1 O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden,voll Schmerz und voller Hohn!O Haupt zum Spott gebundenmit einer Dornenkron!O Haupt, sonst schön gezieretmit höchster Ehr und Zier,jetzt aber höchst schimpfieret,gegrüßet seist du mir!2 Du edles Angesichte,dafür sonst schrickt und scheutdas große Weltgewichte,wie bist du so bespeit!Wie bist du so erbleichet,wer hat dein Augenlicht,dem sonst kein Licht nicht gleichet,so schändlich zugericht?3 Die Farbe deiner Wangen,der rothen Lippen Prachtist hin und ganz vergangen,des blasses Todes Machthat alles hingenommen,hat alles hingeresst,und daher bist du kommenvon deines Leibes Kraft.4 Nun, was du, Herr, erduldet,ist alles meine Last;ich hab es selbst verschuldet,was du getragen hast.Schau her, hie steh ich Armer,der Zorn verdienst hat:gib mir, o mein Erbarmer,den Anblick deiner Gnad.5 Erkenne mich, mein Hüter,mein Hirte, nimm mich an!Von dir, Quell aller Güter,ist mir viel Guts gethan.Dein Mund hat mich gelabetmit Milch und süßer Kost;dein Geist hat mich begabetmit mancher Himmselslust.6 Ich will hier bei dir stehen,verachte mich doch nicht!Von dir will ich nicht gehen,wann dir dein Herze bricht;wann dein Haupt wird erblassenim letzten Todesstoß,alsdann will ich dich fassenin meinen Arm und Schoß.7 Es dient zu meinen Freudenund kommt mir herzlich wohl,wenn ich in deinem Leiden,mein Heil, mich finden soll.Ach, möcht ich, o mein Leben,an deinem Kreuze hiermein Leben von mir geben,wie wohl geschähe mir!8 Ich danke dir von Herzen,o Jesu, liebster Freund,für deines Todes Schmerzen,da dus so gut gemeint.Ach, gib, daß ich mich haltezu dir und deiner Treu,und wann ich nun erkalte,in dir mein Ende sei.9 Wann ich einmal soll scheiden,so scheide nicht von mir;wann ich den Tod soll leiden,so tritt du dann herfür,wann mir am allerbängstenwird um das Herze sein,so reiß mich aus den Aengstenkraft deiner Angst und Pein.10 Erscheine mir zum Schilde,zum Trost in meinem Tod,und laß mich sehn dein Bildein deiner Kreuzesnoth.Da will ich nach dir blicken,da will ich glaubensvolldich fest an mein Herz drücken;wer so stirbt, der stirbt wohl.Paul Gerhardt, 1659.(Nach dem 7ten lateinischen Passionssalve des heiligen Bernhard.)
My prose translation:
1 O head full of blood and wounds,Full of pain and full of scorn!O head bound to mockeryWith a crown of thorns!O head, otherwise beautifully decoratedWith highest glory and ornamentBut now highly railed against,May You be greeted by me!2 You noble face,From which otherwise the weight of the worldIs frightened and shies away,How You are so spat upon!How You are turned so pale;Who has Your eyesight,Which no other light resembles,So shamefully battered?3 The color of Your cheeks,The richness of the red lipsIs wholly and completely gone;The power of pale deathHas taken everything away,Has carried everything away,And that is why You are comeBy the strength of Your body.4 Now, what You, Lord, have enduredIs all my burder;I myself am to be blamed forWhat You have borne.Look here, here I stand, a poor manWho has deserved wrath:Grant to me, O my Merciful One,The sight of Your mercy.5 Recognize me, my Protector;My Shepherd, accept me!By You, source of all good,Is much good done for me.Your mouth has refreshed meWith milk and sweet food;Your Spirit has gifted meWith many desires of Heaven.6 I want to stand here with You,Yet do not disdain me!I want not to go from YouWhen Your heart breaks;When Your head grows paleIn the last blow of death,Then I want to hold YouIn my arms and bosom.7 It is for my joyAnd comes to me very wellWhen I in Your suffering,My salvation, should find myself.Oh, could I, O my Life,Here on your crossGive my life,How well it would happen for me!8 I thank You from the heart,O Jesus, dearest friend,For the pains of Your deathSince You meant it so well.Oh, grant, that I keep myselfIn You and Your faithfulessAnd now when I grow cold [in death],My end would be in You.9 When I should depart one day,Do not depart from me;When I should suffer death,Then You tread on it;When the most anxious thingsWill be around my heart,So tear me out of the fearsBy the strength of Your dread and anguish.10 Appear to me as a shield,As comfort in my death,And let me see Your imageIn Your distress of the cross.There I want to look toward You;There I want, full of faith,To press You firmly to my heart;Who dies thus dies well.Paul Gerhardt, 1659.(After the 7th Latin Passion Salve of the Holy Bernhard.)
I'm not too confident in my translation of the second verse, particularly the first few lines.
I couldn't really find a translation for "Erbarmer" in the fourth verse. I went with "Merciful One."
I'll admit that my translation of the seventh verse seems a bit garbled, but it's the best I could do.
I'm not sure of my translation of the line "so tritt du dann herfür" in the ninth verse ("Then You tread on it"). It seems to be a reference to part of Genesis 3:15, though: "you shall bruise his heel." I translated "kraft" at the end of the verse as "by the strength of." This is one of my dictionary's two suggestions. The other was "by virtue of," but neither of these seems to fit the context very well.
This hymn appears as "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#172), Lutheran Worship (#113), and The Lutheran Service Book (#449 and #450). The LW and LSB versions are abbreviated. In all of these hymnals and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to the tune "Herzlich thut mich verlang[en]." Here's the TLH arrangement: