GENERAL NOTE: This version of Cantata 130, for which Bach was evidently responsible, is still little known. Movements 1 and 5 take their texts verbatim from the outer stanzas of the hymn “Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir.” The internal movements paraphrase other stanzas.

¹ Billig” here is an archaic synonym for “angemessen” (“fittingly/meetly”). The language of this line is derived from 2 Thessalonians 1:3, which in the Luther Bibles of Bach’s day reads “Wir sollen Gott danken allezeit um euch, lieben Brüder, wie es billig ist” (“We should thank God always for you, dear brothers [in Christ], just as it is meet/fitting”).

² In older German, “schon” is a possible alternate spelling of “schön,” presumably employed here for its better rhyme with “Thron” (“throne”). The word “schön” basically means “beautiful,” but it also can carry a sense of “brightness” (the English words “shine” and “sheen” share historical roots with “schön”), hence the rendering with the adjective “resplendent.” The language of this line is apparently derived from Psalm 147:1, which in the Luther Bibles of Bach’s day reads “Lobet den HERRN, denn unsern Gott loben, das ist ein köstlich Ding; solch Lob ist lieblich und schön” (“Praise the LORD; for to praise our God, that is an excellent thing; such praise is lovely and beautiful/resplendent”). In line 1 of the next movement of the cantata, the angels are said to be brightly radiant.

³ e Bach sources give “um” (“around”), but the standard wording for this hymn line was “Die um dich schwebn in deinen Thron” (“[the angels] that hover around you [as you are sitting] in your throne”). The cantata’s double “um” may have been meant to correspond to the appearance of a double “um” in lines 7–8 of the next movement.

⁴ This should probably read “solche Helden” (accusative plural), as in this line in BWV 130.1.

⁵ This line is a near quotation of the underlying chorale stanza as well.

⁶ In 2 Samuel 14:20, angels are said to be wise.

⁷ This line derives its sense from Psalm 40:2, which in the Luther Bibles of Bach’s day reads “Ich harre des HERRN, und er neigt sich zu mir und hört mein Schreien” (“I await the LORD, and he inclines [his ear] to me and hears my crying”).

⁸ The angels of the Lord are hailed as “ihr starken Helden” (“you mighty warriors”) in Psalm 103:20.

⁹ This is a biblical expression, “ihr armer Haufe Israel” (“you wretched/poor band, Israel”), taken from Isaiah 41:14. The name of the people of God, “Israel,” was understood here to mean “Christians.”

¹⁰ The Luther Bibles used the singular “der Teufel” (“the devil”) to refer to Satan, and the plural “die Teufel” (literally, “the devils”) to refer to the “demons” (or, “evil spirits”) whose leader is the devil.

¹¹ “Tasten” is here being used as a synonym for “schlagen.”

¹² A conflation. Satan is called “die alte Schlange” (“the ancient serpent”—with echoes of Genesis 3:1-7) and “der grosse Drache” (“the great dragon”) in Revelation 12:9.

¹³ With regard to the plural “Teufel” as “demons,” see fn. 10, above.

¹⁴ “Prince of the cherubim” is a title for Jesus. In the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Exodus 25:17-20; 2 Kings 19:15), the invisible God of Israel sits on a covering—usually rendered in English as “the mercy seat”—above two winged composite creatures called “cherubim,” who serve as guardians. The Luther Bibles rendered this divine seat “der Gnadenstuhl” (“the throne of grace”). It is the use of “Gnadenstuhl” in Luther’s idiosyncratic translation of Romans 3:25—“welchen Gott hat vorgestellt zu einem Gnadenstuhl durch den Glauben in seinem Blut” (“[Christ Jesus,] whom God has set forth as a throne of grace through faith in his [sacrificial] blood [on the cross]”)—that provides the basis in the theological discourse of Bach’s day for calling Jesus “der Fürst der Cherubinen” (“the prince of the cherubim”); also significant is the fact that the cherubim were theologically prized in Lutheranism for prefiguring what they (the Lutherans) professed as the harmony between the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. The normal plural for “der Cherub” was “die Cherubim,” but sometimes “[der] Cherubim” was employed for the singular and “Cherubinen” for the plural. In poetry, “Cherubinen” was especially welcome, as it has an extra syllable and it handily rhymes with “dienen/bedienen” (“to serve”).

¹⁵ With regard to “Helden” as “warriors,” see fn. 8, above.

¹⁶ This is a reference to the “feuriger Wagen” (“fiery chariot”; or, “chariot of fire”) that in 2 Kings 2:11 is said to have conveyed the prophet Elijah into heaven.

¹⁷ Synonymous with the “Häuflein” (“little band”) in movements 2 and 3, here with pastoral implications.

¹⁸ “In Wert halten” is apparently being used here as a variant of “in Würde halten” (“to hold in [high] respect/worthiness”).