When He entered Jerusalem during
The Passion Week, on that day,
Hosannas resounded with fury,
And palm leaves were blocking His way.
But days have grown harsher and crueler
And love, it seems, lost its command.
The eyebrows are frowning rudely,
Here, at last, is the postscript, the end.
As heavy as lead, the grey heavens
Have fallen on top of the roofs.
The Pharisees, shrewd in His presence,
Were secretly searching for proofs.
By the dark command of the Temple,
He was left to a villainous horde.
With passionate hatred, they trembled,
Just as once, they praised Him before.
The crowds were gathering early
On the neighboring yard, by the gate.
They jostled, awaiting the verdict,
And pushed forth, unable to wait.
The whispers barely reached Him
And the rumors were all on one theme.
His youth and the flight into Egypt,
He remembered it all like a dream.
He remembered the peak he ascended
In the wilderness, and He recalled
The cliff, where Satan would tempt Him
With the kingdoms of the world.
And the wedding at Cana, the feast,
All the wondrous miracles; and
How he walked to the boat through the mist
On the sea, as though walking on land;
And the beggars who met in the hovel,
And the cellar to which he was led,
Where the frightened candle went out
When Lazarus rose from the dead…
Когда на последней неделе
Входил Он в Иерусалим,
Осанны навстречу гремели,
Бежали с ветвями за Ним.
А дни все грозней и суровей,
Любовью не тронуть сердец,
Презрительно сдвинуты брови,
И вот послесловье, конец.
Свинцовою тяжестью всею
Легли на дворы небеса.
Искали улик фарисеи,
Юля перед ним, как лиса.
И темными силами храма
Он отдан подонкам на суд,
И с пылкостью тою же самой,
Как славили прежде, клянут.
Толпа на соседнем участке
Заглядывала из ворот,
Толклись в ожиданье развязки
И тыкались взад и вперед.
И полз шопоток по соседству,
И слухи со многих сторон.
И бегство в Египет и детство
Уже вспоминались, как сон.
Припомнился скат величавый
В пустыне, и та крутизна,
С которой всемирной державой
Его соблазнял сатана.
И брачное пиршество в Кане,
И чуду дивящийся стол,
И море, которым в тумане
Он к лодке, как по суху, шел.
И сборище бедных в лачуге,
И спуск со свечою в подвал,
Где вдруг она гасла в испуге,
Когда воскрешенный вставал...