected episcopal vocabulary because Ephrem's point is precisely the absence of rivalry; the brotherhood's joy is the sign of concord. ܡܰܙܶܓ (IV) = blended/mixed — from ܡܙܓ (to mix, blend, temper wine); "blended your love in us" — Abraham's love is not merely poured into the community but mixed into its substance; the verb is used for tempering metal and mixing wine. ܚܰܢܦܽܘܬܳܐ (V) = impurity/godlessness/paganism — the technical term for paganism in Syriac theological vocabulary; rendered "impurity" rather than "paganism" to preserve the moral-spiritual register and the connection to the smoke image. ܐܰܬܠܺܝܛܳܐ (V) = athlete — the standard Syriac borrowing from Greek ἀθλητής; the ascetic-athlete was a central figure in Syriac Christianity; the young athlete who enters the hateful arena is both Abraham the bishop and the ascetic tradition he embodies. ܗܶܕܝܽܘܛ (VI) = amateur/layman — Greek ἰδιώτης in Syriac transcription; "not that of an amateur" contrasts the untrained combatant with the trained spiritual warrior; the word's Greek origin (layman, private person) is retained in the translation's register. ܣܟܰܠ (VII) = was foolish/made a mistake — from ܣܟܠ (to be foolish, to err); sharper than merely "failed"; Satan's testing is depicted not as a near-miss but as ontological foolishness — he did not understand what testing does to the righteous. ܓܕܰܡ ܦܰܣܩܳܗ̇ (VIII) = cut off — two verbs together: ܓܕܡ (to gnaw, bite through) and ܦܣܩ (to cut, sever); the double verb gives a sense of force and finality; "cut off his left hand" renders the violence of the righteous farmer's intervention against the godless one. ܠܩܺܝܫܳܝܳܐ (IX) = the late crop — from ܠܩܺܝܫܳܐ (the late rain, second crop, aftergrowth); the agricultural term for the secondary harvest; rendered "late crop" to preserve the farming register against the more familiar biblical "sixtyfold." ܟܳܬܳܐ (IX) = first cut/first harvest — from ܟܬ (to cut grain, to reap); the first reaping of the field; the three agricultural images (hundredfold, sixtyfold of the late crop, thirtyfold of the first cut) reverse the ascending order of Matthew 13:8, perhaps emphasizing abundance descending from the greatest to the merely good. ܛܽܘܠܫܳܐ (X) = scurf — impurity of the scalp, dandruff, filth on the head; paired with ܨܳܐܬܳܐ (filth, stain) applied to the mirror; both are images from Hymn XVI returning — the mirror-metaphor of the congregation remains active. ܪܥܺܝܙܳܐ (XI) = at rest/undisturbed/calm — from ܪܥܙ (to be still, to rest, to be tranquil); the administrative delegation counsel in stanza XI has the specific goal of preserving the bishop's ܪܥܺܝܙܳܐ — his inner stillness for prayer; "mind is at rest" captures this better than "free." ܨܰܠܶܠ / ܢܶܨܛܰܠܰܠ (XII) = purified / grows crystalline — from ܨܠܠ (to be pure, clear, transparent as water or crystal); used of both God's purifying action (ܨܰܠܶܠ, stanza XII doxology) and the progressive clarification of mind, tongue, hands, and body; rendered "crystalline" to convey the visual transparency — the priest through whom God's action is meant to be seen without distortion. ܡܶܨܥܳܝܳܐ (XII) = mediator/intermediary — the same root as "middle" (ܡܨܥܐ); here used for the eucharistic priest who stands between (ܒܶܝܬ = between) God and humanity; a high theological claim compressed into one word of the closing stanza.

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Source Text: Ephrem the Syrian — Hymns on Nisibis, Hymn 18 (Carmina Nisibena 18)

ܥܰܠ ܩܳܠܳܐ (melody indicator): ܒܰܪ ܩܳܠܶܗ

1.

ܐܳܘ ܕܟܰܗܶܢ ܒܳܬܰܪ ܪܰܒܶܗ ܙܰܗܝܳܐ ܒܳܬܰܪ ܢܰܨܺܝܚܳܐ
ܢܰܟܦܳܐ ܒܳܬܰܪ ܝܰܩܺܝܪܳܐ ܫܰܗܪܳܐ ܒܳܬܰܪ ܨܰܝܳܡܳܐ
ܪܰܒܳܟ ܡܶܢܳܟ ܠܳܐ ܫܰܢܺܝ ܒܚܰܝܳܐ ܚܙܰܝܢܳܝܗ̱ܝ ܠܥܰܢܺܝܕܳܐ
ܕܗܳܐ ܒܳܟ ܨܺܝܪ̈ܳܢ ܕܶܡܘ̈ܳܬܶܗ ܘܰܪ̈ܫܺܝܡܳܢ ܒܳܟ ܥܳܩ̈ܒܳܬܶܗ
ܘܰܨܡܰܚ ܟܽܠܶܗ ܡܶܢ ܟܽܠܳܟ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܕܰܚܠܳܦܰܘܗ̱ܝ ܝܰܗܒܳܟ ܠܰܢ

2.

ܦܺܐܪܳܐ ܕܨܺܝܪ ܒܶܗ ܐܺܝܠܳܢܶܗ ܟܰܕ ܡܰܟܪܶܙ ܥܰܠ ܥܶܩܳܪܶܗ
ܠܳܐ ܓܰܪܕܺܝ ܡܶܢܰܢ ܥܕܰܟܺܝܠ ܛܰܥܡ̈ܳܬܳܐ ܕܒܰܣܺܝܡܽܘܬܶܗ
ܡܶܠܰܘ̈ܗ̱ܝ ܚܰܘܺܝܬ ܓܽܘܫܳܡܳܐܺܝܬ ܕܰܓܡܼܰܪܬ ܐܶܢܶܝ̈ܢ ܒܥܰܒܕܳܐ
ܒܕܽܘܒܳܪܳܟ ܨܺܝܪ ܝܽܘܠܦܳܢܶܗ ܘܰܒܣܽܘܥܪܳܢܳܟ ܦܽܘܫܳܩܶܗ
ܘܒܰܓܡܺܝܪܽܘܬܳܟ ܬܽܘܪܓܳܡܶܗ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗܽܘ ܕܢܰܨܰܚ ܙܰܗܝܽܘܬܳܟ

3.

ܥܶܠܳܢܳܐ ܐ̱ܚܪܳܝܳܐ ܕܺܝܪܶܒܼ ܘܰܗܼܘܳܐ ܪܺܝܫܳܐ ܠܗܰܕ̈ܳܡܰܘܗ̱ܝ
ܙܥܽܘܪܳܐ ܕܰܫܩܼܰܠ ܒܽܘܟܪܽܘܬܳܐ ܠܳܐ ܒܰܕ̈ܡܰܝܳܐ ܐܰܝܟ ܝܰܥܩܽܘܒ
ܘܠܳܐ ܒܰܛܢܳܢܳܐ ܐܰܝܟ ܐܰܗܪܽܘܢ ܕܰܛܢܰܘ ܒܶܗ ܐܰܚܰܘ̈ܗ̱ܝ ܠܶܘܳܝ̈ܶܐ
ܒܚܽܘܒܳܐ ܫܰܩܠܳܗ̇ ܐܰܝܟ ܡܽܘܫܶܐ ܟܰܕ ܩܰܫܺܝܫ ܗ̱ܘܳܐ ܡܶܢ ܐܰܗܪܽܘܢ
ܚܕܺܝܘ ܒܳܟ ܐܰܚܰܝ̈ܟ ܐܰܟܘܳܬܶܗ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗ̱ܽܘ ܕܰܓܒܳܟ ܒܰܐܘܳܝܽܘܬܳܐ

4.

ܠܰܝܬ ܚܣܼܳܡܳܐ ܘܰܛܢܳܢܼܳܐ ܒܶܝܬ ܗܰܕܳܡ̈ܶܐ ܕܰܒܓܽܘܫܡܳܐ
ܕܰܒܚܽܘܒܳܐ ܠܶܗ ܡܶܫܬܰܡܥܺܝܢ ܒܪ̈ܰܚܡܶܐ ܡܶܢܶܗ ܡܶܣܬܰܥܪܺܝܢ
ܕܰܘܩܰܐ ܗ̱ܘ ܪܺܝܫܳܐ ܠܗ̈ܰܕܳܡܶܐ ܕܰܠܟܽܠ ܓܰܒ̈ܺܝܢ ܗܽܘ ܚܳܐܰܪ
ܪܳܡ ܗܽܘ ܘܡܰܟܺܝܟ ܒܰܚܢܳܢܶܗ ܥܕܰܡܳܐ ܠܥ̈ܶܩܒܶܐ ܡܶܬܬܰܚܬܶܐ
ܕܢܶܣܰܒ ܡܶܢܗܶܝܢ ܢܶܟܝܳܢܳܐ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗ̱ܽܘ ܕܚܽܘܒܳܟ ܡܰܙܶܓ ܒܰܢ

5.

ܒܨܺܝܪܳܐ ܗܘܳܬ ܗܳܕܶܐ ܟܶܐܼܡܰܬ ܕܰܒܣܳܒܳܐ ܬܶܚܽܘܒ ܚܰܢܦܽܘܬܳܐ
ܒܛܰܥܡܳܗ̇ ܫܶܟܒܼܰܬ ܣܰܝܒܽܘܬܳܐ ܒܙܰܒܢܳܗ̇ ܢܰܨܚܼܰܬ ܛܰܠܝܽܘܬܳܐ
ܕܰܐܬܠܺܝܛܳܐ ܥܠܰܝܡܳܐ ܛܰܥܢܶܗ ܠܰܐܓܽܘܢܳܐ ܣܰܢܝܳܐ ܕܰܣܥܼܳܐ
ܩܛܺܝܪܳܐ ܕܰܡܠܶܐ ܚܰܢܦܽܘܬܳܐ ܕܰܐܝܟ ܬܶܢܳܢܳܐ ܥܰܙ ܘܰܥܒܼܰܪ
ܥܰܡ ܫܽܘܪܶܝܗ ܫܽܘܠܳܡܶܗ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܕܰܢܦܰܚܼ ܒܶܗ ܘܶܐܬܛܰܠܰܩ

6.

ܩܳܠܳܐ ܕܩܰܪܢܳܐ ܡܶܢ ܫܼܶܠܝܳܐ ܐܰܬܘܰܗ ܘܰܩܪܳܟ ܠܰܩܪܳܒܳܐ
ܥܰܠܬ ܐܰܝܟ ܕܰܘܺܝܕ ܚܰܕܬܳܐܺܝܬ ܚܳܒ ܡܶܢܳܟ ܓܽܘܠܝܰܕ ܕܰܬܪܶܝܢ
ܠܳܐ ܗܶܕܝܽܘܛ ܗ̱ܘܳܐ ܬܰܟܬܽܘܫܳܟ ܕܰܩܪܳܒܳܐ ܟܰܣܝܳܐ ܟܽܠ ܝܽܘܡ
ܠܽܘܩܒܰܠ ܒܺܝܼܫܳܐ ܣܳܕܰܪ ܗܘܰܝܬ ܡܥܳܕ ܗ̱ܽܘ ܕܽܘܪܳܫܳܐ ܟܰܣܝܳܐ
ܕܰܟܠܺܝܠܳܐ ܓܰܠܝܳܐ ܢܰܝܬܶܐ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗ̱ܽܘ ܕܰܓܒܳܟ ܫܽܘܒܗܳܪܰܢ

7.

ܡܶܢ ܩܕܳܡ ܢܶܣܝܽܘܢܳܐ ܕܰܪܺܝܫ ܐܺܝܽܘܒ ܦܰܓܪܶܗ ܘܪܶܥܝܳܢܶܗ
ܘܰܒܢܶܣܝܽܘܢܳܐ ܐܶܬܢܰܨܰܚ ܘܝܰܘܣܶܦ ܙܟܼܳܐ ܒܩܰܝܛܽܘܢܳܐ
ܕܒܶܝܬ ܚܰܢܰܢܝܳܐ ܒܰܐܬܽܘܢܳܐ ܘܰܒܓܰܘ ܓܽܘܒܳܐ ܕܳܢܺܝܐܶܝܠ
ܣܟܰܠ ܣܳܛܳܢܳܐ ܕܟܰܕ ܢܰܣܺܝ ܚܺܝܠ ܙܳܟܽܘܬܗܽܘܢ ܟܰܣܝܳܐܺܝܬ
ܐܰܘܣܶܦ ܕܢܶܚܽܘܼܒ ܓܰܠܝܳܐܺܝܬ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗ̱ܽܘ ܕܰܐܣܓܺܝ ܟܽܘܐܳܪܶܗ

8.

ܘܰܐܟܳܪܳܐ ܕܰܐܚܢܶܦ ܘܰܐܩܶܦ ܙܳܪܰܥ ܗ̱ܘܳܐ ܟܽܘܒ̈ܶܐ ܒܣܶܡܳܠܶܗ
ܛܰܢ ܒܶܗ ܐܰܟܳܪܳܐ ܟܺܐܢܳܐ ܘܰܓܕܰܡ ܦܰܣܩܳܗ̇ ܠܣܶܡܳܠܶܗ
ܡ̈ܶܠܶܐ ܗ̱ܘܳܐ ܝܰܡܺܝܢܶܗ ܘܰܙܪܰܥ ܒܠܶܒܳܐ ܡ̈ܶܠܶܐ ܚ̈ܰܝܳܬܳܐ
ܘܗܳܐ ܡܶܬܦܰܠܚܳܐ ܬܰܪܥܺܝܬܰܢ ܒܰܢܒܺܝ̈ܰܘܗ̱ܝ ܐܳܦ ܒܰܫܠܺܝܚ̈ܘܰܗ̱ܝ
ܒܳܟ ܢܶܬܦܰܠܚ̈ܳܢ ܢܰܦܫ̈ܳܬܰܢ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗ̱ܽܘ ܕܰܐܣܓܺܝ ܥ̈ܰܠܠܳܬܳܟ

9.

ܘܶܐܢ ܗܽܘ ܕܡ̈ܶܠܰܝܟ ܙܥܽܘܪܰܢ ܦܠܽܘܚܶܝܗ̇ ܠܰܐܪܥܰܢ ܒܰܥܒܳܕܳܐ
ܕܰܒܓܰܘ ܦܽܘܠܚܳܢܳܐ ܪܰܒܳܐ ܢܶܥܫܰܢ ܩܰܢܝܳܐ ܘܥܶܩܳܪܳܐ
ܛܳܒ ܗܽܘ ܥܰܒܕܳܐ ܫܰܦܺܝܪܳܐ ܡܶܢ ܫܶܡܼܥܳܐ ܕܪܶܒܽܘ ܡܶܠܺܝ̈ܢ
ܙܰܪܥܳܟ ܢܺܐܬܶܐ ܚܰܕ ܒܰܡܐܳܐ ܘܰܠܩܺܝܫܳܝܳܐ ܚܰܕ ܒܶܐܫܬܶܝܢ
ܐܳܦ ܟܳܬܳܐ ܚܰܕ ܒܰܬܠܳܬܺܝܢ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗ̱ܽܘ ܕܰܐܣܓܺܝ ܥ̈ܰܠܠܳܬܳܟ

10.

ܢܽܘܗܪܳܐ ܕܢܶܥܡܼܰܛ ܠܳܐ ܘܳܠܶܐ ܡܶܠܚܳܐ ܕܬܶܦܟܰܗ ܠܳܐ ܙܳܕܶܩ
ܛܽܘܠܫܳܐ ܠܪܺܝܫܳܐ ܠܳܐ ܝܳܐܶܐ ܐܳܦ ܠܳܐ ܨܳܐܬܳܐ ܠܡܰܚܙܺܝܬܳܐ
ܕܶܐܢ ܣܰܡ̈ܡܳܢܶܐ ܦܰܟܺܝܗܺܝܢ ܐܳܦܠܳܐ ܟ̈ܺܐܒܶܐ ܡܶܬܚܰܠܡܺܝܢ
ܘܶܐܢ ܗܽܘ ܕܰܫܪܳܓܳܐ ܥܰܡܽܘܛ ܐܳܦ ܬܽܘ̈ܩܠܳܬܳܐ ܣ̈ܰܓܺܝܐܳܢ
ܢܽܘܗܪܳܟ ܢܶܪܕܽܘܦ ܚܶܫܽܘܟܰܢ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗ̱ܽܘ ܕܥܰܒܼܕܳܟ ܠܰܡܦܺܐܕܰܢ

11.

ܥܒܶܕ ܠܳܟ ܣܳܦܪ̈ܶܐ ܘܕܰܝ̈ܳܢܶܐ ܐܳܦ ܬܳܒܽܘ̈ܥܶܐ ܘܝܳܗܽܘ̈ܒܶܐ
ܐܳܦ ܩܳܝ̈ܽܘܡܶܐ ܘܝܳܨܽܘ̈ܦܶܐ ܠܚܰܕ ܚܰܕ ܐܰܫܠܶܡ ܣܽܘܥܪܳܢܶܗ
ܕܰܠܡܳܐ ܒܦܶܬܳܐ ܢܶܫܚܶܬ ܠܶܗ ܘܰܒܪܶܢܝܳܐ ܢܶܨܛܝܳܐ ܠܶܗ
ܪܥܺܝܙܳܐ ܥܰܡ ܠܶܫܳܢܳܐ ܕܒܶܗ ܡܩܰܪܶܒ ܐܰܢ̱ܬ ܒܳܥܽܘܬܳܐ
ܠܚܽܘܣܳܝܳܐ ܕܟܽܠܶܗ ܥܰܡܳܐ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܕܰܡܙܰܗܶܐ ܬܶܫܡܶܫܬܳܟ

12.

ܟܡܳܐ ܕܢܶܫܬܰܦܶܐ ܪܶܥܝܳܢܳܐ ܘܢܶܨܛܰܠܰܠ ܐܳܦ ܠܶܫܳܢܳܐ
ܟܡܳܐ ܕܢܶܬܡܰܪ̈ܩܳܢ ܐܺܝ̈ܕܰܝܳܐ ܘܢܶܙܕܰܗܶܐ ܟܽܠܶܗ ܓܽܘܫܡܳܐ
ܙܥܽܘܪ ܗܽܘ ܠܟܳܗܢܳܐ ܘܟܽܘܢܳܝܶܗ ܕܰܡܩܰܪܶܒ ܦܰܓܪܳܐ ܚܰܝܳܐ
ܢܶܨܛܰܠܰܠ ܟܽܠܶܗ ܟܽܠܫܳܥ ܕܗܽܘ ܩܳܐܶܡ ܐܰܝܟ ܡܶܨܥܳܝܳܐ
ܒܶܝܬ ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ ܠܐ̱ܢܳܫܽܘܬܳܐ ܒܪܺܝܟ ܗܽܘ ܕܨܰܠܶܠ ܫܰܡܳܫܰܘ̈ܗ̱ܝ

Source Colophon

Syriac text from the Digital Syriac Corpus (DSC), file 275.xml. TEI edition CC BY 4.0 (syriaccorpus.org/275). Based on the critical edition of Edmund Beck, Carmina Nisibena (CSCO 218/219, Louvain, 1961). Transcription by Michael Oez.

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