It is instructive to compare and contrast Daniel's Prayer,
chap. ix., remembering that a different person would naturally have a
different style; a consideration which may also help to account for the
change we are conscious of when we pass from the prayer of Azarias to
the Song which purports to he the composition of the Three.
The principle on which ????¶?‚ is inserted in some verses and omitted in
others does not seem clear. Rhythmical considerations do not
sufficiently account for it. Something other than style seems to have
influenced its use; but what that something may have been it is
difficult to discern. Nor does the principle seem clearer in the Aramaic
than in the Greek.
The poem has a simple yet majestic structure, with a refrain apt to
linger in the ear, either in Greek or English, ?•????»?????µ??–?„?µ, ??‘?????µ??–?„?µ, ???±??¶
??‘?????…??????¦?„?µ ?±????„????? ?µ??°?‚ ?„??????‚ ?±??°??¶???±?‚, "Bless ye the Lord, praise Him, and
magnify Him for ever." In Gaster's Aramaic the refrain is slightly
varied, ???¦?????? being used where God is addressed, ?‘?¦?????? where His
creatures are exhorted.
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