ΤΟ ΑΡΝΙΟΝ ΑΞΙΟΝ Worthy is the Lamb (Agnus Dei)
Greek Text English Text Textfile Scripture Chreia Pedagogy Idioms Vocabulary Rating
This song (by Michael W. Smith) is based on the songs sung by the four creatures, twenty-four elders and "the great voice from heaven" (Revelation 4:8, 4:11; 5:12;19:6). The song is reminiscient of Isaiah 6:3 "Ἅγιος ἅγιος ἅγιος κύριος σαβαωθ" "Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth". See below for scripture references. Download the Songfold with vocabulary, phrases, Modern Lyrics, Scripture refences and more! AngusDei_SongFourFold.pdf
| ΤΟ ΑΡΝΙΟΝ ΑΞΙΟΝ |
ἁ--λληλουϊά, ἁ--λληλου--ϊά
σὺ εἶ ἄγιος, ἄγιος
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Writer: Michael W. Smith, Franz Peter Schubert
Album: "Go West Young Man" 1990
Greek Text: Louis Sorenson 2009
The Greek text is still in the process of being fully matched to meter, along with adding optional lines, etc. Many resources I hope to link to are not yet listed. If you have any comments, suggestions, send me a note at louis <at> letsreadgreek <dot> com.
The name of this song is easy to confuse with "Worthy is the Lamb" by Hillsong. This song is a very slow, methodic worship chorus, which is repeated over and over, with some minor variations by the background chorus and bridges. It is fun and easy to learn.
However, the text from the song above is taken from Revelation 5:11-14. The Greek text of Revelation 5:11-14 is given below, along with a parallel translation from the NET Bible. The title is confusing. Agnus Dei is not familiar to many Protestants.
Agnus Dei is a Latin term meaning Lamb of God. Lamb of God is one of the titles given to Jesus in the New Testament and consequently in the Christian tradition. It refers to Jesus' role as a sacrificial lamb atoning for the sins of man in Christian theology, harkening back to ancient Temple in Jerusalem sacrifices in which a domestic sheep was slain during the passover. The phrase was originally used to refer to Jesus Christ in his role of the perfect sacrificial offering
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The following is from http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Agnus_Dei In ecclesiastical art, an Agnus Dei is a visual representation of Jesus as a lamb holding a cross. The cross normally rests on the lamb's shoulder and is held in its right foreleg. (See http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Agnus_Dei for a great explanation). The Roman Catholic, Greek and Orthodox churches have a liturgy call Agnus Dei. The liturgy is based upon John the Baptist's reference in to Jesus ("Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world" John 1.29), the text in Latin is:
In Greek this would be
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English Text
- English Lyrics of the original song.
- Links
There are many links to this song. The key to finding the correct one is to search for "Agnus Dei" and "Worthy is the lamb" together. Some of the most helpful are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbKXJ1Jm_jg
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=1514904 (Donnie McClurkin)
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=3979683 (Third Day)
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=45763873
http://www.last.fm/music/Michael+W.+Smith/_/Agnus+Dei (Michael W. Smith - from "Go West Young Man")
http://vodpod.com/watch/687682-michael-w-smith-agnus-dei (Good video - scenes of countries, esp Holland)
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2950062/michael_w_smith_agnus_dei/ (MwS live - Violinist and Orchestra - Cyrillic)
http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHPBmFwBSGb0 (Michael W. Smith English 10:16 - no lyrics on screen)
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/m/michael_w_smith/agnus_dei_crd.htm (Guitar Chords)
http://video.filestube.com/video,602875e5a2c81e8a03e9.html (Samuel Barber: Agnus Dei (Adagio for strings))
http://arabchristians.multiply.com/video/item/2 (farsi)
http://hr.gloria.tv/?media=30760 (Video of Christ and the crucifixion)
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/9366/Agnus-Dei (Encyclopedia Britannica - Agnus Dei - Liturgical chant)
ttp://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0053922 (Sheet music)
http://higherpraise.com/MusicMidi.htm?pg=19 (links to many different files)
Scriptural References
This song (by Michael W. Smith) is not based on John 1:29, but on the songs sung by the four creatures, twenty-four elders and "the great voice from heaven" (Revelation 4:8, 4:11; 5:12;19:6). The Greek and parallel English translations are listed below, the appropriate text sources highlighted in blue.
Koine Greek Adaptation and Literal Translation
- Koine Text (Many variations of the first stanza are given here, with a few notes below).
| Ἄξιος ὁ Ἀμνός | Worthy is the Lamb | ||
1
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ἁ--λληλουϊά, ἁ--λληλου--ϊά
σὺ εἶ ἄγιος, ἄγιος *Hyphens indicate to hold a syllable longer when singing. |
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
The lamb is worthy
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Progress of Translation
- Living Koine Audio forthcoming
- Progress: 9 of 10
- Rating of Koine Text: 9 (0=incomplete | 3=rough translation | 8=meter matched | 10=elegant)
- Text with Sheet Music (melody only) forthcoming
- Parallel Koine Greek / English (given above)
Chreia Adaptations and Variations
- Some of the various words for lamb could be interchanged. Revelation 5 uses ἀρνίον not ἀμνός. The word order must be changed to keep the accents correct: τὸ ἀρνίον ἄξιον or ἄξιος ὁ ἀμνός.
- ἅγιος and ἄξιος can be interchanged. Also καλός, ἀγαθός or δίκαιος could be used (be careful with the accents, words may need to be flipped). But the distinction between God (m) and the lamb(n) is blurred. The song keeps the distinction: God is holy | The lamb is worthy. This allows you to teach the neuter and the masculine at the same time, as many grammars do.
- Line 2: βασιλεύει is in the text of Revelation. κρατεῖ or ἄρχει (note the accent) could also be used.
- Lines 2,4,17: "Κύριος ὁ θεὸς βασιλεύει" or "Κύριος θεὸς ἡμῶν κρατεῖ" or "θεὸς Κύριός μου κρατεῖ"
- Line 7: παντοκράτωρ θεὸς ἡμῶν, can be put in the vocative: παντοκράτορ θεέ (θεός can be used for the vocative).
- Lines 8,9,12,13,18,19: The lamb (is) worthy; God (is) holy. The vert "is" is omitted, but you could squeeze in ἐστιν, he is.
- Line 15: ἀμήν or σὺ εἶ ἄγιος
- The remaing part of Revelations 5:12 can easily fit as separate lines. But the subject needs to be τὸ ἀρνίον (in the accusative) agreeing with τὸ ἐσφαγμένον or ὁ ἐσφαγμένος agreeing with ἀμνός.
τὸ ἐσφαγμένον
λαβεῖν τὴν δύναμιν
πλοῦτον καὶ σοφίαν
ἰσχὺν καὶ τιμὴν
καὶ δόξαν
καὶ εὐλογίαν.
Use in Greek Pedagogy
This song can be used in the very earliest stages of learning. There are only 12 words total. All noun and adjective cases are in the nominative case of the 2nd declension (παντοκράτωρ).
- The nominative and vocative of θεός
- Second declension nouns and adjectives in the nominative θεός, ἄξιος ἄγιος
- The nominative/accusative of ἀρνίον (2nd declension neuters)
- Forms of εἰμί: εἶ, ἐστιν (ἐστίν), ἐστ' (which is actually poetic and not usually found in Koine)
- Titles for God: θεός, παντοκράτωρ, Κύριος, ἀμνος, ἀρνίον
- The use of the article with names and nouns (ὁ, τό)
- Cognates: παντο-κράτωρ and κρατέω
- How to read Greek compound words: (i.e. backwards) παντοκράτωρ "ruler of all"
Notes on the Idioms
- Use of the nominative for the vocative in Koine (never in Attic), e.g. θεός = θεὲ ; Κύριος = Κύριε. This is done frequently in the Psalms for the words for God such as θεός and Κύριος, but rarely for other words. But note that these words cannot take the article; you will never see ὁ θεὲ, as it is grammatically incorrect.
Vocabulary*
ἅγιος -η, -ον holy
ἁλληλουϊά hallelujah (a Hebrew word "Yahweh be praised")
ἀμήν "Amen" a Hebrew word meaning "truly, certainly, let it be so"
ἀμνός -οῦ ὁ lamb (used less frequently)
ἀρνίον, -ου τό lamb
ἄξιος, -η, -ον worthy, fitting, appropriate
βασιλεύω I rule, reign
βασιλεύει he rules, he is reigning (3rd person singular)
εἰμί I am
εἶ you are (2nd person singular)
ἐστίν he/she/it is (3rd person singular
ἡμῶν (ἡμεῖς) of us, ours (genitive plural)
θεός, -ου ὁ god, God
κύριος, -ου ὁ master, lord; Lord (often for Adonai)
κρατῶ (>κρατέω) I rule; an alternative word for rule, = βασιλεύει. See the stem in παντο-κράτωρ.
κρατεῖ he rules, he as power (3rd singular)
μου (> ἐγώ) of me, my, mine (genitive singular, masculine, feminine or neuter)
παντοκράτωρ, -ορος, ὁ Almighty, ruler of all, omipotent (> παντός [πᾶς], κρατέω ) Vocative: παντοκράτορ
σύ you (2nd person singular, masculine, feminine or neuter)
*Note: Some alternate vocabulary is included.
