The Bow
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Bow
Scripture Reference:
- Exodus 2 (further images / scripture text)
Description: In a city field, a boy shoots an arrow with a large bow, while a second boy is in the process of stringing his crossbow and two men comment on this scene. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) began drawing the image (but Pieter Sluiter [1675-1713] finished the background) and composed the brief poem that accompanies it (below). The attendant Scripture texts are Exod 2:23-25; Ps 38:9; 78:56-57; Jer 9:3; and Matt 16:26.
Motto:
Don’t shoot at random; but aim for the mark,
Behind which is Eternal benefit.
Poem:
Everyone (like the Child) stretches his tension,
And shoots at what’s without meaning:
But others, who aim for something more,
They shoot (for a great fruit)
At God, with a keen desire,
From their taut Heart-Bows.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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