In the sixth and final cantata of the Oratorio, Bach returns us to the festive key of D major. The opening movement again makes use of the three trumpets and timpani, in addition to the oboes, strings and basso continuo. The text, a prayer for support and defense against the enemy (perhaps a pre-reference to Herod), is set to music as a majestic choral fugue in four parts.

The evangelist presents the next scene from the Gospel of Matthew (2: 7-8), in which Herod calls the Kings and asks them when the star had appeared to them. Herod appears in the libretto as a character, represented by the bass. In his recitative he addresses the Kings, sending them to Bethlehem to look for the Child and ordering them to report to him on their way back.

The soprano is in charge of the following two movements. The first is an accusatory recitative against Herod, followed by an aria in the form of a dance, accompanied by oboe d’amore, strings and basso continuo, in which the text celebrates the power of God against the arrogance and wickedness of his enemies.

The evangelist intervenes again to narrate the arrival of the Kings at the manger, the adoration of Jesus, and the presentation of the offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh. A four-part chorale, with the orchestra doubling the voices, provides a break for a prayer from the congregation to the newborn.

In the last segment of the gospel (Matthew 2: 12), the evangelist describes God’s warning to the Kings in a dream not to return to Herod, and to go back to their land by another route.

The following recitative reflects on the relationship between Jesus and the soul, and surprisingly it is assigned to the tenor and not to the soprano, as is more usual in Bach for this type of text. The tenor aria that follows, accompanied by two oboes d’amore in concertante form, describes the strength of the soul against its “arrogant enemies” with the arrival of Jesus.

A recitative by the four soloists leads to one of Bach’s most extraordinary chorales. The “passion chorale” (also used in the first cantata of the Oratorio), to a text by Georg Werner (1648) is delivered by the four-voice choir. Framed by an orchestral fanfare with a particularly virtuosic part for the first trumpet, it is transformed into a veritable song of triumph.