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Ethiopic · Poetry ·

I worship Thy Godhead

Anonymous · betmas

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machine-draft · no human review 5 passages · 748 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

This anonymous Geʿez poem is a first-person address to God, structured as a series of reverent invocations with a refrain. Its liturgical and hymnic register is typical of Ethiopian Orthodox praise poetry. The work survives in later manuscript copies, likely from monastic scriptoria, and is included in the modern printed edition betmas. The poem is undated, but its language and form suggest a medieval origin, possibly between the 14th and 15th centuries. The edition provides no translation or commentary, leaving the Geʿez text as the sole witness. The poem's six stanzas each begin with 'I worship Thy Godhead' and describe divine creative acts, echoing Genesis but with distinctive theological emphases.

The poem exemplifies the rich tradition of Geʿez liturgical poetry, blending biblical imagery with local theological emphases. Its refrain structure and creative reordering of Genesis motifs offer insight into Ethiopian Orthodox devotional practices. The work's survival in later manuscripts and its inclusion in a modern edition highlight its enduring value for both worship and scholarship, though the absence of a critical edition limits its study.

Historical context

The poem belongs to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo tradition, composed in Geʿez, the classical liturgical language. It survives only in later manuscripts, likely copied in monastic scriptoria, with no autograph or early witness. The text is anonymous and undated; its form and language point to a medieval origin, probably between the 14th and 15th centuries, when Geʿez hymnody flourished. The poem is included in the modern printed edition betmas, indicating continued liturgical or scholarly use. Its presence in the corpus suggests it was valued for private or communal devotion. The lack of external evidence for its composition means the dating remains tentative, relying on stylistic and linguistic parallels with other Geʿez praise poetry from the same period.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

29 commentary units 5 structure5 term5 scripture5 background4 caution2 reception1 dating1 parallel1 sense 0 derived notes 10 open questions 5 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: poetry in Geʿez; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 5 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: betmas — CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
LIT3055RepCh335:1 · narrativemedium
Source
The text of the first stanza is taken from , the first two verses of the remaining stanzae are taken from . እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ለዘፈጠርከ፡ ጽልመተ። እምቅድመ፡ ብርሃን፡ ትግበር፡ ወታስተባሪ፡ መዓልተ። እግዚአብሔር፡ ፩እንተ፡ ኮንከ፡ ፪ተ። በስምሰ፡ ይሰመዩ፡ ፫ተ። እንዘ፡ በመለኮት፡ ዋህድ፡ ወብሁት፡ አንተ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ዘሠረርከ፡ ምድረ፡ ለእጓለ፡ እመሕያው፡ ትኩን፡ ወለእንስሳ፡ ማኅደረ፡ እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ዘፈጠርከ፡ ነፋስ፡ ወቦቱ፡ ረሰይከ፡ ለጠባይዓ፡ ማይ፡ ቅዱስ፡ እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ገባሬ፡ መላእክት፡ ለተደሞ፡ ወምስሌሆሙ፡ ፯ተ፡ እንበለ፡ ነቢብ፡ ወአርምሞ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ እንተ፡ ገበርከ፡ ቀዳሚ፡ አርኣያ፡ ኅቡዓ፡ ወባሕርየ፡ ምሥጢር፡ ኢተተርጓሚ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ኅቡዓት፡ ድኅረ፡ ተፈጥሩ። ብርሃነ፡ ይኩኑ፡ ዘትቤ፡ ወይጻእ፡ እማኅደሩ። The first version is the one found in , the second one the one found in , which seems more correct.
English
I worship Thy Godhead, who created darkness before light; Thou makest the day and cause it to shine. O Lord, who art Thou? 1. What Thou wert 2. By name they are named 3. While in Godhead Thou art one and existence. I worship Thy Godhead, who spread out the earth, to be a dwelling for the living and for animals. I worship Thy Godhead, who created the wind, and in it Thou appointed holy water for the nature. I worship Thy Godhead, maker of angels, for their blood, and with them seven without number and mercy. I worship Thy Godhead, who made the first, a hidden image and a mystery of nature, O Translator. I worship Thy Godhead, hidden things after they were created; let them be light that Thou sayest, and it comes out from its dwelling.
LIT3055RepCh335:2 · narrativemedium
Source
እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ በሰዓተ፡ ሌሊት፡ ዘፈጠረ፡ ይኩን፡ ዘትቤ፡ እንዘ፡ ትከፍሎ፡ ለማይ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ በሰዓተ፡ ሌሊት፡ ዘሰኑይ፡ ጠፈረ፡ ይኩን፡ ዘትቤ፡ እንዘ፡ ትከፍሎ፡ ለማይ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ዘአስተጋባዕኮ፡ ከመ፡ ዝቅ፡ ለማይ፡ ውቅያኖስ፡ እምድር፡ ውስተ፡ ምዕላዲሁ፡ እሙቅ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ከመ፡ ቅጽበተ፡ ዓይን፡ ዘፈጠረ። አስተጋብአ፡ ማይ፡ ስፉሐ፡ ድኅረ፡ አጽናፊ፡ ምድር፡ እስጠመ፡ እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ዘበኂሩትከ፡ በቈሉ፡ ዘመደ፡ ዕፀዋት፡ ወሣዕር፡ ምግቦተ፡ ሥጋ፡ ዘይክሉ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ እንተ፡ ተከልካ፡ በምሥራቅ፡ ኤዶምሃ፡ ገነተ፡ ተድላ፡ ወጽድቅ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ በሚሰተ፡ ረቡዕ፡ ዘአርአየ። መንገለ፡ ወርኃ፡ ገኃኅ፡ ወመንገለ፡ ምዕራብ፡ ፀሐየ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ዘለሊከ፡ ሣረርከ፡ እምነ፡ ማይ፡ ወነፋስ፡ ዘከዋክብት፡ ፈለይከ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ገብርከ፡ ወርኃ፡ በዕድሜሁ። ፀሐይነ፡ አዕመረ፡ ምዕራቢሁ።
English
I worship Thy Godhead, at the hour of night, who created, let it be, what Thou sayest, while Thou dividest the water. I worship Thy Godhead, at the hour of night, the second, who created the firmament, let it be, what Thou sayest, while Thou dividest the water. I worship Thy Godhead, who made the deep like a cup for the water of the ocean, from the earth into its midst, hot. I worship Thy Godhead, who in the twinkling of an eye created, and gathered together the water, broad, after the extremity of the earth, as far as the shore. I worship Thy Godhead, who by Thy power, by Thy word, created the species of trees and grass, foods of the flesh which they eat. I worship Thy Godhead, who planted in the East Eden, the Garden of delight and righteousness. I worship Thy Godhead, who on the third day showed the path of the moon and the path of the west of the sun. I worship Thy Godhead, who for Thee Thou sowed, from the water and the wind, the stars Thou separated. I worship Thy Godhead, Thy servant the moon in his age, our sun knew his west.
LIT3055RepCh335:3 · narrativehigh
Source
እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ዘፈጠርከ፡ በሐሙስ፡ እምርጥበተ፡ ማይ፡ ዓሣተ፡ ወእምነ፡ ቈሪር፡ ነፋስ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ፈጣሬ፡ ንዑሳን፡ ዘይርሐወሱ። ወገባሬ፡ ዓበይት፡ እንስሳ፡ ለባሕር፡ ውቅያኖስ፡ ማዕከለ፡ ከርሡ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ እንተ፡ ወሀብከ፡ ለምስካብ፡ ለግሩመ፡ ራዕይ፡ አርዌ፡ ሳብዕተ፡ እድማይ፡ ርጡብ። The first version is the one found in , the second one the one found in . እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ በዕለተ፡ ዓርብ፡ ዘፈጠረ፡ ዓባግዓ፡ ብሔር፡ ኵሎ፡ ወእንስሳ፡ ገዳም፡ ኅቡረ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ በዕለተ፡ ሰዱስ፡ ዘፈጠረ፡ አባግዓ፡ ብሔር፡ ኵሎ፡ ወእንስሳ፡ ገዳም፡ ኅቡረ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ እምቀለመ፡ መሬት፡ ፀንዳ፡ ለአካለ፡ አዳም፡ ሰዓልኮ፡ አለካዕኮ፡ ውስተ፡ ሰሌዳ። እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ እምገቦ፡ አዳም፡ ድኅረ፡ እንተ፡ አውጻእካ፡ ለሔዋን፡ ከመ፡ ትትራድኦ፡ ተግባረ፡ እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ዘአዕረፎሙ፡ ለአይሁድ፡ አመ፡ ዕለተ፡ ሰንበተ፡ ሳብዕት። እምተግባረ፡ አእጋር፡ ወእድ። እግዚአብሔር፡ አንተ፡ ሰንበተ፡ ክርስቲያን፡ እኁድ። አግሰዘኒ፡ እምቅኔ፡ ሥጋ፡ ለአብርዮ፡ ንስቲት፡ ሰጊድ። ኀበ፡ ኍልቈ፡ ፸ወ፪ስሙያን፡ አንጋድ።
English
I worship Thy Godhead, who created on Thursday, from the moisture of water, fish, and from the cold wind. I worship Thy Godhead, Creator of whales which swim, and Maker of great beasts, animals of the sea, the ocean, within its belly. I worship Thy Godhead, who gave to the whale, to the great serpent, the beast of seven heads, the moist earth. I worship Thy Godhead, on the day of Friday, who created all kinds of beasts of the land and animals of the wilderness together. I worship Thy Godhead, on the day of Saturday, who created all kinds of beasts of the land and animals of the wilderness together. I worship Thy Godhead, from the form of earth, clay, for the body of Adam, Thou didst fashion and shape him upon a tablet. I worship Thy Godhead, from the rib of Adam, after Thou brought forth Eve, that she might accompany him in deed. I worship Thy Godhead, who rested them, the Jews, on the day of the Sabbath, the seventh, from the work of hands and feet. O Lord God, Thou art the Sabbath of Christians, the one. Grant me from the treasury of the flesh, for the passing of a little time, prostration, unto the number of seventy-two names, a guide.
LIT3055RepCh335:4 · narrativemedium
Source
This stanza is not present in , the text is taken from . እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ እንበለ፡ አርምሞ፡ እንበለ፡ ድምዕ። ዘጠባይዓ፡ ማይ፡ አምጻእከ፡ እምኀበ፡ ወኢ፡ ምንት፡ አንቀጽ። This stanza is not present in , the text is taken from . እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ፈጣሬ፡ እሳት፡ ውሁይ። እንበለ፡ እሳት፡ ካልእ፡ ውስተ፡ ከርሠ፡ ቈሪር፡ ማይ። from እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ እንተ፡ ፈጠርከ፡ ጽልመተ፨ እምቀድመ፡ ብርሃነ፡ ትግበር፡ ወታሰተባሪ፡ መዓልተ፨ እግዚአብሔር፡ አሐዱ፡ እንተ፡ ኢኮንከ፡ ክልኤተ፨ በስምዕ፡ ይሰምዩከ፡ ሠለስተ፨ እንዘ፡ በመለኮት፡ ዋሕድ፡ ወብሁት፡ አንተ፨ እሰግድ፡ ለመለኮትከ፡ ዘሣረርከ፡ ምድረ፨ ለእጓለ፡ እመሕያው፡ ይኩን፡ ወለእንስሳ፡ ማኅደረ፨ እግዚአብሔር፡ ገባሪ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ትኅሥሥ፡ ምክረ፨ ትጸውር፡ ድደ፡ በኀይልከ፡ እንዘ፡ ትነብር፡ ጠፈረ፨ ወእንዘ፡ ተሐንጽ፡ መሠረተ፡ ትፄዐን፡ ቀመረ፨
English
I worship Thy Godhead, without measure, without number, who from the nature of water brought forth, from where and what, a drop. I worship Thy Godhead, Creator of fire, liquid, without fire, a second within the belly of cold water. I worship Thy Godhead, who created darkness before light, who makes day and makes it shine. O Lord, one, who was two, by name they call Thee three, while in Godhead Thou art one, and Thou art abundant. I worship Thy Godhead, who spread out the earth, that it might be a dwelling for the children of the living and for animals. O Lord, Maker, who without seeking counsel, Thou turn the circle by Thy power, while Thou dwell in the firmament, and while Thou lay the foundation, Thou cause the moon to shine.
LIT3055RepCh335:5 · narrativehigh
Source
ስብሐት፡ ለከ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ለለ፡ ሠርቀ፡ ዕለት፡ ወለያልይ፨ ስብሐት፡ ለከ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በተባርዮ፡ ክረምት፡ ወሐጋይ፨ ስብሐት፡ ለከ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በወርኀ፡ መጸው፡ ወጸደይ፨ ስብሐት፡ ለከ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በኍልቈ፡ ኵሉ፡ ዘይትረአይ፡ ወኢይትረአይ፨ ስብሐተ፡ ቅድምናከ፡ ዘልፈ፡ ይነግር፡ ሰማይ፨
English
Praise to Thee, O Lord, for the morning and the night. Praise to Thee, O Lord, in the alternation of winter and summer. Praise to Thee, O Lord, in the season of autumn and spring. Praise to Thee, O Lord, in the number of all that is seen and unseen. The praise of Thy primacy, which heaven ever proclaims.
Citation. Tergwame, “I worship Thy Godhead”, LIT3055RepCh335:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/LIT3055RepCh335#s1
Colophon. Source: betmas · licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0031 · generated 2026-11-15.