O Come, All Ye Faithful
For Christmas
Words: Adeste Fideles, John Francis Wade (c. 1711/2-1786), circa 1743/4
Translation: Anonymous. This is a
cento compiled from other translations according to Dr. John Julian.
Other Translations:
Adeste, Fideles
Translations
Music: "Adeste fideles"
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Source: John Troutbeck, ed., Westminster Abbey Hymn Book. Compiled under the Authority of the Dean of Westminster. (London: Novello, Ewer & Co., 1883), Hymn 62, pp. 68-69.
O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant;
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem:
Born, to redeem us,
Behold the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
True God of True God,
Light of Light Eternal,
Lo, He abhors not the Virgin's womb:
Son of the Father,
Begotten, not created;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Sing, Choir Angelic,
Sing ye Hallelujah;
Sing, ye that stand around the heavenly throne:
“Glory to God,
All glory in the highest;”
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Hail, Lord Incarnate,
Born for us this morning;
Jesu, to Thee be praise and glory given:
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Notes from Rev. Matthew Britt, O.S.B., Hymns from the Breviary and Missal (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1922), pp. 105-106.
Author unknown. 18th cent. Translation [of O Come, All Ye Faithful] by Canon Oakeley. There are forty translations. The complete hymn consists of eight stanzas, four of which are commonly used at Benediction during Christmastide. There are four translations of this hymn in Mr. Shipley's Annus Sanctus; the one by J. C. Earle is a translation of the complete hymn. The Adeste Fideles is not found in the Breviary or Missal. It is a beautiful invitation to the faithful "to come to Bethlehem" in spirit, and worship the new-born Saviour.
"With the exception of the Dies iræ and the Stabat Mater," says W. J. Grattan-Flood, Mus.D., "it is doubtful if there is a more popular hymn in our churches than the Adeste Fideles" (The Dolphin, Dec, 1905). The above translation is literal. In line 15, Io is an interj. expressing great joy. Line 17, aula cœlestium, the court of the blessed, the heavenly court.
Translations on this site are found on Adeste, Fideles Translations.
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