O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is an Advent hymn that prays for the Messiah to come. Its English words are John Mason Neale's translation (1851, revised 1861) of a Latin hymn based on the ancient O Antiphons. Each verse calls Christ by an Old Testament title: Emmanuel, which "being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew 1:23); the Rod of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1); the Dayspring (Luke 1:78); the Key of David (Isaiah 22:22); and the Lord of might who gave the law on Sinai. The refrain answers the longing with joy: Emmanuel shall come.
Few Christmas songs sound as much like waiting as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. It is written in a minor key and sung slowly, and that fits its purpose. It is an Advent hymn, sung in the weeks before Christmas, when the church remembers the long centuries Israel waited for the Messiah and looks ahead to Christ's return. The words began as the O Antiphons, short sung prayers used at evening worship in the last seven days before Christmas Eve, December 17 to 23, each one beginning with O and a title of Christ. A Latin hymn arranged five of them into verses, and in 1851 the English clergyman John Mason Neale translated it. His first version began Draw nigh, draw nigh, Emmanuel. The form most churches sing today, beginning O come, O come, Emmanuel, comes from the 1861 hymnal Hymns Ancient and Modern. Below are the full public-domain words, followed by the King James verses behind each verse with a short explanation. In 2026, Advent begins on Sunday, November 29. For more, see Bible verses about Advent, the meaning of the Advent candles and prophecies about Jesus.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: the words
Verse 1
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Verse 2
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Verse 3
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Verse 4
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Verse 5
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law,
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Text: Latin, Veni, veni, Emmanuel (first printed 1710); English translation by John Mason Neale (1851, first line Draw nigh, draw nigh, Emmanuel), in the revised form printed in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861). Public domain. Wording varies slightly from hymnal to hymnal. Tune: Veni Emmanuel, adapted from a 15th-century French processional.
O come, O come, Emmanuel: God with us
1. Isaiah 7:14
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
The hymn's first title comes from Isaiah's sign to King Ahaz: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Ahaz was terrified of an invasion, and God offered a sign that He was still with His people. Immanuel and Emmanuel are the same name spelled two ways, from Hebrew and from Greek. When the hymn sings O come, O come, Emmanuel, it is praying for this promise to be fulfilled.
2. Matthew 1:23
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
Matthew quotes Isaiah when he tells of Jesus' birth: they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. This is the meaning of the hymn's first word of hope. God does not only send help from far away. He comes to be with us in person. Matthew's Gospel ends with the same promise from the risen Jesus: lo, I am with you alway (Matthew 28:20). See names of Jesus.
3. Isaiah 35:10
"And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
The first verse asks Emmanuel to ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile. The picture comes from Israel's exile in Babylon and from prophecies like this one: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. The hymn treats that exile as a picture of all humanity, captive to sin and far from home. Its refrain, Rejoice! Rejoice!, echoes this verse: sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
4. Luke 1:68
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,"
When John the Baptist was born, his father Zacharias praised God: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people. He spoke as if the redemption had already happened, though Jesus had not yet been born. That is the spirit of the hymn's refrain. It sings Rejoice! while still waiting, because the promise is certain. Zacharias' song, called the Benedictus, also gives the hymn its third title, the Dayspring.
Rod of Jesse and Dayspring
5. Isaiah 11:1
"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:"
The second verse calls Christ the Rod of Jesse. It comes from this prophecy: And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. Jesse was King David's father. By Isaiah's time, David's royal family tree was like a stump about to be cut down. God promised that a new shoot would grow from it, a King from David's line. Jesus was born of that family (Matthew 1:6, 16).
6. Isaiah 11:10
"And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious."
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek. An ensign is a banner raised on a hill so people can gather to it. The King from Jesse's family would draw all nations, not only Israel. Paul quotes this verse to show that Christ came for Gentiles too (Romans 15:12). The hymn's prayer that the Rod of Jesse would free His own from Satan's tyranny is a prayer for every people.
7. Luke 1:78
"Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,"
The third verse calls Christ the Dayspring. The word comes from Zacharias' song: Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us. Dayspring is an old English word for dawn, the first light of morning. In Latin the antiphon is O Oriens, the rising sun. After a long night, the sun rises. Jesus' coming is God's tender mercy breaking over a dark world.
8. Luke 1:79
"To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
The next verse explains why the dawn matters: To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. This is where the hymn's line about death's dark shadows comes from. The Dayspring does not only cheer us; He leads us out of darkness and onto the road of peace. Advent is a good season to pray this verse for anyone sitting in the shadows of grief. See Bible verses about light.
Key of David and Lord of might
9. Isaiah 22:22
"And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open."
The fourth verse calls Christ the Key of David. In Isaiah, God promised to give a faithful steward named Eliakim authority over the king's house: And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. The steward with the key controlled who could come into the palace. The hymn asks Christ to open wide our heavenly home.
10. Revelation 3:7
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;"
Jesus applies Isaiah 22:22 to Himself in His letter to the church in Philadelphia: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth. Christ holds the key to the kingdom of God. When He opens the door, no one can close it. That is why the hymn can pray confidently, Make safe the way that leads on high.
11. Exodus 19:16
"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled."
The fifth verse calls Christ the Lord of might, who gave the law on Sinai's height in cloud, and majesty, and awe. It recalls this scene: there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. The Latin antiphon is O Adonai, a Hebrew word for Lord. The hymn makes a bold claim: the One born in Bethlehem is the same Lord who spoke at Sinai.
12. Deuteronomy 33:2
"And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them."
Moses' final blessing remembers Sinai: The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran. Then it adds, from his right hand went a fiery law for them. The God of Sinai came to His people in power and gave them His law. In the hymn, the Lord of might who once came in fire and cloud comes again, this time as a baby, and the refrain promises He will come once more. See the Christmas story in the Bible.
A short prayer
O come, O come, Emmanuel. Lord Jesus, You are God with us. You are the Branch from Jesse's root, the Dayspring who brings light to those in darkness, the Key of David who opens the way home, and the Lord of might. As I wait this Advent, ransom what is captive in me, scatter the shadows of fear and grief, and guide my feet into the way of peace. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
New to this method? See our Bible study guide or pick a Bible reading plan.
Get the free Advent reading plan · Print the free Advent candle readings · Pray through Advent with the 30-Day Prayer Journal
Frequently asked questions
What does O Come, O Come, Emmanuel mean?
The hymn is a prayer for the Messiah to come, sung during Advent. Emmanuel means God with us (Matthew 1:23). Each verse calls Christ by an Old Testament title, Emmanuel, Rod of Jesse, Dayspring, Key of David and Lord of might, and asks Him to rescue His people from exile, sin, darkness and death. The refrain answers with confident joy that Emmanuel shall come. Christians sing it remembering His first coming and longing for His return.
Who wrote O Come, O Come, Emmanuel?
The words go back to the O Antiphons, Latin chants used in the week before Christmas since at least the 8th or 9th century. A Latin hymn version, Veni, veni, Emmanuel, was first printed in Germany in 1710. John Mason Neale translated it into English in 1851, and a revised form appeared in Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861; that is the version most churches sing. The tune comes from a 15th-century French processional.
Are the lyrics of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel public domain?
Yes. Neale's 1851 translation and the 1861 Hymns Ancient and Modern text are both in the public domain, as is the traditional tune. Some hymnals add verses written later, including two from Henry Sloane Coffin in 1916, and modern recordings often have their own arrangements, which may be under copyright. This page prints the five-verse 1861 text.
When is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel sung?
It is traditionally sung during Advent, the four Sundays before Christmas, and especially from December 17 to 23, when the O Antiphons are prayed. In 2026, Advent begins on Sunday, November 29. Many churches open their first Advent service with it and light the first candle as it is sung. See our free Advent reading plan for daily Scripture through the season.
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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