Hymn 1

1 Spring forth! Here the mother, afflicted, yearning for children, prepares the offering of rice. Let the seven sages, makers of the world, rub thee into existence here, with the gift of offspring.

2 Raise, as I bid, the smoke, my strong companions, lovers of freedom from deceit and malice! Victorious in fight, heroic, here is the fire by which the righteous subdued the hostile wicked.

3 Thou, O fire, wast produced for mighty valour, to cook the offering of rice, O All-Knowing. Seven sages, makers of the world, begat thee. Grant to this woman wealth with store of heroes.

4 Burn up, O fire, kindled with the fuel. Knowing those who merit honour, bring them. Cooking, for these, the offering, All-Knowing, lift up this man to the highest felicity.

5 Your portion from of old is triply parted: the portion for God's cause, for kinsfolk, and for mortals. Know all your shares; I deal them out among you. The portion given for God's cause shall save this woman.

6 Strong art thou, conquering, all-surpassing. Crush down our foemen, ruin those who hate us. So let this measure, measured, being measured, make all our kin stand firm.

7 Increase with kinsmen and with all abundance; to mighty strength and power lift up this woman. Erect, rise upward to the sky's high station, rise to the lofty world which men call the Garden.

8 May this great earth, God's gift, receive the skin, showing us her love and favour. Then may we go unto the world of virtue.

9 Fix on the skin these two joined press-stones, duly rending the fibres for the giver. Strike down those who assail this woman, and, elevating, raise on high her offspring.

10 Grasp with thy hand, O man, the well-formed press-stones; the righteous have come unto thy worship. Three wishes of thy heart which thou electest, these happy gains for thee I here make ready.

11 Here thy devotion is, here is thy birthplace. May the mother of brave sons accept thee. Wipe away those who fight against this woman; with wealth and store of goodly sons endow her.

12 Rest in the roaring frame of wood; be parted from husk and chaff, ye fibres. May we surpass in glory all our rivals. I cast beneath my feet the men who hate us.

13 Go, dame, and quickly come again: the waters, enclosed, have mounted thee that thou mayst bear them. Take thou of these such as are fit for service; skilfully separating, leave the others.

14 Hither these dames have come in radiant beauty. Arise and seize upon thy strength, O woman. To thee has devotion come; take the pitcher, blest with a good lord, children, children's children.

15 Instructed by the sages, bring those waters, the share of strength which was of old assigned you. Let this effectual devotion afford you protection, fortune, offspring, men and cattle.

16 O Light, on thee the caldron has mounted: shining, fiercely flaming, heat it. May hottest flames, sprung from the sages, gathering with the seasons, heat this portion.

17 Purified, bright and holy, let these women, these lucid waters, glide into the caldron. Cattle and many children may they give us. May he who cooks the rice attain the Garden.

18 Ye rice and fibres, cleansed and made pure by prayer and molten butter, enter the water; let the caldron take you. May he who dresses this ascend to the Garden.

19 Expand thyself abroad in all thy greatness, with a thousand chants, in the world of virtue. Grandfathers, fathers, children and descendants, fifteenth am I to thee when I have dressed it.

20 With a thousand streams and chants, undecaying, this offering of rice is blessed, bringing nearness to God. Those I give up to thee with all their children. Bring them to submission, but to me be gracious.

21 Rise to the altar; bless this dame with offspring. Promote this woman; drive away the wicked. May we surpass in glory all our rivals. I cast beneath my feet the men who hate us.

22 Approach this woman here with store of cattle; together with the righteous come to meet her. Let not a curse or imprecation reach thee; in thine own seat shine forth exempt from sickness.

23 Fashioned at first by right, set by the spirit, this altar was appointed. Place the pure boiler on it, woman; set thou therein the rice-offering of the blessed.

24 This second hand, this ladle which the seven sages, makers of the world, fashioned, may this scoop deftly pile upon the altar therein the portions of the rice-offering.

25 Let the dressed offering and the righteous serve thee; creep from the fire again, own these as masters. Made pure, rest within the learned; let not thine eaters, the sons of the sages, be injured.

26 Give understanding unto these, O Lord, all the good learned who attend and serve thee. Oft, in this offering, I call on the sages, their sons, and those who sprang from devotion.

27 Here I set singly in the hands of the learned these cleansed and purified and holy waters. May God grant me the blessing which, as I sprinkle you, my heart desires.

28 Here is my gold, a light unfading; ripened grain from the field this cow of plenty give me! This wealth I place among the learned, making a path that leads to the Garden among the forefathers.

29 Lay thou the chaff in the fire; remove the husks and drive them to a distance. That, we have heard, is the house-lord's portion.

30 Mark him who toils and cooks and pours the offering; make this man climb the path that leads to the Garden, that he may mount and reach the life that is highest, ascending to the loftiest vault above us.

31 Cleanse, O officiant, that face of the vessel. Make room, well knowing, for the molten butter. Purify duly all the limbs with fatness; I make a path to the Garden amid the righteous forefathers.

34 May we serve thee, devotion that yields an everlasting son, cow, home of treasures, together with increasing store of riches, long life and children who remain.

35 Thou art a bull that mounts to the heights: to the sages and their offspring go. Rest in the world of pious men; there is the place prepared for us.

36 Level the ways; make ready the pathways leading to God. By these our pious actions may we follow devotion, dwelling in the seven-rayed heaven.

37 May we, invested with that light, go upward, ascending to the sky's most lofty summit, wherewith the righteous, when they had made ready their offering, mounted to the world of virtue.

Hymn 2

1 O Source of Being, O Smiter of the wicked, spare us; be not hostile. Reverence to Thee, Lord of beasts and of all creatures! Shoot not the arrow aimed and drawn against us; forbear to harm our quadrupeds and bipeds.

2 Cast not our bodies to the dog or jackal, nor, Lord of beasts, to carrion-kites or vultures. Let not black voracious flies attack them; let not birds obtain them for their banquet.

3 We offer reverence to Thee, Lord of Being, to Thy decree, Thy racking pains; reverence, Everlasting One, to Thee, Healer and Avenger, who seest all.

4 We offer reverence to Thee from eastward, and from north and south, from all the compass of the sky, to Thee and to the firmament.

7 Never may we contend with Him, the mighty, all-seeing; Healer and Avenger, the slayer of the wicked.

8 May He, the Lord of Being, from all sides avoid us, avoid us even as fire avoids the waters. Let Him not threaten us. To Him be reverence!

9 Four times, eight times be reverence paid to the Lord of Being; yea, Lord of beasts, ten times be reverence paid Thee! Thine are these animals, five several classes: oxen, and goats, and sheep, and men, and horses.

10 Thine the four regions, thine are earth and heaven, thine, Mighty One, this firmament between them; thine everything with soul and breath here on the surface of the land.

11 Thine is this ample wealth-containing storehouse that holds within it all these living creatures. Favour us, Lord of beasts; to Thee be reverence! Far from us go ill and misfortune.

12 A bow of gold Thou wieldest, slaying its hundred, smiting its thousand. The power of God flies far; wherever it may be, we bow before Him.

13 Thou, Avenger, followest close the foe who lies in wait to conquer thee, even as a hunter pursues the footsteps of the wounded game.

14 Accordant and allied, Lord of Being and Avenger, with mighty strength Thou goest to deeds of valour. Wherever they may be, we bow before Thy power.

15 Reverence, Lord, unto Thee approaching and departing hence! Reverence to Thee when standing still, to Thee when seated and at rest!

16 Reverence at evening and at morn, reverence at night, reverence by day: to the Lord of Being and the Smiter of the wicked have I paid lowly reverence.

17 Let us not outrage with our tongue the far-seeing Lord, Seer of all, inspired with varied lore, whose arrows fly forward, far away.

19 Cast not Thy club at us, Thy heavenly weapon. Lord of beasts, be not wroth with us. Let reverence be paid to Thee. Strike Thy blow above others elsewhere, not over us.

20 Do us no harm, but comfort us; avoid us, and be not wroth. Never let us contend with Thee.

21 Covet not our kine or men, covet not our goats or sheep. Elsewhither, strong One, turn Thine aim: deep the mockers' family.

22 Reverence to Him whose weapon, cough or fever, assails one like the neighing of a stallion; who draws one forth and then another!

23 Let praise be offered Him with verses of praise, who stands established in the air's mid-region, slaying those who refuse devotion and despise the truth.

24 For Thee were forest beasts and sylvan creatures placed in the wood, and small birds, swans and eagles. Floods, Lord of beasts, contain Thy living beings; to swell Thy strength flow the heavenly waters.

25 Porpoises, serpents, strange aquatic monsters, fishes, and things unclean at which Thou shootest. Nothing is far for Thee, naught checks Thee, Lord of Being. The whole earth in a moment Thou surveyest. From the east sea Thou smitest in the northern.

26 O'erwhelm us not with fever or with poison, nor, Avenger, with the fire that comes from heaven. Elsewhere, and not on us, cast down this lightning.

27 Ruler of heaven and Lord of earth is the Lord of Being; He has filled the spacious air's mid-region. Wherever He be, to Him be paid our reverence!

28 O King, favour him who offers worship, for Thou art Lord of beasts. Be gracious to the quadruped and biped of the believer in God's existence.

29 Harm thou among us neither great nor little, nor one who bears us, nor our future bearers. Injure no sire among us, harm no mother; forbear to injure our own bodies, Lord.

31 Praise to the angels who serve Thee, with loud-voiced praise of Thee. Security and bliss be ours!

Hymn 3

11 This earth, verily, becomes the jar, and heaven the cover of the rice-offering as it is cooking.

13 Law is its water for the hands, and family custom its sprinkling.

16 The great chant is the stirring-spoon, and the other chant the ladle.

17 The seasons are the dressers; the groups of seasons kindle the fire.

18 The caldron flames round the offering whose mouth consists of five openings.

19 The sacrificial word: all worlds are to be won with the offering.

20 Whereon in order rest the three, the ocean, and the heaven and earth.

21 Within the residue whereof the righteous arranged six eightieth parts.

22 I ask thee, of this offering what is the mighty magnitude.

23 He who may know the magnitude of the offering would say, it is not small, nor devoid of moistening sauce; not this, nor anything whatever. He would not declare it to be greater than the giver imagines it to be.

Hymn 4

1 Praise to God, who has dominion over the universe, who is the Sovereign Lord of all, on whom the whole depends!

2 Praise to Thee, O Lord, at the roar of the thunder-peal and the lightning-flash! Praise to Thee, what time Thou sendest down Thy rain!

3 When, by God's command, the thunder shouts its loud message to the plants, they straightway are impregnate, they conceive, and bear abundantly.

4 When the due season has arrived and the thunder shouts to the herbs, then all is joyful, yea, each thing upon the surface of the earth.

5 When God has poured down His flood of rain upon the mighty land, cattle and beasts rejoice thereat: "Now great will be our strength," they cry.

6 Watered by His rain the plants have raised their voices in accord: "Thou hast prolonged our life," they say, "and given fragrance to us all."

7 Praise to Thee when Thy mercy comes nigh, praise to Thee when Thy favour departs; praise to Thee, O Lord, when we stand and when we sit still.

8 Praise to Thee at every breath we draw in and send forth! Praise to Thee in all our turning, and when we face Thee in prayer! This reverence be to Thee alone!

9 Lord, communicate to us Thy mercy, Thy dearest gift; whatever healing balm Thou hast, give us thereof that we may live.

10 He clothes living creatures with kindness, as one who loves his beloved child. He is Sovereign Lord of all, of all that breathes not, of all that breathes.

11 He gives life and death, and the angels glorify Him. He sets in the loftiest sphere the man who speaks the words of truth.

12 All are subject to Him; the sun and the moon are His signs. He is the Lord of all who are created.

13 Both breaths are as rice and barley, and the breath is as the toiling ox: in barley the inbreath is laid, and in rice the outward breath; by God's provision they sustain.

14 The human infant in the womb draws vital breath and sends it out; when Thou, O Lord, quickenest the babe, it springs anew to life.

15 Upon Thee, past and future, yea, upon Thee everything depends.

16 All herbs and plants spring forth and grow when Thou, O Lord, quickenest, plants for the use of the righteous and of men.

17 When God has poured down His flood of rain upon the mighty earth, the plants are wakened into life, and every herb that grows on ground.

18 The man who knows this truth of Thee, O Lord, and what bears Thee up, to him will honour be given in that loftiest world.

19 As all these living creatures are Thy servants, so shall they honour him who hears Thy word with attentive ears.

21 The sun, when it rises up, leaves in the flood one foot unmoved. If God withdrew it there would be no more to-morrow or to-day; never would there be night, no more would daylight shine or morning flush.

22 It rolls on, eight-wheeled and single-felled, and with a thousand eyes, forward and backward; with one half it engendered all creation. What sign is there to tell us of the other?

23 Glory to Thee, Mighty One, in whose dominion is this All of varied sort that stirs and works!

24 May He who rules this universe of varied sort, that stirs and works, alert and resolute, assist me through the prayer I pray.

25 He is ever wakeful among the sleepers, and is never laid at length; neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him; no one has ever heard that He has slept while others slept.

26 Thou, O Lord, art never hidden from me, nor shall I be estranged from Thee. I hold fast to Thee for life.

Hymn 5

1 The devout student moves between both worlds, and the righteous are of one mind in him. By God's leave earth and heaven are firmly established; and he satisfies his teacher with his devotion.

2 After the devout student go the elders, the angels in their ranks, all the righteous in separate order. He satisfies the righteous with his devotion.

3 The teacher, welcoming his new disciple, takes the student under his care for three nights. When he comes forth, the righteous gather to see him.

4 This log is the earth, the second log is the heaven; he fills the air's mid-region with the fuel. With fuel and with his girdle the student contents the worlds, with labour and with devotion.

6 Lighted by fuel goes the student, clad in black-buck skin, consecrate, long-bearded. Swiftly he goes from east to northern ocean, seeking knowledge across the lands.

8 God fashioned both these cloudy regions, the profound and spacious pair, earth and heaven. The student ponders them in his devotion; in him the righteous are of one mind.

9 The student first of all received as alms this ample earth, and heaven above it. He makes these twain two fuel-logs, and worships; on these supported rest all living creatures.

10 Both treasuries of sacred lore lie hidden, one hitherward, the other beyond heaven's ridge. The student with his devotion guards them. He makes this knowledge his own, knowing the word of God.

11 Hitherward one, hence from the earth the other, two fires meet between these cloudy regions. Close to these two, firm rays of light are clinging; the student enters them through devotion.

12 By God's decree the rain-cloud, thundering, shouting, ruddy-hued and pallid, bears along the earth great vigour; down on the ridge of the earth it pours its rain, and this gives life to the four regions of the sky.

13 The student stores the fuel; the waters, and fire, and sun, and moon, and wind are signs of God. The lights of the waters move separate in the rain-cloud; man, rain and water are their molten butter.

17 By devotion and by self-restraint the king protects the realm he rules; by self-restraint the teacher seeks a student to instruct.

18 By self-restraint a maiden finds a youth to be her wedded lord. By self-restraint the ox and horse seek to win fodder for themselves.

19 By devotion and by self-restraint the righteous prepare for death, and by self-restraint heaven's lustre comes to the pious.

20 The plants, what is and what shall be, day, night, the tall tree of the wood, the year with the seasons of the year, all are created by God.

21 All creatures of the earth and heaven, tame animals and sylvan beasts, winged and wingless creatures, were created by God.

22 All creatures have breath distinctly in themselves by God's gift. The word of God that is stored within the devout student guards him.

23 Piled up on high, but never yet ascended, that power shines brightly. From God came heavenly lore, the loftiest word.

24 The student holds the radiant word of God; breath, inhaling and exhaling, voice, mind and heart, and holy wisdom are God's gifts.

25 Bestow on us, O God, the power of sight and hearing, glory and food and strength.

26 Practising his devotion by the sea, when he has bathed, brown, yellow-hued, the student shines exceedingly on earth.

Hymn 6

1 We seek refuge in God the Light, Lord of the trees, the herbs and plants; in God the Mighty, the Light-giver, the Lord of Prayer: may He deliver us from woe.

2 We call on God the All-Pervading, the Bestower of fortune, the Friend, the All-Seeing King, the Shining Lord: may He deliver us from woe.

3 We call on God the Light-giver, the Nourisher, the foremost Maker: may He deliver us from woe.

4 We call on God by name, Lord of the holy word, and by all His beautiful names: may He deliver us from woe.

5 This word of ours we speak to the Lord of day and night, of the sun and moon: may He deliver us from woe.

6 We address the Lord of wind and rain-cloud, of the quarters and the firmament, and of all the regions of the sky: may He deliver us from woe.

7 From all that brings a curse may the Lord of day and night and dawn deliver me; may He free me, the Lord of the moon.

8 We call on the Lord of all creatures of heaven and earth, of wild beasts and sylvan animals, and winged birds of air: may He deliver us from woe.

9 We address the Source of Being and the Smiter of the wicked, the Healer and Avenger, Lord of beasts: the arrows which we feel and know, may they be ever kind to us.

10 We speak to the Lord of the constellations, of heaven and earth, of the hills, the seas, the rivers and the lakes: may He deliver us from woe.

11 We address God the Creator, Lord of the sages and of the heavenly waters, and our forefathers who have gone before: may He deliver us from woe.

12 We seek refuge in Him whom those in heaven obey, and those who dwell in the middle air, and the mighty who rest on earth: may He deliver us from woe.

13 We turn to the Lord of the angels in the heavens above, and of the sages, sons of the righteous: may He deliver us from woe.

14 To worship, to him who worships, to hymns, songs and healing prayers we turn, and to deeds of devotion and the words of revelation: may God deliver us from woe.

15 We turn to the Lord of the five kinds of plants, His provision: the grass, the barley, and all that gives strength: may He deliver us from woe.

16 We seek refuge in God from the wicked and the fierce, from serpents, and from the hundred and one deaths: may He deliver us from woe.

17 We turn to the Lord of the seasons, of the years and sections of the year, of months, half-months and years complete: may He deliver us from woe.

18 O Lord, send Thy angels from the south, and from the west; gathered together from east and north, mighty ones in Thy service: deliver us from woe.

19 This we address to God, faithful maintainer of the Right, by all His beautiful names: may He deliver us from woe.

20 We speak to God, faithful maintainer of the Right, Lord of all the heavenly hosts: may He deliver us from woe.

21 We address the Lord of the spirit and of all spirits: let all spirits meet in submission to Him; may He deliver us from woe.

22 We turn to the Lord of the five regions of the sky, of the twelve seasons, of the completed year: may He deliver us from woe.

23 The deathless balm which God poured into the floods: O waters, give us that healing balm!

Hymn 7

1 The One who remains after all things contains name, and form, and world; the whole universe is comprised in His knowledge.

2 The One who remains holds earth, heaven and all that is; the One who remains holds sea, waters, moon and wind.

3 The real and the unreal, creation, death and strength are in His knowledge; on Him depend the dwellers of the worlds; the glory is His.

4 The firm, the fast, the strong, the word, all that is created, are held by His power; as a wheel about the nave, all things are fixed round Him.

5 Verse, song and sacred text, chanting, the prelude and the psalm, are all offered to Him alone.

6 Within His knowledge, like babes unborn, lie all the parts of worship and its forms.

7 The great rites of devotion, the royal rite, the rites of praise, and all hymns, are for Him alone.

8 The rites of initiation and of kindling the fire, the rites that satisfy the wish, long sessions of devotion, are contained within His knowledge.

9 Faith, the offering, fervent zeal, service, and the cry of praise, the gift to the learned, good works and their reward, are stored in His knowledge.

10 Worship of one night or two, the calls, the deep-toned summons, and the fine parts of worship, are His.

11 Worship of four nights, of five, of six, of seven nights, all these are for Him, who remains.

12 The responses and the finales of the chant, the great rites of victory, the rites of a night and the following day, and the twelve-day rite, are stored in His knowledge.

13 Pleasantness, reverence, peace and power, strength, vigour, everlasting life: all earnest wishes are fulfilled in Him with love.

14 Nine several oceans, earths and skies are set within His knowledge. Bright shines the sun therein; day and night are in Him.

15 He is the Lord who bears this universe, and supports every day of worship and every offering.

16 He is Lord of the universe, the Mighty One, ever victorious.

17 Right, truth, dominion, fervent zeal, toil, duty, action, future, past, valour, prosperity and strength dwell in His power.

18 Welfare, resolve and energy, the six wide expanses, kingship, sway, prayer, and direction, and the year, are in His power.

19 The four who recite, the hymns of praise, the invocations, the rites of four months, offerings, the giver, and the animal offerings and their forms, are all for Him.

20 Months, half-months, sections of the year, seasons, are in His power; the waters resonant afar, the thunder and the mighty noise.

21 Pebbles, sand, stones, herbs, plants and grass are in His power. Lightnings and clouds and rain are laid therein.

22 Gain, acquisition and success, fulness, complete prosperity, great gain and wealth, are laid, concealed and treasured, in His power.

23 All things that breathe the breath of life, all creatures that have eyes to see, all the angels whose home is heaven, were created by Him.

24 Verses and songs and prayers, the ancient narratives, the sacred text, and all the angels whose home is heaven, were created by Him.

25 Inbreath and outbreath, eye and ear, decay and freedom from decay, and all the angels whose home is heaven, were created by Him.

26 All pleasures and enjoyments, all delights and rapturous ecstasies, and all the angels whose home is heaven, were created by Him.

27 The righteous, the elders, men, and all created beings, and all the angels whose home is heaven, were created by Him.

Hymn 8

4 Inbreath and outbreath, eye and ear, decay and freedom from decay, breathing upward and diffused, voice and mind have brought us wish and plan.

5 Before the seasons were born, and while no created thing yet was, whom did they serve as supreme?

7 He may account himself well versed in ancient time who knows by name the earth that was before this earth, which only the wisest sages know.

8 Who created the powers that are named for the Mighty, the Moon, the Fire, the Maker, the Ordainer? Whence is their origin?

9 God created them all; none of them is its own origin.

11 When He had brought together hair, sinew and bone, marrow and flesh, and to the body added feet, to what end did He do it?

12 Whence, from what source, did He bring the hair, the sinews and the bones, marrow and limbs and joints and flesh? Who was the bringer, and from whence?

13 Those who brought together all the elements, when He had fashioned mortal man complete, He breathed into him of His spirit.

14 The thighs, the knee-bones and the feet, the head, the face and both the hands, the ribs, the nipples and the sides: what Maker has constructed that?

15 Head, both the hands, face, tongue, neck and the parts between the ribs, all this, investing it with skins, He bound with bond and tie.

16 When the mighty body lay firmly compact with tie and bond, who gave its colour to the form, the hue wherewith it shines to-day?

17 God alone, by His command, gave its colour to the form.

18 When the Maker had bored it out and hollowed it, God made the mortal frame His creation, and breathed into it.

19 Sleep, sloth, misfortune, and sin, baldness, old age and hoary hairs within the body found their way.

20 Evil-doing and deceit, truth, devotion, exalted fame, strength, princely power and energy entered the body as a home.

21 Prosperity and poverty, kindnesses and malignities, hunger and thirst of every kind entered the body as a home.

22 Reproaches, freedom from reproach, all blamable, all blameless deeds, bounty, belief and unbelief entered the body as a home.

23 All knowledge and all ignorance, each other thing that one may learn, prayer and hymns and songs and sacred texts entered the body.

24 Enjoyments, pleasures and delights, gladness and rapturous ecstasies, laughter and merriment and dance entered the body as a home.

25 Discourse and conversation, and the shrill-resounding cries of woe, all entered in, the motives and the purposes combined therewith.

26 Inbreath and outbreath, ear and eye, decay and freedom from decay, breath upward and diffused, voice, mind, these quickly with the body move.

27 All earnest wishes, all commands, directions and admonishments, reflections, all deliberate plans, entered the body as a home.

28 He laid in the frame those waters, hidden, bright and thick, which in the bowels spring from blood, from mourning, or from hasty toil.

29 He turned earth's fuel to bone, and set light waters in the frame. The rich food He made seed. Then He gave man the spirit.

30 To God belong all the waters, and the dominion over the body; He breathed into man of His spirit, and He is Lord thereof.

31 God made the sun and wind to serve man's sight and vital breath.

32 Therefore whoever knows man regards him as God's honoured creature, whom He made His steward on earth.

33 At death the soul departs to its Lord, and the body returns to the earth.

34 The body is deposited in the earth, in which there is the power of growth; from it the power of growth is declared.

Hymn 9

1 O God, make visible to our enemies all arms and every arrow, all the power and might that bows possess, the warlike weapons, axes, swords, the plan and purpose in the heart; and let them look on mist and fog.

2 Arise and prepare yourselves, you who are friends; let your strength be seen by our friends.

5 Rise, with our army stand up, and breaking the hosts of enemies, surround them with a winding coil.

12 Shake them, and let them sink with fear; overwhelm our enemies with dread. With widely-grasping arms crush down our foes.

13 Let those men's arms grow faint and weak, dull be the purpose of their heart; and let not aught of them be left.

18 Make those wings of hostile armies quake with dread. Let the conquering and the victorious overcome our foes.

19 Stifled and crushed, low let the smitten foeman lie.

20 May God the Mighty strike down each bravest warrior of the foes, whom this our band has put to flight; let not one man of those escape.

21 Let their hearts burst asunder, let their breath fly up and pass away. Let dryness of the mouth overtake our foemen, not the friendly ones.

25 High sway has God given, and His angels and the sages have given it to you, showing upon our enemies where they are pierced.

26 With full dominion over these, rise, stand up, prepare yourselves. When you have won this battle, go, each to his own sphere apart.

Hymn 10

1 Rise up, with all your banners rise; prepare your strength; charge and pursue our enemies!

5 Rise up, with thine army; this tribute is offered for God's sake.

14 Over to us come all the angels who serve the hallowed offering. With this offering be pleased: let victory be on this side, not on that.

15 Come over to us; dear is the offering made for God's sake. Keep the great pledge through which, of old, the rebellious were overthrown.

16 Let the wind bend the arrow-points of those who are our enemies, let the Mighty One break their arms away: no power to lay the shaft be theirs! Let the sun utterly destroy their missile! Let the moon bar the path of him who lingers!

21 Mazed are the foemen. Slay each bravest man of them; with this our army slaughter them.

22 Low lie the warrior, mailed, unmailed, each foeman in the rush of war, down-smitten with the strings of bows, the fastenings of mail, the charge!

23 The armour-clad, the armourless, enemies clothed with coats of mail, all these struck down, let dogs devour upon the earth.

24 Car-borne and carless fighting men, riders and those who go on foot, all these, struck down, let vultures, kites and all the birds of air devour.

25 Low let the hostile army lie, thousands of corpses on the ground, pierced through and rent to pieces where the deadly weapons clash in fight.

26 The foe who will fight against this our protecting offering, let eagles eat the evil-hearted, pierced in the vitals, lying crushed and howling.

27 With this which the angels attend, with this which never fails to gain its end, let God the Mighty smite.