The arrangement of the Latin motet, that is, transposing it to E minor, adjusting its music to the new text, and expanding it with an instrumental score for two traversos, two oboes, strings and basso continuo, is attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach.

The setting is found in a manuscript copy, likely written down in the 1750s, of Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt, a Passion oratorio which is a pasticcio based on compositions by, among others, Carl Heinrich Graun, Georg Philipp Telemann and Bach.

Likely Der Gerechte kömmt um existed as a stand-alone motet, for example for performance on Good Friday or at a funeral, before being adopted in the pasticcio.

[1][2][3][4] The oldest extant source for the Tristis est anima mea motet attributed to Johann Kuhnau is D-B Mus.ms.

[12] The motet attributed to Kuhnau is written for two soprano voices, alto, tenor and bass, which are the same vocal forces as those required for the Der Gerechte kömmt um version.

John W. Grubbs compares the orchestral setting with a similar one in the "Qui tollis" movement of Bach's Mass in B minor.

Changes in the vocal parts, which include addition of transition notes, also lead to different harmonies, and to a closer connection of some of the consecutive phrases.

Such responsories remind Christ's suffering, leading up to his death, which is the central theme of Christian services on Good Friday.

The setting of the third phrase (und heilige Leute werden aufgerafft), bars 28–38, ends on a harmonically surprising cadence, which, according to Grubbs, prefigures passages from Johannes Brahms's 19th-century German Requiem, Op. 45.

[8][30] Its narrative is carried by 6 inserted stanzas of Michael Weiße's hymn "Christus, der uns selig macht".

The five-part choir: Der Gerechte kömmt um (2 oboes; [string] quartet; E minor 4/4) has a wonderful depth, filled with the most exquisite thoughts; set in strictest counterpoint, it is nonetheless mild and soft, and in the course of its execution of a melodic beauty which is far above the measure of melodies available at the time, going hand in hand with a treatment of the setting which runs ahead of a modern harmonisation, Und heilige Leute werden aufgerafft a sacred lament with the most beautiful content.

[38] In the first half of 2019, Gotthold Schwarz conducted Concerto Vocale and the Saxon Baroque Orchestra Leipzig in a recording of the Passion oratorio, the performance time of its 39th movement being 5:28.

[39] Another recording of the pasticcio was realized in 2020, by György Vashegyi conducting the Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra, with a performance time of 5:58 for the "Der Gerechte kömmt um" movement.

[40] There are reasons why Der Gerechte kömmt um likely was a motet in its own right before it was adopted into the Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt pasticcio: first, its model, the Tristis est anima mea setting attributed to Kuhnau, was a stand-alone motet, also, most of the movements of the pasticcio demonstrably existed before being adopted in the Passion oratorio, and further, the colla parte flutes rather seem an addition designed to exploit the full orchestral forces needed for a performance of the Passion oratorio, than an original part of the Der Gerechte kömmt um composition.

[3][4][17] Around 1972, Hänssler published Der Gerechte kömmt um as a motet for two oboes, strings and continuo, edited by Hellmann.

[1] In November 1978, the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and the Academy of Ancient Music, conducted by Simon Preston, recorded Der Gerechte kömmt um, with a performance time of 5:20.

[47][48] Regularly performing Der Gerechte kömmt um as an encore, Gardiner recorded the motet live in July 2000, as part of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage.