Holy Sonnet 11 by John Donne - Read by Arthur L Wood
Holy Sonnet 11, by John Donne.
Spit in my face, you Jews, and pierce my side.
Buffet and scoff, scourge and crucify me,
For I have sinned and sinned, and only he
Who could do no iniquity hath died.
But by my death cannot be satisfied my sins,
Which pass the Jews in piety.
They killed once an inglorious man,
But I crucify him daily, being now glorified.
O let me then his strange love still admire,
King's pardon, but he bore our punishment.
And Jacob came clothed in vile harsh attire,
But to supplant, and with gainful intent,
God clothed himself in vile man's flesh,
That so he might be weak enough to suffer woe.