God, God
has led me, has led me
into darkness.
He has made for me a yoke
and he has pressed my head, my head
and my jaw.
God has bent his bow,
making me the target
for his arrows.
Though I call and cry,
he stifles, he stifles
my prayer.
When I see where he has brought me
in my wandering life,
this is wormwood and gall.
What will I do
if hope fails within me,
the hope
that comes from the Lord,
that comes from the Lord.
Sit down alone and in silence,
because God has laid it upon you.
Put your mouth in the dust,
there may yet be hope.
Offer your cheek to him who strikes you,
for the Lord does not reject you forever:
even if he afflicts you, he will then be merciful.
For the Lord does not reject you forever,
even if he afflicts you, he will then be merciful,
according to the abundance of his love.

To this day we suffer hunger,
we suffer thirst and nakedness.
To this day we suffer hunger,
we suffer thirst and nakedness.
We are persecuted and we go wandering.
We are persecuted and we go wandering.
Insulted, we bless;
beaten, we endure.
When we are slandered,
we answer with love.
When we are slandered,
we answer with love.
We have become,
we have become,
we have become,
the scum of the earth,
and the rejected of the world.
For I think,
that to us
apostles,
God has allotted
the last place.
Like men sentenced to death,
like men sentenced to death,
like men sentenced to death,
like men sentenced to death.
Held up
as a spectacle
before the world,
before the angels,
before mankind,
before mankind.
Like men sentenced to death…
We have become…

Let him kiss me
with the kisses of his mouth;
your love is sweeter than wine.
Your name is the fragrance of your perfume:
that’s why
the maidens love you.
Take me with you, let us go out:
draw me towards you, let us run!
We shall praise your love more than wine,
how wonderful it is to love you!
Tell me then, beloved of my heart,
where do you lead your flock to pasture,
so that I may not wander as a vagabond
behind other shepherds?
Tell me then, beloved of my heart,
where do you lead your flock to pasture,
so that I may not wander as a vagabond
behind other shepherds?
If you don’t know this,
O loveliest of women,
follow the tracks of my flock
and take your kids to graze
close by the shepherds’ tents.
Take me with you, let us go out…