"" ("The mouth of fools doth God confess") is a Lutheran

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

of 1524, with words written by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

in 1523, paraphrasing

Psalm 14 } Psalm 14 is the 14th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, it is psalm 13 in a slightly different numbering ...

. It was published as one of eight songs in 1524 in the

first Lutheran hymnal The First Lutheran hymnal, published in 1524 as ''Etlich Cristlich lider / Lobgesang und Psalm'' (Some Christian songs / canticle, and psalm), often also often referred to as the Achtliederbuch (Book with eight songs, literally Eightsongsbook), was ...

, the Achtliederbuch. It was also published later that year in the Erfurt ''Enchiridion''. It has appeared in many hymnals, both in German and in translation. The text inspired vocal and organ music by composers such as Johann Pachelbel.

History and text

At the end of 1523, Luther paraphrased

(Psalm 13 in

Vulgata The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

numbering), in Latin , attempting to make the psalms accessible to Protestant church services in German. As he did with "", Luther expanded the content of the psalm to show the precise situation of the early

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

as a time of conflict. Luther wrote six

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

s of seven lines each. The hymn was one of the eight hymns in the

, published 1524 in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

under the title (Some Christian songs), also called Achtliederbuch, which contained four songs by Luther, three by Speratus, and one by

Justus Jonas Justus Jonas, the Elder (5 June 1493 – 9 October 1555), or simply Justus Jonas, was a German Lutheran theologian and reformer. He was a Jurist, Professor and Hymn writer. He is best known for his translations of the writings of Martin Luther ...

. Later that same year it appeared in Erfurt in '' Eyn Enchiridion'', and in Wittenberg in

Johann Walter Johann Walter, also known as ''Johann Walther'' or ''Johannes Walter'' (original name: ''Johann Blankenmüller'') (1496 – 25 March 1570) was a Lutheran composer and poet during the Reformation period. Life Walter was born in Kahla, in present-d ...

's choral hymnal in a five-part setting.

Melody and settings

In the Achtliederbuch, "", by

Paul Speratus Paul Speratus (13 December 148412 August 1551) was a Swabian Catholic priest who became a Protestant preacher, reformer and hymn-writer. In 1523, he helped Martin Luther to create the First Lutheran hymnal, published in 1524 and called ''Achtlied ...

, was indicated as the singing tune for "". The hymn appeared with its own melody in the Walter hymnal: that melody, Zahn No. 4436, remained associated with it. The hymn was set by composers for instruments and for voices. Johann Pachelbel composed three

chorale prelude In music, a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 ...

s for organ as part of before 1693.

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

set the hymn in a four-part setting, BWV 308, but without text. The text was added in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe.

Translation

The hymn was translated to English as "The mouth of fools doth God confess" and appeared in R. Massie's ''M. Luther's Spiritual Songs'' in 1854. It was copied to other hymnals. Other, less common translations were published in the 19th century.

References

External links

Es spricht der unweisen Mund wohl
at Hymnary.org
The mouth of fools doth God confess
at Hymnary.org {{German Lutheran hymns 16th-century hymns in German Lutheran hymns based on Psalms Hymn tunes Hymns by Martin Luther 1520s works

History and text

Melody and settings

Translation

See also

References

External links