Vaughan Williams, Ralph: O vos omnes


O vos omnes (1922)

O vos omnes qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus: quoniam vindemiavit me, ut locutus est Dominus, in die irae furoris sui.
De excelso misit ignem in ossibus meis, et erudivit me: expandit rete pedibus meis, convertit me retrorsum: posuit me desolatam, tota die moerore confectam.
Vigilavit iugum iniquitatum mearum: in manu eius convolutae sunt et impositae collo meo: infirmata est virtus mea: dedit me Dominus in manu, de qua non potero surgere.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.

O all you who pass by, look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.
From on high he sent fire; it went deep into my bones; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all day long.
My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they weigh on my neck, sapping my strength; the Lord handed me over to those whom I cannot withstand.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord your God.

Words: Lamentations 1 vv. 12–14; Hosea 14 v. 1
Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)