O Little Town of Bethlehem is a Christmas carol written in 1868 by Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal minister in Philadelphia, after he visited Bethlehem on Christmas Eve 1865. His organist, Lewis Redner, wrote the American tune. The carol is built on the prophecy of Micah: "But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel" (Micah 5:2). Its line about the everlasting Light shining in dark streets echoes John 1:5. The words and tunes are in the public domain.
Few carols paint a scene as clearly as O Little Town of Bethlehem: a sleeping village on a hillside, stars moving silently overhead, and in one dark street the Light of the world being born. Phillips Brooks rode from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve in 1865, looked down on the town from the shepherds' fields, and worshiped that night in the old Church of the Nativity. Three years later he turned the memory into a children's carol, and it became one of the best-loved Christmas songs in America. Below are all five verses, the story of how it was written, and 12 KJV verses behind its words, in the order of the carol. For the prophecies it echoes, see prophecies about Jesus; for the full nativity account, read the Christmas story in the Bible.
O Little Town of Bethlehem: the words
Verse 1
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
Verse 2
For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
Verse 3
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
Verse 4 (often omitted)
Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where Misery cries out to Thee,
Son of the Mother mild;
Where Charity stands watching
And Faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.
Verse 5
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!
Words: Phillips Brooks, written in 1868 for the Sunday school of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, three years after his Christmas visit to Bethlehem in 1865. Usual tunes: St. Louis (Lewis H. Redner, 1868) in the United States and Forest Green (English folk melody arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams, English Hymnal, 1906) in Britain. Public domain. Verse 3 reads The blessings of His heaven, as in the author's manuscript (Louis F. Benson, Studies of Familiar Hymns, 1903); a few books print blessing. Brooks first wrote Son of the Undefiled in verse 4 and changed it to Son of the Mother mild, as printed in the Holy Trinity Christmas programme of 1868; he later left verse 4 out, and most hymnals omit it.
O little town of Bethlehem (verse 1)
1. Micah 5:2
"But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Micah named the town where the Messiah would come from: But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Brooks's first word, little, comes straight from this verse. Bethlehem was small, but it was the town of David, and God chose it for the birth of a King whose life did not begin in Bethlehem at all. He has been from everlasting.
2. Luke 2:4
"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)"
How did a family from Nazareth end up in Bethlehem? Luke explains that a Roman census sent everyone to his ancestral town: And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) An emperor's tax order fulfilled a prophet's word without the emperor knowing it. Hymnary lists Luke 2:4-7 as a Scripture for this carol. The little town was crowded with travelers that night, which is why there was no room.
3. Isaiah 9:2
"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light. The darkness in the carol is more than night. Isaiah promised that the Messiah would bring light to people under the shadow of death: The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Matthew says this was fulfilled when Jesus began to preach (Matthew 4:16). The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight: every longing Israel had carried for centuries met its answer in one child.
4. John 1:5
"And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."
John's Gospel tells the Christmas story without a stable or shepherds. It begins in eternity, with the Word who was God, and then says what happened when He came: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. Comprehended can mean understood or overcame, and both fit. The world did not understand who had arrived in Bethlehem, and it could not put the Light out. Brooks's present tense, shineth, is deliberate. The everlasting Light still shines in dark places. See Bible verses about light.
The angels keep their watch (verse 2)
5. Galatians 4:4-5
"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."
For Christ is born of Mary. Paul sums up Christmas in two verses: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. The birth was not an accident of history. It came at the full time God had planned, to a real mother, so that the Son of God could make us sons and daughters of God. For more on Mary, see Mary, the mother of Jesus.
6. 1 Peter 1:12
"Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into."
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love. The people of Bethlehem slept through the greatest night in history, but heaven was wide awake. Peter says the good news of salvation is something even angels long to understand: which things the angels desire to look into. The phrase pictures someone bending down to look closely. Brooks's wondering love is exactly that: the angels watched in amazement as their Creator became a baby. If the angels wonder at Christmas, it is worth slowing down to wonder at it too.
7. Job 38:7
"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth! Brooks borrowed the morning stars from the book of Job. When God answered Job out of the whirlwind, He described the day He laid the foundations of the earth, When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? The same voices that sang at creation are called to sing again at the birth of the One through whom all things were made (John 1:3). Christmas is a new beginning on the scale of creation itself.
8. Psalms 47:7
"For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding."
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth. The second half of verse 2 echoes the angels' song in Luke 2:14, and the first half echoes the psalms. Psalm 47 calls all nations to clap their hands and shout to God: For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. The baby in Bethlehem was born King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2), but the psalm says His rule covers the whole earth. Sing with understanding: the carol invites us to know what we are singing about. See Bible verses about worship.
How silently the wondrous gift is given (verses 3-5)
9. 2 Corinthians 9:15
"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given! Paul ends a long passage about generous giving with a burst of praise for the greatest gift of all: Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. Unspeakable means too great for words. God gave His Son quietly, without trumpets or headlines, to a poor couple in a small town. Brooks's third verse asks us to notice how God still works: not with noise, but by giving Himself to anyone who will receive Him. See Bible verses about gifts.
10. 1 Kings 19:12
"And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."
No ear may hear His coming. The prophet Elijah, worn out and afraid, waited on a mountain for the LORD. A great wind passed, then an earthquake, then fire, but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. God was in the quiet. Christmas came the same way. Rome did not notice, Jerusalem did not notice, and the inn did not notice. Only a few shepherds and wise men heard. Brooks reminds us that God still speaks in stillness, to people who are listening.
11. Revelation 3:20
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in. The risen Jesus speaks to a lukewarm church with an invitation: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. In Bethlehem there was no room for Him. The carol asks whether there is room now. He does not force the door. He knocks and waits for meek souls, humble people who know they need Him, to open it. See Bible verses about salvation.
12. 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
The last verse turns the carol into a prayer: Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today. Christmas is not only something that happened long ago. Paul says that when Christ comes into a life, everything changes: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Be born in us today is a prayer for that new beginning. The carol ends with Our Lord Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). See Emmanuel meaning.
A short prayer
O holy Child of Bethlehem, thank You for coming quietly into our dark world as the everlasting Light. Thank You for Your unspeakable gift. Forgive me for the times I have had no room for You. I open the door of my heart now: cast out my sin, and enter in. Be born in me today, and make me new. Let my hopes and fears meet in You, and let me sing Your praise with understanding. O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel. Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote O Little Town of Bethlehem?
Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) wrote the words in 1868, when he was rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia. He later became Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts. His church organist, Lewis H. Redner, wrote the tune St. Louis for the children's Christmas service that year. Redner said neither of them expected the carol to last beyond that Christmas.
What inspired O Little Town of Bethlehem?
In 1865 Brooks traveled to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve he rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, passed the fields where the shepherds are said to have watched their flocks, and attended the late service at the Church of the Nativity. Three years later he remembered that night and wrote the carol for the children of his Sunday school.
Is O Little Town of Bethlehem in the public domain?
Yes. The words date from 1868, Lewis Redner's tune St. Louis from the same year, and the English tune Forest Green was published in 1906. All are in the public domain in the United States. Modern arrangements and recordings may be copyrighted, but the traditional words and melodies printed in hymnals are free to use.
What Bible verse is O Little Town of Bethlehem based on?
The carol is built on Micah 5:2, the prophecy that the ruler of Israel would come from little Bethlehem, and on Luke 2:1-20, the birth of Jesus and the angels' song. Other lines echo Isaiah 9:2 and John 1:5 (light in the darkness), Job 38:7 (the morning stars), 2 Corinthians 9:15 (the unspeakable gift) and Matthew 1:23 (Emmanuel).
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.
Related: Christmas · Away in a Manger · Silent Night · Prophecies about Jesus · The Christmas story in the Bible · Emmanuel meaning · O Come, O Come, Emmanuel · Light
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