Bach Cantata 21 : Ich hatte viel Bekumernis

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Erste Teil

Part 1

1. Sinfonia

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2. Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis 

2. I had much grieving in my heart; but your [my God’s] consolations

restore my soul.

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3. Seufzer, Tränen, Kummer, Not,
 

3. Sighs, tears, grief, distress,
Anxious yearning, fear and death
Gnaw at my constricted heart;
I feel misery, pain.

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4. Wie hast du dich, mein Gott,
 

4. How is it that you, my God,
In my distress,
In my fear and dismay,
Have turned yourself from me entirely?
Ah, do you not know your child?
Ah, do you not hear the lamenting
Of those who are
Linked to you by covenant and faithfulness?
You were my delight
And have become cruel to me;
I seek you in all places;
I call and cry for you;
Yet my “woe and ah”
Now looks as though it were entirely unknown to you.

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5. Bäche von gesalznen Zähren,
 

5. Streams of salted tears,
Floods, rush forth constantly.
   Storm and waves harm me,
   And this tribulation-filled sea
   Will weaken me of spirit and life;
   Mast and anchor will break;
   Here I sink to the seabed;
   There [I] peer into the jaws of hell [and see]:5
   Streams of salted tears.

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6. Was betrübst du dich,

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6. Why do you sadden yourself, my soul, and why are you so restless within me?

Wait for God; for I will yet thank him, because he is the help/salvation8 of

 my countenance, and my God.

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Part 2

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7. Seele
Ach Jesu, meine Ruh,
 

7. Soul
Ah, Jesus, my rest,
My light, where are you tarrying?
Jesus
O soul, see, I am with you.
Soul
With me?
Here [it] is indeed pure night.
Jesus
I am your faithful friend,
Who also keeps watch in the darkness,
Where there are pure rogues.
Soul
Break in, then, with your luster
And light of consolation.
Jesus
The hour is already coming,
When your contest’s victory wreath9
Will be a sweet restorative to you.

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8. Seele
Komm, mein Jesu, und erquicke,
 

8. Soul
Come, my Jesus, and restore,
And gladden with your gaze,
This soul that shall die
And not live,
And in its misfortune 
Entirely decay.
I must constantly hover in grief;
Yes, ah yes, I am lost [from salvation].
No, ah no, you hate me.
Ah, Jesus, fill me with sweetness of soul and heart.
Come, my Jesus, and restore
Me with your gaze of grace.
Jesus
Yes, I come and restore
You with my gaze of grace;
Your soul, it shall live
And not die;
Here, out of this wound-cavity [in my rib]
You shall inherit
Healing, salvation through [my blood,] this juice of the grape;
No, ah no, you are chosen [for salvation].
Yes, ah yes, I love you.
Escape, you worries; disappear, you pain.
Yes, I come and restore
You with my gaze of grace.

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9. Sei nun wieder zufrieden, 
 

9. Be now again at peace, my soul, for the Lord does good unto you.

How do heavy worries help us,
How does our “woe and ah” help us?
How does it help, that every morning
We bemoan our affliction?
We make our cross-bearing and suffering
Only greater by the sorrow.
Do not think in the heat of your oppression
That you are forsaken by God,
And that God may seat in the bosom [of Abraham—heaven]
Him who [on earth] dines in constant good fortune.
The ensuing time changes many things
And sets to each his limit/lifespan.

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10. Erfreue dich, Seele,

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10. Gladden yourself, soul; gladden yourself, heart;
Escape now, grief; disappear, you pain.
Transform yourself, weeping, into pure wine;
My groaning will now be, to me, a shouting [for joy].
The purest candle[light] of love, of consolation,
Burns and flames in [my] soul and breast,
So long as Jesus consoles me with heavenly delight.

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11. Das Lamm, das erwürget ist,  

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11. The lamb that is slain is worthy to take might and riches and wisdom and

strength and honour and praise and adulation. Adulation and honour and

praise and power be to our God from eternity to eternity. Amen, hallelujah!

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