Ephraim: The Nisibene Hymns
Nisibene Hymn 54: The Dispute of the Two Servants
Hear, O Freedom, the dispute of two servants,
how each convicts the other of being powerless.
Refrain: Glory to you, by whose humiliation Adam was exalted,
and by whose death he was raised and regained Eden!
If the Evil One overcomes you, then, great is the shame,
for Death, his comrade, has convicted him of being weak.
And if Death subdues you, see what a disgrace that is,
for the Evil One, his comrade, mocks him as nothing but a shadow.
Their dispute is a mirror for you, in which you can see
that both of them are like chaff before your breath.
Yes, and prophets and apostles, in their promises,
assure you that like flowers they will wither at the rising.
You, Death, are the one whom they hate, the living and the dead,
for you dissolve and destroy every union.
It is not open death that kills, Satan;
your death, which is secret, kills the children of men.
My name is not hateful like yours, for the angel
showed himself to Balaam on the road in the likeness of Satan.
How well this name of yours fits you, Satan,
you who strayed from the way and made unwary Adam stray from it!
Do not wander off like one who does not know, and lose your case.
Argue, Death, if you are able to reply.
I know that you are cunning, Satan,
so cunning that you can twist a snare out of sand.
Your arguing is over, Death; for the one who is beaten,
when his words run out and fail, begins to rail.
I am conqueror over all, and am I beaten by you?
Let Adam, whom I have overcome, persuade you, Satan!
I am the one who bound Adam and threw him down before you.
The mighty man whom my tricks had bound, you came and subdued.
I am the one who has been crowned anew with a diadem in the world,
for Adam, chief of the mighty, I hold captive in Sheol.
I killed him by a secret death, Adam himself, when he sinned.
You, Death, have slain one who was already dead, killed by me.
In your desire to conquer, Evil One, you have made yourself hated,
for you are Death as well as Satan, and this seems a small thing to you.
So you have been silenced, Death, like a weakling,
for neither in words nor in deeds do you have the strength to stand.
It is for your evil that you conquer, Evil One, if you would only see it;
your crown is wholly of shame, if you would only perceive it.
I will be defeated, and you will be cursed, Satan.
It is good for me to be ignorant, and not malicious.
Blessed is the Just One, who divided them, though they were entirely of one mind!
Blessed is the Good One, who made us of one mind when we were divided!
I will overcome the Evil One through your forgiveness, All-Merciful One,
and I will overcome death through your resurrection, Giver of All Life!