Read "Jephtha's Daughter" by Lord Byron online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
I / Since our Country, our God-Oh, my Sire! / Demand that thy Daughter expire; / Since thy triumph was bought by thy vow- / Strike the bosom that's bared for thee now!
II / And the voice of my mourning is o'er, / And the mountains behold me no more: / If the hand that I love lay me low, / There cannot be pain in the blow!
III / And of this, oh, my Father! be sure- / That the blood of thy child is as pure / As the blessing I beg ere it flow, / And the last thought that soothes me below.
IV / Though the virgins of Salem lament, / Be the judge and the hero unbent! / I have won the great battle for thee, / And my Father and Country are free!
V / When this blood of thy giving hath gushed, / When the voice that thou lovest is hushed, / Let my memory still be thy pride, / And forget not I smiled as I died!