A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
Our helper he, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our strength confide,
our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabbaoth, His Name,
from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us:
the Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure,
one little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers,
no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
through Him Who with us sideth:
Let good and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still,
his kingdom is forever.
(Martin Luther)
** A literal translation from the original German, below, and following…the original German:
A firm fortress is our God,
a good defense and armament.
He helps and frees us from all danger
that has yet beset us.
The ancient evil foe
now has serious intention,
great power and much cunning,
on earth is nothing equal.
Our power can do nothing,
we soon are entirely lost;
the righteous man fights for us,
whom God himself has chosen.
Do you ask who this is?
He is Jesus Christ,
the Lord of hosts,
there is no other god,
he will surely secure the field.
And if the world were full of devils,
and they wished to devour us entirely,
then fear we not at all,
we will indeed succeed.
The prince of this world,
how acerbic he presents himself,
but yet he does nothing to us;
it is done, he is judged:
one little word is able to fell him.
Now let the Word stand secure
and have no thanks for this;
God is with us according to plan
with his Spirit and gifts.
If they take away body,
possessions, honor, child and wife,
and send us to the hereafter,
they have no accomplishment,
the Kingdom yet stands for us.
German:
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,
ein gute Wehr und Waffen.
Er hilft uns frei aus aller Not,
die uns jetzt hat betroffen.
Der alt böse Feind
mit Ernst er’s jetzt meint,
groß Macht und viel List
sein grausam Rüstung ist,
auf Erd ist nicht seins gleichen.
Mit unsrer Macht ist nichts getan,
wir sind gar bald verloren;
es streit’ für uns der rechte Mann,
den Gott hat selbst erkoren.
Fragst du, wer der ist?
Er heißt Jesus Christ,
der Herr Zebaoth,
und ist kein andrer Gott,
das Feld muss er behalten.
Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär
und wollt uns gar verschlingen,
so fürchten wir uns nicht so sehr,
es soll uns doch gelingen.
Der Fürst dieser Welt,
wie sau’r er sich stellt,
tut er uns doch nicht;
das macht, er ist gericht’:
ein Wörtlein kann ihn fällen.
Das Wort sie sollen lassen stahn
und kein’ Dank dazu haben;
er ist bei uns wohl auf dem Plan
mit seinem Geist und Gaben.
Nehmen sie den Leib,
Gut, Ehr, Kind und Weib:
lass fahren dahin,
sie haben’s kein’ Gewinn,
das Reich muss uns doch bleiben.
