| Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei1 dir; weiche nicht, denn ich bin dein Gott! Ich stärke dich, ich helfe dir auch, ich erhalte dich durch die rechte Hand meiner Gerechtigkeit.2 Fürchte dich nicht, denn ich habe dich erlöset, ich habe dich bei deinem Namen gerufen, du bist mein!3 | Fear not, I am with4 you; shrink5 not [with fear], for I am your God. I strengthen you; I also save you; I uphold you by the right hand of my righteousness. Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by your name; you are mine. |
| Herr, mein Hirt, Brunn aller Freuden, Du bist mein, ich bin dein, Niemand kann uns scheiden. Ich bin dein, weil du dein Leben Und dein Blut mir zugut In den Tod gegeben. Du bist mein, weil ich dich fasse, Und dich nicht, o mein Licht, Aus dem Herzen lasse. Lass mich, lass mich hingelangen, Da du mich und ich dich Lieblich werd umfangen.6 |
Lord, my shepherd, fount of all joy, You are mine; I am yours; No one can separate us. I am yours, because you have given your life And your blood, for my benefit, Unto death. You are mine because I hold you, And will not let you, O my light, Out of my heart. Let me, let me arrive there [in heaven], Where you me, and I you, Sweetly7 will embrace. |
| (transl. Michael Marissen & Daniel R. Melamed) |
1 “Mit” (“with”) in the Luther Bibles of Bach’s day. The “bei” in “ich bin bei dir” also means “with.” Perhaps, however, there is a slightly different emphasis: “bei dir” could mean “being on your side,” whereas “mit dir” would mean “accompanying you.”
2 Isaiah 41:10.
3 Isaiah 43:1.
4 See fn. 1, above.
5 “Weichen” is being used here in its figurative, older German sense of “seelisch mürbe machen” (“to spiritually wear down,” in this case by fear).
6 Two stanzas of “Warum sollt ich mich denn grämen?”
7 According to the errata list in the hymn’s original publication, “lieblich” (“sweetly”) was a typographical error for “leiblich” (“bodily,” “in the flesh”). “Lieblich” caught on, however, and by Bach’s day was the standard reading, although sometimes “ewig” (“eternally”) appeared instead. “Leiblich” is the reading in the modern German protestant hymnbook, the Evangelisches Gesangbuch.
