Nativity Hymn 13: Thirty Crowns for Thirty Years

In the days of the king whom they called by the name of Semha, our Lord sprang up among the Hebrews. Semha and Denha ruled and came: a king on earth, and the Son in heaven. Blessed be his rule! [a]

In the days of the king who enrolled people in the book of the dead, our Redeemer came down and enrolled people in the book of the living. He enrolled, and they enrolled too: on high he enrolled us, on earth they enrolled him. Glory to his name! [b]

In the days of the king whose name was Semha, the type and the reality met together: the king and the King, Semha and Denha. His cross on his shoulders was the sign of his kingdom. Blessed is he who carried it.

Thirty years he walked the earth in poverty! Let us twine the sounds of praise in all their measures, my brothers and sisters, for the years of the Lord, thirty crowns for the thirty years. Blessed be his birth!

In the first year, which is chief over the treasures and dispenser of abundant blessings, let the cherubim, who bore up the Son in glory, praise him with us! He left his glory, toiled, and found the sheep that was lost. To him be thanksgiving! [c]

In the second year, let the seraphim praise him even more with us. They who had proclaimed the Son holy later saw him reviled among those who opposed him. He bore the contempt and taught praise. To him be glory! [d]

In the third year, let Michael and his followers, who served the Son on high, praise him with us. They saw him on earth when he was serving, washing feet and cleansing souls. Blessed be his lowliness!

In the fourth year, let the whole earth praise him with us. It is only small for the Son, and it marveled to see that it was giving him lodging in its bed, so very poor a bed. He filled the bed, and he filled heaven. To him be majesty!

In the fifth year, the sun shone on the earth. With its breath let it praise our Sun, who brought his breadth down low and humbled his might, so that the delicate eye of the unseen soul might be able to look on him. Blessed be his brightness! [e]

In the sixth year again, let the whole air praise him with us, in whose wide space all things are made glorious. It saw its mighty Lord, who had become a little child in a little bosom. Blessed be his dignity!

In the seventh year, the clouds and the winds rejoiced with us and sprinkled the dew over the flowers, for they saw the Son, who made his brightness a slave and received disgrace and foul spitting. Blessed be his redemption!

In the year that is the eighth, let the fields give praise, which nurse their crops from his fountains. They worshiped, because they saw the Son in someone’s arms, the pure One nursing on pure milk. Blessed be his good pleasure!

In the ninth year, let the earth glorify the might of her Creator, who laid seed in her in the beginning so that she might bring forth all her produce. For she saw Mary, a thirsty land, who yielded the fruit of a Child who was a wonder, yes, a marvel. Then she praised him more than ever, because he was a great Sea of all good things. To him be exaltation!

In the tenth year, let Mount Sinai glorify him, which trembled before its Lord. It saw them take up stones against its Lord. He received stones, he who was to build his church on a Stone. Blessed be his building! [f]

In the eleventh year, let the great sea praise the fists of the Son that measured it. It was astonished, and saw that he came down, was baptized in a little water, and cleansed the creatures. Blessed be his noble act! [g]

In the twelfth year, let the holy temple praise him, which saw the Child when he sat among the old men. The priests were silent when the Lamb of the feast bleated at his own feast. Blessed be his propitiation! [h]

In the thirteenth year, let the crowns praise with us the King who conquered, who died and was crowned with a crown of thorns, and bound a great crown on Adam at his right hand. Blessed be his apostleship!

In the fourteenth year, let the Passover in Egypt praise the Passover that came and passed over all. Instead of Pharaoh, it sank Legion; instead of horses, it choked the devil. Blessed be his vengeance! [i]

In the fifteenth year, let the lamb of the gluttons praise him. For our Lord was so far from slaughtering it, as Moses did, that he even redeemed humankind with his own blood. He who feeds all died for all. Blessed be his Father! [j]

In the sixteenth year, let the wheat by its type praise that Farmer who sowed his body in the barren earth, since it covers all, spreads itself out, and yields new Bread. Blessed be the Pure One! [k]

In the seventeenth year, let the Vine praise the Lord who adorned it. He planted a vineyard, and souls were its vines. He gave peace to the vineyard, but he destroyed the vineyard that produced wild grapes. Blessed be the one who uprooted it! [l]

In the eighteenth year, let the vine that the wild boar from the forest had eaten praise the True Vine, who pruned himself, kept his fruit, and brought the fruit to the Lord of the vineyard. Blessed be his harvest! [m]

In the nineteenth year, let our yeast praise the true yeast, which worked itself in among those who were in error, drove them all together, and made them of one mind by one teaching. Blessed be your teaching!

In the twentieth year, let salt praise your living Body, with which the bodies and the souls of all the faithful are salted; and faith is the salt of people, by which they are preserved. Blessed be your preserving! [n]

In the twenty-first year, let the waters of the desert praise you. They are sweet to those far off and bitter to those near, who did not serve him. The chosen people and the nations were bitter in the desert, and he destroyed them. They were sweetened by the cross, which redeemed them. Blessed be your pleasantness! [o]

In the twenty-second year, let weapons and the sword praise you. They were not enough to kill our enemy. It was you who killed him, you who put back the ear that Simon’s sword cut off. Blessed be your healing! [p]

In the twenty-third year, let the donkey praise him that gave its colt for him to ride on, that loosed the bonds, that opened the mouth of the mute, that opened the mouth of the wild donkeys too, when the race of Hagar gave a shout of praise. Blessed be the praise of you! [q]

In the twenty-fourth year, let the Treasury praise the Son. The treasures marveled at the Lord of treasures when he was growing up in the house of the poor, he who made himself poor so that he might make all rich. Blessed be your rule! [r]

In the twenty-fifth year, let Isaac praise the Son, for by his goodness Isaac was rescued from the knife on the mountain, and in his place there was the victim, the type of the Lamb for the slaughter. The mortal escaped, and he who gives life to all died. Blessed be his offering! [s]

In the twenty-sixth year, let Moses praise him with us, for he was afraid and fled from those who would kill him. Let him praise the Lord who bore the spear and received the nails in his hands and in his feet. He entered hell and plundered it, and came out again. Blessed be your resurrection! [t]

In the year that is the twenty-seventh, let the eloquent speakers praise the Son, for they found no pretext that could save our case. He was silent in the judgment hall, and he carried our case. Honor be to him! [u]

And in this year let all judges praise him, who, being just men, killed the ungodly. Let them praise the Son, who, being good, died for the wicked. Though he was the Son of the Just One, he gave them every kind of good thing in abundance. Blessed be his tender compassion!

In the twenty-eighth year, let all the mighty men of valor praise the Son, because they did not set us free from the one who took us captive. He alone is to be praised, who by being slain showed us life. Blessed be his deliverance! [v]

In the twenty-ninth year, let Job praise him with us. Job bore sufferings for himself, but our Lord bore for us the spitting and the spear, the crown of thorns and the whips, contempt and reproach, yes, mockery. Blessed be his mercy!

In the year that is the thirtieth, let the dead praise him with us, because they are brought to life, and the living, because they have turned to repentance, because height and depth were made one by him. Blessed are he and his Father! [w]