Classic Christian Hymns · Public-domain text

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Latin antiphons; trans. John M. Neale

John Mason Neale (1818–1866) was an English scholar, priest, and poet of extraordinary dedication. Despite suffering from severe, chronic lung disease that kept him in constant physical discomfort and poverty, he mastered more than twenty languages. Under persecution from church authorities for his high-church views, he established the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, an order of nurses dedicated to caring for the poor and sick. Neale's life's passion was translating ancient and medieval Greek and Latin hymns into English, unlocking centuries of lost treasures (such as 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' and 'All Glory, Laud, and Honor') to bring the depth of historic Christian praise to modern worshippers.

Source: Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences

O come, O come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan's tyranny

From depths of hell thy people save

And give them victory o'er the grave

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer

Our spirits by thine advent here

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night

And death's dark shadows put to flight

O come, thou Key of David, come

And open wide our heavenly home

Make safe the way that leads on high

And close the path to misery

O come, O come, thou Lord of might

Who to thy tribes, on Sinai's height

In ancient times didst give the law

In cloud and majesty and awe

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

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