The Apostles, Op. 49, Pt. 2: IV. The Betrayal, "Wither Shall I Go"

WITHOUT THE TEMPLE

Judas:

Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?

If I say, Peradventure the darkness shall cover me, then shall my night be turned to day, yea, the darkness is no darkness with Thee, but the night is as clear as the day.

Sheol is naked before Thee, and Abaddon hath no covering.

The Singers (within the Temple):

Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, that Thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity ...

Judas:

'Rest from the days of adversity.'

Never man spake like this Man,

He satisfied the longing soul, and filled the hungry soul with goodness.

The Singers:

... until the pit be digged for the wicked.

Judas:

Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man there is no remedy neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave.

For we are born at all adventure, and we shall be hereafter as though we had never been for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart, which being extinguished, our body shall be turned into ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air and our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man have our work in remembrance and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the heat thereof.

The Singers:

The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

Judas:

'The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man.'

My hope is like dust that is blown away with the wind it is not possible to escape Thine hand a sudden fear, and not looked for, comes upon me.

The People (remote):

Crucify Him!

Judas:

They gather themselves together and condemn the innocent blood.

The People:

Crucify Him!