Jesu

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For the band, see Jesu (band).

Jesu (/ˈʤiˌzu/, from Latin Iesu) is sometimes used as the vocative of Jesus in English. Latin Iesu besides the vocative ("O Jesus!") also represents the genitive case ("of Jesus") and the dative and ablative cases ("to/from/for Jesus"). The Latin forms derive from Greek Ἰησοῦ (Iēsou), the vocative, genitive and dative-locative of Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous). Use of the inflected Latin forms in English is now considered an archaism. It is, however, still encountered in Early Modern hymns and prayers: most famously in Johann Sebastian Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. However, in Jesus bleibet meine Freude, the hymn's original title, Jesus appears in the nominative. Compare Jesu meine Freude, Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen (both vocatives), Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod (genitive) and other titles. The use of the inflected forms remains common among educated German speakers also outside of fixed titles and expressions.

The original Greek of the New Testament uses the name Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous), a rendition of Aramaic Yeshua. As in Greek, Iesus in Latin was declined as an athematic stem (u-stem). The oblique form, Iesu, came to be used in Middle English: John Wycliffe (1380s), who spells the name Jhesus, does use Jhesu in oblique cases, and also in the accusative, and sometimes, apparently without motivation, even for the nominative.

Luke 4:34, and seide, Suffre, what to vs and to thee, Jhesu of Nazareth? art thou comun to leese vs? (vocative)
Luke 27:27, Thanne knyytis of the iustice token Jhesu in the moot halle (accusative)
Mark 2:15, many pupplicans and synful men saten togidere at the mete with Jhesu and hise disciplis (dative)
Mark 15:45, and whanne he knewe of the centurion, he grauntide the bodi of Jhesu to Joseph. (genitive)

Tyndale in the 16th century has the occasional Iesu in oblique cases and in the vocative; The 1611 KJV uses Iesus throughout, regardless of syntax.

The full declension of Latin Iesus is: nominative Iesus, genitive Iesu, accusative Iesum, dative Iesu, ablative Iesu, vocative Iesu. The full declension of Greek Iēsous is: nominative Iēsous, genitive Iēsou, accusative Iēsoun, dative-locative Iēsou (the dative of Joshua in the LXX being Iēsoi), vocative Iēsou. The plural is not attested for obvious reasons.