Away in a Manger is an American children's Christmas carol. Its first two verses appeared anonymously in the early 1880s, and a third verse was added in 1892. The opening line comes from Luke's account of the birth of Jesus: Mary "laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7), and the shepherds were told, "Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). The old story that Martin Luther wrote it is not true. The words and both common tunes are in the public domain.
For many families, Away in a Manger is the first Christmas carol a child learns, and often the first song a child sings in church. It is short, gentle and easy to remember, with a lullaby tune that rocks like a cradle. Yet its simple lines are full of the Gospel story: a newborn King with no bed, animals in a stable, a Savior who knows our weakness, and a child's prayer to be kept close forever. Below are the three verses as most often sung, the true history of the carol, and 12 KJV verses behind its words, in the order of the song. For the whole Christmas account, read the Christmas story in the Bible; for another carol, see Joy to the World.
Away in a Manger: the words
Verse 1
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
Verse 2
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus! look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
Verse 3
Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me I pray.
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And take us to heaven to live with Thee there.
Words: verses 1 and 2 anonymous, first known in print in 1882 (The Christian Cynosure, Chicago, as Luther's Cradle Song) and widely spread by Little Children's Book for Schools and Families (Philadelphia, 1885); verse 3 first printed in Charles H. Gabriel's Vineyard Songs (Louisville, 1892) and often credited to John T. McFarland. Usual tunes: Mueller (James R. Murray, 1887) in the United States and Cradle Song (William J. Kirkpatrick, 1895) in Britain. Public domain. Some hymnals print no crib for His bed, the stars in the heavens, stay by my side until morning is nigh or fit us for heaven.
No crib for a bed (verse 1)
1. Luke 2:6
"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered."
Mary and Joseph had traveled about ninety miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. Luke says simply that the baby came while they were there: the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. Accomplished means completed. The birth did not happen early or late, but at the time God had set, in the town the prophet Micah had named centuries before (Micah 5:2). The carol skips the journey and the labor and begins with the result: a baby asleep. Luke's quiet verse reminds us that the first Christmas came at the end of a long, hard road.
2. Luke 2:7
"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."
This is the verse behind the carol's first line. Mary brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. A manger is a feeding trough for animals, usually carved from stone or made of wood. The word inn may mean a guest room in a crowded house rather than a hotel, but either way there was no proper place. So the Son of God slept where the animals ate. No crib for a bed is not sentimental exaggeration; it is exactly what Luke says.
3. Luke 9:58
"And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
The manger was not the only time Jesus had no bed. Years later, when a man offered to follow Him anywhere, Jesus warned him what that would mean: Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. The little Lord Jesus who laid down His sweet head on the hay grew into a teacher with no home of His own. The carol sings of one night of poverty, but the whole life of Jesus was lived the same way, for our sake. See Bible verses about humility.
4. 2 Corinthians 8:9
"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
Why would the King of kings be born in a stable? Paul gives the reason in one sentence: For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. The manger is grace made visible. Jesus left the riches of heaven, where the stars in the bright sky were the work of His hands (John 1:3), and chose a borrowed feeding trough, so that people who had nothing could share everything that is His. Children understand this easily: Jesus came down so we could be lifted up.
The cattle are lowing (verse 2)
5. Luke 2:12
"And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
When the angel told the shepherds about the birth, he gave them a strange sign to look for: And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Newborn babies wrapped in cloths were common in Bethlehem. A newborn lying in an animal's feeding trough was not. The manger was how the shepherds would know they had found the right child, the Savior, Christ the Lord. Away in a Manger keeps returning to that sign, asleep on the hay, because it is the detail God Himself chose to point to.
6. Isaiah 1:3
"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."
The cattle are lowing: Luke does not mention animals, but the manger implies them, and Christian art has long placed an ox and a donkey beside the baby. The tradition comes partly from this verse, where God laments His people's blindness: The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Crib here means manger. At Bethlehem the animals were near their crib, where their Master lay, while most of the world did not notice. The carol's stable scene quietly asks us whether we know our Master as well as they knew theirs.
7. Hebrews 4:15
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
The line No crying He makes is the most debated in the carol. Some think it pictures Jesus as less than a real baby. But the Bible is clear that He was fully human: For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Jesus knew hunger, tiredness and tears. Most hymn scholars read the line as a lullaby picture of one peaceful moment, not a statement about His nature. Either way, the One in the manger understands every weakness we bring to Him.
8. John 11:35
"Jesus wept."
The shortest verse in the King James Bible is also one of the most comforting. Standing at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, seeing Mary and the mourners weeping, Jesus wept. The Son of God did not hide His grief. So the gentle words of the carol should never be taken to mean that Jesus was unable to cry. The baby who woke to the lowing cattle grew into a man who shared real sorrow, and He still cares when His children cry. If a child asks about the line, this verse is a good place to start.
Be near me, Lord Jesus (verse 3)
9. Matthew 19:14
"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Verse 3 turns the carol into a child's prayer, and that fits Jesus well. When His disciples tried to send away the parents who brought little children to Him, Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Suffer means allow. Jesus wanted the children near Him, and He said the kingdom belongs to people who come to Him like children, trusting and simple. Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care is a prayer He is glad to answer. See Bible verses for kids.
10. Mark 10:16
"And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them."
Mark's account of the same scene adds a tender detail that Matthew leaves out. After rebuking His disciples for turning the families away, Jesus did more than allow the children to come: And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. That is the picture behind the carol's last verse. Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay close by me forever is what those children experienced in His arms. Several hymnals list Mark 10:13-16 as the Scripture behind the third verse, alongside Luke 2:7 for the first.
11. Isaiah 40:11
"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
Long before Bethlehem, Isaiah described the coming Lord as a gentle shepherd: He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Lambs are the youngest and weakest of the flock, and He carries them close. The shepherds who came to the manger were the first to meet the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). Thy tender care, the carol says. Parents who sing this song over a sleeping child are praying Isaiah's picture over them.
12. John 14:3
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
The carol ends, And take us to heaven to live with Thee there. Jesus made that promise to His disciples the night before He died: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. The baby who had no room in Bethlehem is preparing room for His people in His Father's house. The manger at the start of the carol and heaven at the end belong together: He came down to us so that we could one day live with Him. See John 14 KJV.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming as a little baby, with no crib for a bed. Thank You that though You were rich, You became poor for my sake. You know every weakness and every tear, because You lived as one of us. Be near me, Lord Jesus, and stay close by me forever. Bless all the dear children in Your tender care, especially the children I love. Carry us like lambs in Your arms, and take us to heaven to live with You there. Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Away in a Manger?
No one knows for certain. The first two verses were printed without an author's name in a Chicago church paper, The Christian Cynosure, in 1882, and then in Little Children's Book for Schools and Families, published for Lutheran Sunday schools in Philadelphia in 1885. The third verse first appeared in Charles H. Gabriel's Vineyard Songs in 1892 and is often credited to John T. McFarland, a Methodist Sunday school leader, though that credit is uncertain.
Did Martin Luther write Away in a Manger?
No. The earliest known printing, in 1882, already called it Luther's Cradle Song and claimed that Luther wrote it for his children, and in 1887 James R. Murray repeated the claim when he published his tune. Scholars have found no German original and no link to Luther. The carol is American, from the early 1880s, and it spread through Lutheran Sunday school books.
Is Away in a Manger in the public domain?
Yes. The words were published between 1882 and 1892, and both common tunes, Mueller by James R. Murray (1887) and Cradle Song by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895), are well over a century old. Hymnary.org lists the text as public domain. Modern arrangements and recordings can be under copyright, but the traditional words and melodies are free to sing, print and share.
What Bible verse is Away in a Manger based on?
The first verse is based on Luke 2:4-7, especially Luke 2:7, where Mary laid her son in a manger because there was no room in the inn, and Luke 2:12, the sign given to the shepherds. Hymnals also connect the third verse with Mark 10:13-16 and Matthew 19:14, where Jesus blesses the children, and with Matthew 28:20, the promise to be with us always.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
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