INTRODUZIONE
“A New World” è il primo libro di Mosè, più noto come la Genesi, raccontato in modo unico. Versi scorrevoli in rima baciata ed un incalzante ritmo trasportano il lettore dalle delizie verdeggianti del Giardino dell’Eden, oltre Noè e l’alluvione e le avventure di Abramo e Isacco, fino all’arrivo di Giuseppe in Egitto e la sua ascesa al potere come braccio destro del Faraone. Uno stile scanzonato ma mai irriverente, porta in vita i personaggi di questa storia biblica e fa di ‘A New World’ una lettura molto piacevole sia per bambini che per adulti.
Per trarre il massimo beneficio dalla traccia audio, si consiglia di fare l’ascolto almeno una volta prima di passare alla lettura del testo.
The
sacrifice
of Isaac
[Genesis 21:1]
God, as always, kept his word and gave a son to Aby,
Whose joy was uncontainable on seeing his newborn baby.
Sarah praised the Lord above, her dream had now come true,
And all her friends and family offered praises too.
With dances, feasts, and joyfulness, many days were spent,
For Isaac, as they called him, was clearly heaven sent.
But problems still abounded regarding wells and land,
And what belonged to who was getting hard to understand.
So Abraham drew up a plan, the Beersheba Deal,
Which Phichol and Abimelech agreed to sign and seal.
Later on, when they’d all gone, towards the end of day,
He planted half a dozen trees and kneeled down to pray.
Several years later, when Isaac was a lad,
The Lord appeared once again and spoke to Abe, his dad.
He said he had to take his son, and set out for Moriah,
And climb a certain mountain there, before the sun got higher.
Upon the mountain he should kill the son that he adored,
And burn him as a sacrifice to please the mighty Lord.
Although he felt it wasn’t fair and didn’t like the plan,
Abraham obeyed at once, being a righteous man.
He saddled up his donkey, and ordered two strong men
To go and fetch some firewood before the clock struck ten.
When they reached the mountain, he told his men to stay,
While he and Isaac, all alone, went on up to pray.
They started up the mountainside, climbing higher and higher,
Isaac held the firewood, Abe the knife, and fire.
But when they reached a clearing where both were out of sight,
Isaac had a feeling that something wasn’t right.
“Dad,” he said, “you’ve always been a most attentive man,
So how have you forgotten to bring along a lamb?”
Aby said, “Don’t fret, my son, the Lord will soon provide,”
But Isaac felt that there was something Abe was trying to hide.
His fears were soon confirmed as Aby tied him to the altar
And held the knife above his throat, determined not to falter.
Isaac thought his fate was sealed without the slightest doubt,
But as his dad prepared to strike, an angel shouted out:
“Hold your horses, Abe,” he said, “hang on there, wait a mo’,
It’s clear you are a righteous man, that’s all you had to show.
This sacrifice was just a plan to put you to the test,
To demonstrate for sure that you’re a cut above the rest.”
Looking up with great relief, Abe saw behind a tree,
A ram caught up in brambles, and thought, “Oh, lucky me!”
When Aby had untied his son and sacrificed the ram,
The angel called out once again and said, “Hey, Abraham!
God is really quite impressed with all that you have done,
He reconfirms the blessing he made when you were young.
He’ll make your family multiply, until they number more
Than all the stars in heaven and the sand upon the shore.”
Your comments are always very welcome.
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