Bach wrote the cantata in his first year in Leipzig for the Sunday Exaudi, the Sunday after Ascension. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the First Epistle of Peter, "serve each other" (1 Peter 4:8–11), and from the second Farewell discourse in the Gospel of John, the promise of the Paraclete, the "Spirit of Truth", and the announcement of persecution (John 15:26–16:4). The unknown poet begins with a quotation from the Gospel. One year later, poet Christiana Mariana von Ziegler would begin her cantata text for the same occasion, Sie werden euch in den Bann tun, BWV 183, with the same quotation, but other than that, the two works have little in common. The poet reflects the persecution of the Christians, confirmed by a chorale as movement 4, the first stanza of Martin Moller's "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid". In movement 5 the poet gives a reason, the Antichrist even thinking to work for God by fighting the Christians and their teaching. In movement 6, the suffering ones are promised God's help. The closing chorale is the final stanza of Paul Fleming's "In allen meinen Taten".

Original Name Sie werden euch in den Bann tun
Librettist John 16: 2 (Nos.1-2) Anonymous (Nos.3, 5-6) Martin Moller (1547-1606) (No.4) Paul Fleming (1609-1640) (No.7)
Date of composition 1724 in Leipzig, Germany
Premiered 1724, May 21st in Leipzig, Germany
First published 1863 (BGA) or before
Dedicated to 6th Sunday after Easter (Exaudi)
Type Sacred Cantata
Tonality G Minor
Catalogue BWV 44
Spoken language German
Instruments 4x Voice
SATB
Orchestra
Links
Autotranslations beta Jean-Sébastien Bach: They will put you under banishment en sol mineur, BWV 44
Johann Sebastian Bach: They will put you under banishment in sol minore, BWV 44
Johann Sebastian Bach: They will put you under banishment g-moll, BWV 44