HELIAND 

Introduction

There were many whose minds urged them

to begin the reckoning of the runes,

the word of God, those well-known accomplishments

that Christ the mighty achieved among men

in words and in works. Many of the wise

wished to praise the preaching of Christ,

those holy words, and with their own hands

write a book, brightly-shining, how the bairns

of men should carry out the commands of God.

But among all these were only four,

out of the many, granted the might of God,

help from heaven and the Holy Ghost,

strength from Christ. They were selected,

they alone, to inscribe the evengelium,

to write in a book the rules of God,

the holy heavenly word. Of all the heroic

sons of men alone they were to attempt it,

since the power of God had picked the four:

Mathew and Mark, so were these men named,

Luke and John, loved by God,

worthy of the work. The all-wielding ruler

placed the Holy Spirit in their heroic hearts,

with many wise words, and as well

an attitude of holiness and a keen heart,

to raise their voices, repeating the Gospel.

There is nothing in words comparable in the world.

Nothing could glorify our great Lord more;

nor can anything lop each loathed thing,

or wicked work; nor withstand better

the aggression and enmity of the enemy.

This, because the teacher of the tidings of God,

though meek and mild, had a powerful mind;

this was the master, the noble Almighty.

The four were to write it with their own fingers,

they were to set it down, sing it, and to say

what they had seen and heard of Christ's strength -

all the miracles, many, in word and deed,

the mighty Lord preached, and achieved among men -

and everything the Ruler said from the Creation,

when He, by his strength, with a single word,

first made the world and formed the universe;

the earth and the heavens, and all that they hold,

living or unliving, everything

was set in place strongly by God's words.

Then he determined which of the tribes

would rule the most territory, and at which time

the ages of the world would come to an end.

One age remained before the sons of men;

five were spent. The sacred sixth age

would come through God's power, the Holy Ghost,

and Christ's birth. He is the best of Healers,

come to this middle world as an aid to many,

to grant men's children a chance against

the enmity of the enemy, and the concealed trap.

At that time the Lord God granted to the Romans

the widest of kingdoms. They conquered all nations

for he granted strength to their soldiers.

Those warriors from Rome

had seized an empire. Their overlords

were in every place, and they possessed power

over the nations, each noble folk.

Herod was elected by the emperor

in Jerusalem, over the Jewish people.

Caesar, ruling from the city of Rome

placed him among heroes, although Herod

was not related to the royal folk,

the sons of Israel. He was not of their stock.

It was because of the ruler in the city of Rome

who reigned over the empire, that Israel's sons,

those warrior-men renowned for strength

were forced to follow him. They were his friends

as long as he ruled, as long as he controlled

the Hebrew people.

In that place, in those days

there lived an old man, wise and experienced.

He was of Jewish descent, from Jacob's son Levi,

of noble family. His name was Zachary.

Blessedly happy, he loved to serve God

and follow God's will. His wife did the same.

She was an old woman. They had obtained no heir

when they were young, yet they avoided vice

and all respected them. They obeyed Heaven's King,

worshipped Our Lord; nor did they wish

to commit acts of evil or treachery,

crime or sin among the sons of men.

But they lived in anxiety, with no heir of their own;

they had no family.

Zachary, in Jerusalem, fulfilled

God's instructions, when he was ordered,

whenever it was made clear to his mind

that he was to revere the Ruler at the temple,

in the sacrament of God, king of the heavens,

he fulfilled his duty joyfully and devoutly in mind.