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Advent Hymnals

SDA Hymnal 115

O Come, O Come, Immanuel

Words: Latin, 12th century; trans. John Mason NealeMusic: French melody, 15th centuryTune: Veni Emmanuel88.88.88

Studio

1O come, O come, Immanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

RefrainRejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

2O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.

3O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.

Meter
88.88.88
Scripture
Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
7.8.8.8 · the hymnal prints 88.88.88
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 66% of beats fit
Rhyme
AABB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

O come, O come, Immanuel,˘/˘//˘˘7A
And ransom captive Israel,˘/˘/˘/˘˘8B
That mourns in lonely exile here˘/˘/˘///8C
Until the Son of God appear.˘/˘/˘/˘/8C

Verse 2

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,˘///˘˘˘/8A
And order all things, far and nigh;˘/˘///˘/8A
To us the path of knowledge show,˘˘˘/˘/˘/8B
And cause us in her ways to go.˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B

Verse 3

O come, Desire of nations, bind˘/˘/˘˘/˘/9A
All peoples in one heart and mind;//˘˘//˘/8A
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;//˘/˘/˘/8B
Fill the whole world with heaven's peace./˘//˘/˘/8B

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel˘/˘//˘˘7A
Shall come to thee, O Israel!˘/˘/˘/˘˘8B

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.