Unabridged English |
Original Latin |
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O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold him, Born the King of angels:
O Come, let us adore him, |
Adeste, fideles, Laeti triumphantes; Venite, venite in Bethlehem. Natum videte, Regem angelorum:
Venite adoremus, |
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God of God, Light of Light, Lo, he abhors not the Virgin's womb; Very God, Begotten, not created: |
Deum de Deo, Lumen ad lumine, Gestant puallae viscera, Deum verum, Genitum, non factum: |
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See how the shepherds, Summoned to his cradle, Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze; We too will thither Bend our joyful footsteps: |
En grege relicto, Humiles ad cunas, Vocati pastores approperant: Et nos ovanti Gradu festinemus: |
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Lo, star-led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring, Offer him incense, gold, and myrrh; We to the Christ-child Bring our hearts' oblations: |
Stella duce, Magi Christum adorantes, Aurum, thus, et myrrham dant munera. Jesu infanti Corda praebeamus: |
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[There is no versified English translation. This is my own translation] Everlasting splendor of the [Eternal] Father We shall see in a garment of flesh; God, infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes: |
Aeterni Parentis Splendorem aeternum Velatum sub carne videbimus, Deum infantem, Pannis involutem: |
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Child, for us sinners Poor and in the manger, We would embrace thee, with love and awe; Who would not love thee, Loving us so dearly? |
Pro nobis egenum Et foeno cubantem Piis foveamus amplexibus; Sic nos amantem Quis non redamaret? |
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Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation, Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above; Glory to God In the highest: |
Cantet nunc 'Io' Chorus angelorum, Cantet nunc aula caelestium: Gloria, Gloria in excelsis Deo: |
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Yea, Lord, we greet thee, Born this happy morning; Jesus, to thee be glory given; Word of the [Eternal] Father, Now in flesh appearing: |
Ergo qui natus Die hodierna, Jesu, tibi sit gloria: Patris aeterni Verbum caro factum: |
For a full account of the earliest sources of this famous hymn, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, consult L'Adeste Fideles Etude sur son développement. par Dom Jean Stéphan, O.S.B., Desclée et Cie, 1949. Also visit this wonderful site containing Hymns and Carols of Christmas, http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com. Valuable information about the hymn Oh Come All Ye Faithful can be found on this page, http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/o_come_all_ye_faithful.htm.
There is evidence that this hymn was composed by John Francis Wade, a copyist of music and teacher of Latin at Douay sometime in the first half of the 18th century. The earliest existing manuscript shows both words and tune. The cover page is missing, but internal evidence dates it to c.1743.
Wade composed stanzas 1, 2, 7 and 8. Stanzas 3, 5 and 6 were probably composed by Abbé Etienne Jean François Borderies. The suggestion is that Abbé Borderies heard the hymn sung while exiled in England in 1793 and wrote the three additional stanzas after he returned to France in 1794. Verses 1, 3, 4, and 5 were printed in the Office de St Omer, 1822 and form the usual French form of the hymn. It is not known who composed stanza 4. The earliest authority quoted is c.1868, in the undated Paroissien Romain, printed in Paris.
The translation is also a composite. Stanzas 1, 2, 7 and 8 were translated by F. Oakeley in 1841 for the Margaret Street Chapel and were printed in Murray's Hymnal, 1852. Stanzas 3, 4 and 6 were translated by W T Brooke in the Altar Hymnal, 1884. Stanza 5 has not come into general use in the English speaking countries.
[The Historical Companion to Hymns Ancient & Modern, Frost, Maurice, ed. William Clowes & Sons, Limited. London, 1962.]