This
hymn exists in a number of versions, all based on the
Latin Veni Veni Emmanuel. I'll
node all the ones I can find, and add them sequentially to this
WU. The hymn is based on
the Great Advent Antiphons, and each verse-number will be hard-linked to the appropriate
antiphon. Any of the versions given here may be sung with the last verse repeated at the end.
English Hymnal version, translated by T A Lacey:
1 O come, O come, Emmanuel!
Redeem thy captive Israel,
That into exile drear is gone
Far from the face of God's dear Son.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
2 O come, thou Branch of Jesse! draw
The quarry from the lion's claw;
From the dread caverns of the grave,
From nether hell thy people save.
3 O come, O come, thou Dayspring bright!
Pour on our souls thy healing light;
Dispel the long night's lingering gloom,
And pierce the shadows of the tomb.
4 O come, thou Lord of David's Key!
The royal door fling wide and free;
Safeguard for us the heavenward road,
And bar the way to death's abode.
5 O come, O come, Adonaï,
Who in thy glorious majesty
From that high mountain clothed with awe
Gavest thy folk the elder law.
Issac Watts' version:
1 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.
2 O come, thou rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of hell thy people save
And give them vict'ry o'er the grave
3 O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here
And drive away the shaves of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light
4 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
5 O come, O come, Thou Lord of might
Who to thy tribes, on Sinai's height
In ancient times did'st give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe
John Mason Neale's version (one source suggests that the last verse is by
Henry S Coffin,
1916):
1 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.
2 O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
3 O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan?s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
4 O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death?s dark shadows put to flight.
5 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.
6 O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
7 O come, Thou Root of Jesse?s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
8 O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Lastly, my own version. Let me know if you'd like to use it. It's intended to be a fairly close versification of the original antiphons, although the
penultimate verse draws on both
O Virgo Virginum and
O Mundi Domina.
1 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
The promised one of Israel.
We long to see thy presence here;
Come, ruler of the Earth, appear!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
2 O come, thou Lord of Heaven's Rising Sun,
Eternal light and righteous chosen one.
Illuminate our darkened sight
And bring an end to suffering's night.
3 O come, our God Adonaï,
The lawgiver of Sinaï
Revealed to Moses in the flame;
Save us who call upon thy name.
4 O come, thou Root of Jesse, come,
Thou ensign of Messiah's home;
That silencest Earth's kings, and art
The joy of every nation's longing heart.
5 O come, thou Key of David, rod
And sceptre of the chosen ones of God.
Release the poor man out of gaol
And them that dwell in death's dim vale.
6 O come, Desire and King of Nations, bind
Thy children here to all mankind.
In making us from clay alone
Thou wast the builder and the corner-stone.
7 O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
That reachest all both far and nigh,
And settest all things on their way;
Teach us thy prudent path, we pray.
8 O Blessed Maid of Maidens, bring
To birth the world's eternal King.
O daughters of Jerusalem
Behold the mystery of Bethlehem!
9 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
The promised one of Israel.
We long to see thy presence here;
Come, ruler of the Earth, appear!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Everything Hymnal