Prose and Metrical Translations of Veni, Veni Immanuel

Prose Translations

There have been numerous translations from the Latin into English, including:

• 'O Antiphons' from Andrewes, The Mantle of Prayer - Late 16^th Century/Early 17^th Century

• 1719. O Wisdom, Who Hast Proceeded - 1719. The Evening-office of the Church in Latin and English. Containing the Vespers, Or Even-song for All Sundays and Festivals of Obligation. The Second Edition, with the Addition of the Old Hymns, Etc. (Thomas Meighan, 1719), pp. 40-42.

• 1755. O Wisdom, Who Hast Proceeded - 1755. Rev. Pacificus Baker, O.S.F., The Christian Advent, or Entertainments for that Holy Season: In Moral Reflections and Pious Thoughts and Aspirations. (London, 1755), pp. 91-129.

• 1836. O Wisdom, Which Camest Out of the Mouth of the Most High, John Henry Newman, in Tracts for the Times, Vol. III for 1835-56. Second Edition. (London: J. G. & F. Rivington, 1857), #75, pp. 206-207, and reproduced in William Upton Richards, ed., Introits and Hymns, with some anthems adapted to the seasons of the Christian year, 1852, pp. 14-16, #11.

• 1840. O Wisdom Which Camest Out-Acland (Prose)

• 1841. O Wisdom, That Proceedest from the Mouth of the Most High; Dom Prosper Gueranger, OSB, The Liturgical Year, Volume 1, Advent (ca. 1841), translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B., ca. 1867. This translation appears to form the basis of the Antiphons that were printed in The Roman Breviary (New York: Benziger Bros., 1964), and those appearing in George Appleton, ed., The Oxford Book of Prayer (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1985), #610, pp. 190-191.

• 1846. O Wisdom, Which Camest Out of the Mouth of the Most High. Sacred Hymns and Anthems (Leeds: G. Crawshaw, 1846), Hymns 5-11, “The Advent Anthems,” pp. 10-11. There is a note on the inside cover of the copy found at Google Books: “Issued for St. Saviours, Leeds.” There was no mention of the name of the translator.

• 1851. O Wisdom, Which Camest Forth out of the Mouth of the Most High, the Salisbury Antiphonary; Source: John Mason Neale and Thomas Helmore, eds., Hymnal Noted - Parts I and II. London: Novello, 1856, pp. 207-209.

• 1853. O Wisdom, Who O'er Earth Below, Rev. William Cooke, from Church Hymns With Tunes (1885).

• 1854. O Wisdom, That Proceedest From the Mouth of the Most High, H. N. Oxenham, Sentence of Kaires and Other Poems, 1854.

• 1856. O Wisdom Which Camest Out-Terrott (Prose)

• 1857. O Wisdom, Which Camest Out-Scotland (Ramsey, Prose)

• 1867. O Wisdom, That Proceedest From The Mouth of the Most High (#2) (Prose)

• 1870. O Wisdom Which Comest Out-Hymns and Introits-1870. Joseph Oldknow, ed., Hymns and Introits For The Service of the Church. A New and Enlarged Edition [of the Edition of 1850]. (London: Masters & Son, 1870), Advent Anthems for Dec. 16-23, pp. 46-48.

• 1877. O Wisdom Which Camest Out-Nelson (Prose)

• 1879. O Wisdom, That Comest Out of the Mouth of the Most High. John, Marquess of Bute, K.T., The Roman Breviary. Volume 1 (Winter) of 4. (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1879, 1908). Also includes Scriptural citations.

• 1885. O Wisdom That Proceedest-Green-1885 (Green, Prose)

• 1901. O Wisdom, Sovereign Master of Man's Soul, Bishop Charles William Stubbs, The Guardian, Jan. 16, 1901, dated, “Deanery, Ely, Epiphany, 1901 and In A Minister Garden : A Causerie. Second Edition, 1902.

• 1903. O Wisdom, That with God’s Own Breath, Dr. Henry Charles Beeching (1859-1919), Canon of Westminster, in the Church Hymns, 1903. The search for this translation is continuing.

• 1906. O Wisdom Which Camest Out of the Mouth of the Most High; W. J. Birkbeck, et al., eds., The English Hymnal. (London: Oxford University Press, 1906), #734, pp. 878-879.

• O Wisdom, Who Came From the Mouth of the Most High, Catholic Culture, [URL changed to external site] http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/seasons/advent/o_ant.cfm

• 1922. O Wisdom, that proceedest from the mouth of the Most High, in The Seven Great Antiphons, Rev. Matthew Britt, O.S.B., Hymns from the Breviary and Missal (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1922), p. 91 ff. Includes both an English translation and the Latin original.

Prose translations by Dom Prosper Guéranger (1841):

• Dec. 17: O Sapientia (I)

• Dec. 18: O Adonai (II)

• Dec. 18: The Expectation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary (O Virgo virginum)

• Dec. 19: O Radix Jesse (III)

• Dec. 20: O Clavis David (IV), plus O Gabriel!

• Dec. 21: Saint Thomas, Apostle (O Thoma Didyme!)

• Dec. 21: O Oriens (V)

• Dec. 22: O Rex Gentium (VI), plus O Rex pacifice

• Dec. 23: O Emmanuel (VII), plus O Hierusalem!

• Dec. 24: Christmas Eve - The Vigil Of Christmas

See: The Great Advent Antiphons, The O Antiphons, and The Prose Antiphons.

See also O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Version 1, and Christ by Cynewulf.

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Metrical Translations

Metrical versions that have been found and posted on this site:

• 1851. Draw Nigh, Draw Nigh, Emmanuel - Version 1. In 1851, this version was published in John Mason Neale’s Medieval Hymns, 1851.

• 1851. Draw Nigh, Draw Nigh, Emmanuel - Version 2. Revised and published in 1854 in Neale and Thomas Helmore’s The Hymnal Noted - Part II. This rendition formed the basis of the more popular, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Neale) in  1859 & 1861.

• 1853. O Wisdom, Who O'er Earth Below . The full title of the “Cooke and Denton Hymnal” was The Church Hymnal. A Book of Hymns Adapted to the Use of the Church of England and Ireland, Arranged As They Are To Be Sung In Churches (London: J. Whitaker, 1853; London: George Bell, 1855).

• 1854. O Wisdom, Which Camest Forth out of the Mouth of the Most High (Neale and Helmore, Metrical)

• 1857. O Wisdom, Who O'er Earth Below-Version 2 (Ramsey, "Scotland," Metrical)

• 1857. O Come! Come Thou Emmanuel!," John David Chambers, Order of Household Devotion, 1854, and Lauda Syon: Ancient Latin Hymns. Part I. (London: J. Masters, 1857), pp. 67-68. Dr. Julian noted that this translation was not in “common use.”

• 1859. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Version 1, the most popular version of Veni, Veni, Immanuel by John Mason Neale. First published in Hymns (Printed for temporary use, and as a specimen of the Hymn Book Hymns Ancient and Modern now in course of preparation.), 1859. It was repeated in William Henry Monk, ed., Hymns, Ancient and Modern With Accompanying Tunes. First Edition. (London: Novello and Co., 1861), #36.

• 1867. O Come, Emmanuel, O Come! This was written by Rev. Richard C. Singleton in 1867 and included in Robert Corbet Singleton and Edwin George Monk, eds. The Anglican Hymn Book (London: Novello, Ewer & Co., 1868), #32.

• 1868. O Wisdom! Spreading Mightily From out the Mouth of God Most High, Lord Horatio Nelson, The Sarum Hymnal, 1868. Also found in the Hymnal: according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, 1871.

• 1874. Hymn #74, O Wisdom, Who O'er Earth Below, in Arthur Sullivan, ed., Church Hymns With Tunes (London: Society For Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1874), pp. 54-55, was composed of stanzas ii.-v. and vii. from Neal's Version 1, with stanzas i. and vi. being from Canon Cooke’s translation.

• 1876.  O Come! Immanuel, Hear Our Call, Dr. Julian tells us that this was Dr. MacGill’s translation, which appeared in the Scottish Presbyterian Hymnal, 1876, #29, pp. 32-33; the proper title is The Presbyterian Hymnal (Edinburgh: Andrew Elliott, 1876) (no music provided or suggested; meter: 8s); also found in the 1885 edition. It was subsequently included in Hamilton Montgomerie MacGill, ed. Songs of the Christian Creed and Life (London: Basil Montagu Pickering, 1876), #18, without music, and also the edition of 1879.

• 1906. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Version 2, another popular version with seven verses by Thomas Alexander Lacey (1853-1931). The first five verses first appeared in The English Hymnal (1906).

• 1917. Come, O Immanuel, Come. J. Thruff, found in The Church Hymnal For the Christian Year, 1917, #78, p. 95.

• 1922. O Wisdom, that proceedest from the mouth of the Most High, in The Seven Great Antiphons, Rev. Matthew Britt, O.S.B., Hymns from the Breviary and Missal (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1922), p. 91 ff. Includes both an English translation and the Latin original.

• 1930. O Wisdom Which Camest Out-Palmer. Rev. G. H. Palmer, ed., The Antiphons Upon Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis from the Salisbury Antiphoner (Wantage: S. Mary's Convent, 1930), pp. 9-13.

William Cooke and Benjamin Webb, editors of The Hymnary – A Book of Church Song (London: Novello, Ewer and Co., 1872), included a series of seven hymns, each based on one of the Seven “Great O” Antiphons, and each with its own tune. They are:

• December 16, called O Sapientia
  O Heavenly Wisdom, Hear Our Cry, #119, p. 100.

• December 17, called O Adonai
  O Thou, Who Camedst Down of Old, #120, pp. 100-101.

• December 18, called O Radix Jesse
  O Root of Jesse, Thou On Whom, #121, p. 101.

• December 19, called O Clavis David
  O Key of David, Hailed by Those, #122, p. 102.

• December 20, called O Oriens
  O Very God of Very God, #123, pp. 102-103.

• December 22, called O Rex Gentium
  O Thou, On Whom the Nations Wait, #124, p. 103.

• December 23, called O Immanuel
  O Thou, Whose Name is “God With Us”, #125, p. 104.

 

Metrical and Prose Translations:

• 1719, O Wisdom, Who Hast Proceeded, Anonymous, The Evening-office of the Church in Latin and English. Containing the Vespers, Or Even-song for All Sundays and Festivals of Obligation. The Second Edition, with the Addition of the Old Hymns, Etc. (Thomas Meighan, 1719), pp. 40-42.

• 1755, O Wisdom, Who Hast Proceeded, Rev. Pacificus Baker, O.S.F., The Christian Advent, or Entertainments for that Holy Season: In Moral Reflections and Pious Thoughts and Aspirations. (London, 1755), pp. 91-129.

• 1836. O Eternal Wisdom Which Proceedest From The Mouth Of The Most High, John Henry Newman, in Tracts for the Times, Vol. III for 1835-56. Second Edition. (London: J. G. & F. Rivington, 1857), #75, pp. 206-207; also reproduced in William Upton Richards, ed., Introits and Hymns, with some anthems adapted to the seasons of the Christian year, 1852, pp. 14-16, #11.

• 1846. O Wisdom, Which Camest Out of the Mouth of the Most High. Sacred Hymns and Anthems (Leeds: G. Crawshaw, 1846), Hymns 5-11, “The Advent Anthems,” pp. 10-11. There is a note on the inside cover of the copy found at Google Books: “Issued for St. Saviours, Leeds.”

• 1851. O Wisdom, Which Camest Forth out of the Mouth of the Most High, the Salisbury Antiphonary; Source: John Mason Neale and Thomas Helmore, eds., Hymnal Noted - Parts I and II. London: Novello, 1856, pp. 207-209.

• 1851. Draw Nigh, Draw Nigh, Emmanuel - Version 1. In 1851, this version was published in John Mason Neale’s Medieval Hymns, 1851.

• 1851. Draw Nigh, Draw Nigh, Emmanuel - Version 2. Revised and also published in 1851 in Neale and Thomas Helmore’s the Hymnal Noted - Parts I and II. This rendition formed the basis of the more popular, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

• 1852. A translation by W. J. Blew, and included in his Church Hymn and Tune Book, 1852. No copy available as of Dec. 26, 2015.

• 1853. O Wisdom, Who O'er Earth Below. William Cooke and William Denton, eds., The Church Hymnal. A Book of Hymns Adapted to the Use of the Church of England and Ireland, Arranged As They Are To Be Sung In Churches (London: J. Whitaker, 1853), Nos. 16-22, pp. 17-19.

• 1854. O Come! Come Thou Emmanuel!," John David Chambers, Order of Household Devotion, 1854, p. 240; it was later published in his Lauda Syon: Ancient Latin Hymns, 1866, pp. 67-68. Dr. Julian noted that this translation was not in “common use.”

• 1854. O Wisdom, That Proceedest From The Mouth of the Most High, H. N. Oxenham, Sentence of Kaires and Other Poems (1854).

• 1857. O Wisdom, Who O'er Earth Below, John Mason Neale and William Cooke, alt., from Hymnal For Use In The Services of the Church (1857). This version occurs in at least two other later hymnals, including Sullivan's Church Hymns With Tunes (1885).

• 1859. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Version 1, the most popular version of Veni, Veni, Immanuel adapted from the translation by John Mason Neale. First published in Hymns (London: Novello & Co., 1859), #36, pp. 40-41, and then in the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861).

• 1862. O Come, Come Thou, Emmanuel, R. R. Chope, Congregational Hymn and Tune Book (1862)

• 1867. O Come, Emmanuel, O Come!, Rev. R. C. Singleton, Anglican Hymn Book, 1867-1868, 1871.

• 1867. O Wisdom, That Proceedest from the Mouth of the Most High; Dom Prosper Gueranger, OSB, The Liturgical Year, Volume 1, Advent (ca. 1841), translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B., ca. 1867. This translation may form the basis of the Antiphons that were printed in The Roman Breviary (New York: Benziger Bros., 1964), and those appearing in George Appleton, ed., The Oxford Book of Prayer (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1985), #610, pp. 190-191.

• 1868. O Wisdom! Spreading Mightily From out the Mouth of God Most High, Lord Horatio Nelson, The Sarum Hymnal, 1868. Also found in the Hymnal: according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, 1871.

• 1872. O Heavenly Wisdom, Hear Our Cry, a hymn based on the antiphon "O Sapientia," Cooke and Webb, The Hymnary – A Book of Church Song

• 1872. O Thou, Who Camedst Down of Old, a hymn based on the antiphon "O Adonai," Cooke and Webb, The Hymnary – A Book of Church Song

• 1872. O Root of Jesse, Thou On Whom, a hymn based on the antiphon "O Radix Jesse," Cooke and Webb, The Hymnary – A Book of Church Song

• 1872. O Key of David, Hailed by Those, a hymn based on the antiphon "O Clavis David," Cooke and Webb, The Hymnary – A Book of Church Song

• 1872. O Very God of Very God, #123, a hymn based on the antiphon "O Oriens," Cooke and Webb, The Hymnary – A Book of Church Song

• 1872. O Thou, On Whom the Nations Wait, a hymn based on the antiphon "O Rex Gentium," Cooke and Webb, The Hymnary – A Book of Church Song

• 1872. O Thou, Whose Name is “God With Us”, a hymn based on the antiphon "O Immanuel," Cooke and Webb, The Hymnary – A Book of Church Song

• 1876. O Come! Immanuel, Hear Our Call, Dr. Macgill, Presbyterian Hymnal (Scotland), #29, 1876. It was subsequently included in Macgill's Songs of the Chris­tian Creed and Life, 1876 and 1879.

• 1879. O Wisdom, That Comest Out of the Mouth of the Most High. John, Marquess of Bute, K.T., The Roman Breviary. Volume 1 (Winter) of 4. (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1879, 1908). Also includes Scriptural citations.

• 1879. "O Wisdom, which didst come forth from the mouth of the Most High" in The Greater Antiphons Homily, from James Edmondson, D.D., Anglia sancta; or, Short homilies for the black letter days of the Church of England (London: G. J. Palmer, 1879), pp. xvi-xix.

• 1896. Emmanuel, Come! We Call For Thee. John Brownlie, ed., Hymns Of The Early Church (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1896), pp. 45-46.

• 1901. O Wisdom, Sovereign Master of Man's Soul, Bishop Charles William Stubbs, The Guardian, Jan. 16, 1901, dated, “Deanery, Ely, Epiphany, 1901." It was later published in a volume of his poetry, In A Minister Garden: A Causerie, Second Edition, 1902, pp. 133-135, and Castles in the Air and Other Poems Old and New, 1903, pp. 45-49.

• 1903. O Wisdom, That with God’s Own Breath, Dr. Henry Charles Beeching (1859-1919), Canon of Westminster, in Church Hymns, No. 80, pp. 128-129 (1903).

• 1906. O Wisdom Which Camest Out of the Mouth of the Most High; W. J. Birkbeck, et al., eds., The English Hymnal. (London: Oxford University Press, 1906), #734, pp. 878-879.

• 1906. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Version 2, another popular version with seven verses by Thomas Alexander Lacey (1853-1931). The first five verses first appeared in The English Hymnal (1906).

• 1913. O Wisdom! Of the Father Bred, Dom Samuel Gregory Ould and William Sewell, eds., The Book of Hymns with Tunes (London: Cary & Co., 1913), Hymn 5, "O Wisdom! Of the Father bred," pp. 6-7.

• 1916. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel-Neale & Coffin. Rev. Henry Sloane Coffin and Ambrose White Vernon, Hymns of the Kingdom of God. Revised. (New York: The A.S. Barnes Company, 1916), #37.

• 1917. Come, O Immanuel, Come. J. Thruff, found in The Church Hymnal For the Christian Year, 1917, #78, p. 95.

• 1922. O Wisdom That Proceedest From The Mouth, Rev. Matthew Britt, O.S.B., Hymns from the Breviary and Missal (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1922), p. 91 ff. Includes both an English translation and the Latin original.

• 1930. O Wisdom Which Camest Out. Rev. G. H. Palmer, ed., The Antiphons Upon Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis from the Salisbury Antiphoner (Wantage: S. Mary's Convent, 1930), pp. 9-13.

• O Wisdom, Who Came From the Mouth of the Most High, posted on-line at Catholic Culture.

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