The Byzantine Christmas Hymn “Today the Virgin gives birth to him who is beyond substance” by Romanos Melodos (The first three stanzas). Available also in the Greek original.
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Today the Virgin gives birth to him who is beyond substance;
and the earth offers a cave to him who is unapproachable.
Angels with shepherds give praise,
and by a star the Wise Men make their way;
for unto us is born
a little child, God of all time.
Bethlehem has opened the gates of Eden; come, let us see.
In a secret place we have found delight; come, let us partake
of paradise within the cave.
In it has appeared a root never watered, blossoming forth forgiveness;
in it has been found a well never dug,
a well from which David once longed to drink.
In it a virgin has given birth to a child,
and at once has brought to an end the thirst of Adam and of David.
Therefore, let us hasten to the place where has been born
a little child, God of all time.
The Father, by his will alone, became the Son of the Mother.
The Saviour of infants, an infant himself, lay in the manger.
When his mother realized this, she said:
«Tell me, child, how were you sown in me, and how did you set you roots in me?
I see you, my flesh and blood, and am amazed,
that I give suck and am not married,
that I see you in swaddling bands
and yet still see that my virginity is sealed;
for it pleased you to preserve it when you were born,
a little child, God of all time.
Great monarch, what have you in common with the poor?
Creator of the heavens, why have you come to the people of the earth?
Did you desire a cave or take pleasure in a manger?
See, there is no room for your handmaiden at the inn;
no room, I say, not even a cave,
for even that is not mine.
And yet to Sarah, when she bore a child,
was allotted a wide stretch of land; but to me not even a wild beast΄s hair.
I used the cave which you, of your own will, inhabited,
a little child, God of all time.
