# Das Jüngste Gericht · The Last Judgement

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems: The Other Part

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/das-juengste-gericht. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/das-juengste-gericht.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** So erschrocken, wie sie nie erschraken,  
So terrified as they were never terrified,
> Strong verb erschrecken, intransitive: Used intransitively, erschrecken, 'to be startled, take fright', is a strong verb: present erschrickt, past erschrak, plural erschraken, past participle erschrocken. The line uses both the participle erschrocken and the past erschraken of the same verb, comparing the terror now to any terror felt before.

**2** ohne Ordnung, oft durchlocht und locker,  
without order, often riddled through and loose,
> Durchlochen, to pierce with holes: durchlocht is the past participle of durchlochen, 'to perforate, pierce full of holes'. This differs from durchlöchern, whose participle is durchlöchert. Paired with locker, 'loose, not firmly held together', it describes bodies gone porous and no longer intact.

**3** hocken sie in dem geborstnen Ocker  
they crouch in the burst-open ochre
> Bersten becomes geborsten: geborstnen is the dative adjectival form of geborsten, the past participle of the strong verb bersten, 'to burst, split open'. The middle e is dropped for the meter, so geborstenen becomes geborstnen. The dative ending follows in dem, agreeing with Ocker, 'ochre'.

**4** ihres Ackers, nicht von ihren Laken  
of their field, not from their shrouds
> Genitive carried across a line: Ackers is the genitive of der Acker, 'field, ploughland', and depends on Ocker in the line before: 'the burst-open ochre of their field'. German allows a genitive phrase to run across a line break this way. Laken here means 'sheet, shroud', the grave-cloths named in the next stanza.


**5** abzubringen, die sie liebgewannen.  
to be parted, the ones they grew to love.
> Zu-infinitive of a separable verb: abbringen von means 'to dissuade from, part from'. As a separable verb, its zu-infinitive splits the prefix from the stem: ab-zu-bringen. It depends on a governing verb outside this line, giving 'not to be parted' from the shrouds named in the stanza before.
> Liebgewinnen, to grow fond of: liebgewinnen, here in the past tense liebgewannen, means 'to grow fond of, come to love', describing an affection that builds over time rather than sudden love. die is a relative pronoun referring back to the grave-cloths, so it names what they grew to love.

**6** Aber Engel kommen an, um Öle  
But angels arrive, to drip oils
> Um opens a purpose clause: um introduces a purpose clause, 'in order to', whose verb, here einzuträufeln, is held to the end of the next line. Öle, plural of das Öl, 'oil', is its object, also suspended across the line break, a common German construction that delays the action.

**7** einzuträufeln in die trocknen Pfannen  
into the dried-out sockets
> Pfanne as anatomical socket: Pfanne usually means 'pan', but anatomically it names a socket or cavity, as in Augenpfanne, 'eye socket'. Here die Pfannen are the dried-out sockets the angels fill with oil. trocknen is trockenen with the middle e dropped for the meter.

**8** und um jedem in die Achselhöhle  
and to lay in each one's armpit
> Dative of interest: jedem is dative, 'to each one', marking who benefits from the action still to come. The verb legen and its object follow in the next stanza: 'to lay for each one, into the armpit'. Achselhöhle means 'armpit', literally 'armpit hollow'.


**9** das zu legen, was er in dem Lärme  
that which, in the din
> Correlative das with relative was: das is the object being referred to, 'the thing', and was opens the relative clause that defines it, held to the next line: 'that which he did not profane'. German splits this pair across lines. in dem Lärme means 'in the din, the noise'.

**10** damals seines Lebens nicht entweihte;  
of his life back then, he did not profane;
> Genitive seines Lebens: seines Lebens, 'of his life', is genitive and depends on Lärme from the line before: 'in the din of his life back then'. entweihen, 'to desecrate, profane', is the opposite of weihen, 'to consecrate', and closes the relative clause naming what was kept unprofaned.

**11** denn dort hat es noch ein wenig Wärme,  
for there it still holds a little warmth,
> A word for because: denn means 'for, because' and, unlike subordinating conjunctions, does not push the verb to the end of its clause, so normal order follows: hat es noch. dort means 'there'. The clause explains why the kept thing still holds a little warmth, Wärme.


**12** daß es nicht des Herren Hand erkälte  
so that it not chill the Lord's hand
> Subjunctive in a purpose clause: daß opens a purpose clause and sends its verb, erkälte, to the end. erkälte is present subjunctive, Konjunktiv I, of erkälten, 'to make cold, chill', expressing an intended result: 'so that it not chill'. des Herren Hand is genitive, 'the Lord's hand'.

**13** oben, wenn er es aus jeder Seite  
above, when from every side he
> Wenn sends the verb to the end: wenn, 'when', is a subordinating conjunction, so its verb, greift, is held to the end of the following line, after the object es and the phrase aus jeder Seite, 'from every side'. oben, 'above', marks where the action happens.

**14** leise greift, zu fühlen, ob es gälte.  
softly takes it, to feel whether it would count.
> Subjunctive of gelten: gälte is Konjunktiv II, past subjunctive, of gelten, 'to be valid, to count'. In the indirect question ob es gälte, 'whether it would count', the subjunctive marks a hypothetical test. greift, 'takes hold', finally completes the wenn-clause begun in the line before.

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Source text: public domain (Rainer Maria Rilke, died 1926; Neue Gedichte published 1907 and 1908), from Wikisource. English translation and notes: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC. Narration: synthesized for this edition.