Inspired by Pompeo Batoni’s masterpiece
The lecherous elders saw her,
with eyes wanton and wicked
they saw the lovely Susannah
as she innocently bathed in the
warm water of the silent garden,
but when she rejected the lurid
scheme of these unjust judges,
their vicious vile hearts burned
with lust and anger, and so
they perniciously plotted to
melt down her golden reputation
in the fiery furnace of calumny;
but still, she trusted,
Susannah trusted in God --
then, the Spirit of the Lord rushed
upon a youth named Daniel
who, though very humble,
spoke with the authoritative
passion of the prophets of old,
and his wondrous wisdom
amazed the people who listened --
and, lo, in the twinkle of an eye,
Justice struck down the elders
like a holy hammer from Heaven.