When it is said
On Holy Saturday the Liturgy of St Basil is joined to Vespers, and this hymn takes the place of the usual Cherubic Hymn, sung as the bread and wine are carried to the altar.
In the Liturgy of St James, where it comes from, it is sung while the priest and deacon carry the gifts to the altar, saying nothing themselves.
Where it comes from
No author known
From the Liturgy of St James
The Liturgy of St James is the old Liturgy of the Church of Jerusalem, named after James, the Lord’s brother. It is often dated to the late 300s, though its date has long been disputed. There this hymn is sung as the gifts are brought to the altar. On Holy Saturday the Church sings it in the Liturgy of St Basil.
“King of kings and Lord of lords”
The hymn takes these words straight from Paul’s first letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 6:15). Its angels come from the prophets. Isaiah saw seraphim with six wings, two of them covering their faces (Isaiah 6:2), and Ezekiel saw cherubim full of eyes (Ezekiel 10:12).
What the words mean
The English hymn of the same name
The English hymn “Let all mortal flesh keep silence”, sung to the French carol tune Picardy, is Gerard Moultrie’s paraphrase of this text, first printed in 1864. It adds lines the Greek does not have, such as “King of kings, yet born of Mary”. The words on this page are the hymn as the Church sings it.
The English Hymnal, 1906, hymn 318; Hymnary.org, “Let all mortal flesh keep silence”
The Scripture in it
“Be silent before the LORD, all people, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”
… which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.
Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.”
Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, and wings, were full of eyes all around, as were their four wheels.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.
In Greek
Σιγησάτω πᾶσα σάρξ βροτεία,
καὶ στήτω μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου,
καὶ μηδὲν γήϊνον ἐν ἑαυτῇ λογιζέσθω·
ὁ γὰρ Βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων, καὶ Κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων,
προσέρχεται σφαγιασθῆναι,
καὶ δοθῆναι εἰς βρῶσιν τοῖς πιστοῖς·
προηγοῦνται δὲ Τούτου, οἱ χοροὶ τῶν Ἀγγέλων,
μετὰ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας,
τὰ πολυόμματα Χερουβίμ,
καὶ τὰ ἑξαπτέρυγα Σεραφίμ,
τὰς ὄψεις καλύπτοντα,
καὶ βοῶντα τὸν ὕμνον·
Ἀλληλούϊα, Ἀλληλούϊα, Ἀλληλούϊα.