Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Desire of all Nations

O Rex géntium et desiderátus eárum, lapísque anguláris, qui facis útraque unum: veni et salva hóminem, quem de limo formasti.

O King of nations, and their Desired, the Cornerstone Who dost make both one: come and save mankind whom Thou didst form out of clay.In the Authorised Version, Haggai 2:6-7 reads:

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

It is tempting to read this as the source for the exspectatio gentium of the O Emmanuel or the desideratum gentium of O Rex. Indeed the Vulgate (v. 8) reads et veniet desideratus cunctis gentibus. However the Neo-Vulgate reads et venient thesauri cunctarum gentium. Moreover the RSV reads so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, i.e. the wealth of the nations will bankroll the temple, this suggests that in the Hebrew it is not the pure longing of the nations that is being described but materialistic desires.

The Septuagint reads καὶ ἥξει τὰ ἐκλεκτὰ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν - transliterated (caps for long vowels) kai hExei ta eklekta pantOn tOn ethnOn - the choice things of all the nations.

The literal interlinear translation of the Old Testament edited by John R Kohlenberger III has: and they will come one desired of all of the nations. That suggests that thesauri (treasures) is correct and not desideratus (desire).

[Please don't ask me to untangle the differences between the Neo-Vulgate and its predecessors - is it simply a better edition of Jerome's single text, did Jerome produce many translations and this is another selection than the received text? is it merely an improved translation from the Hebrew?]

Saturday, December 22, 2007

O Emmanuel - 23rd December

O Emmánuel, rex et légifer noster, exspectátio géntium et salvátor eárum: veni ad salvándum nos, Dómine Deus noster.

Monastic Diurnal:

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Desire of all nations and their Saviour: come and save us, O Lord, our God.

Divine Office (UK, Ireland and Australia):

O Immanuel, you are our king and judge, the One whom the peoples await and their Saviour. O come and save us, Lord, our God.

J.M. Neale:

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


T.E. Lacey:

O come, o come Emmanuel!
Redeem thy captive Israel,
That into exile drear is gone
Far from the face of God's dear Son.


Scripture:

Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son. and shall call his name Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14
For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our ruler, the LORD is our king; he will save us. - Isaiah 33:22

O Rex Gentium - O King of Nations - 22nd December

O Rex géntium et desiderátus eárum, lapísque anguláris, qui facis útraque unum: veni et salva hóminem, quem de limo formasti.

Monastic Diurnal:

O King of nations, and their Desired, the Cornerstone Who dost make both one: come and save mankind whom Thou didst form out of clay.

Divine Office (UK, Ireland and Australia):

O King whom all the peoples desire, you are the cornerstone which makes all one. O come and save man whom you made from clay.

J.M. Neale:

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid every strife and sorrow cease
And fill the world with heaven's peace.


T.E. Lacey:

O come, desire of nations! Show
thy kingly reign on earth below;
thou cornerstone, uniting all,
restore the ruin of our fall.


Scripture:

The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. - Psalms 117 (118):22

He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. - Isaiah 2:4

Behold I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: "He who believes will not be in haste." - Isaiah 28:16

But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. - Ephesians 2:13-16.

Friday, December 21, 2007

O Thoma Didyme -O Thomas the Twin - 21st December

The following antiphon is found in some medieval breviaries, today being the traditional feast of St Thomas the Apostle.

O Thoma Didyme! qui Christum meruisti cernere; te precibus rogamus altisonis, succurre nobis miseris; ne damnemur cum impiis, in adventu Iudicis.
O Thomas the Twin, who didst merit to see Christ; we beseech thee with earnest prayers, help us miserable sinners; lest we be condemned with the wicked when the Judge comes.

Guéranger's discussion of the feast of St Thomas, including this antiphon is found here. Sources for the other Great Antiphons may be found here.

O Oriens - O Rising Sun - 21st December

Video; Audio .rm (with notation); Audio .mp3; Notation.

O Oriens, splendor lucis ætérnæ et sol iustítiæ: veni, et illúmina sedéntes in ténebris et umbra mortis.
Monastic Diurnal:

O Dayspring, brightness of eternal Light and Sun of Justice: come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Divine Office (UK, Ireland & Australia):

O Rising Sun, you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice. O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
J.M. Neale:

O come, thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.


T.E. Lacey:

O come, o come, thou Dayspring bright!
Pour on our souls they healing light;
Dispel the long night's lingering gloom,
And pierce the shadows of the tomb.

Scripture:

For she is a reflection of eternal light (
candor est enim lucis æternæ), a spotless mirror of the working of God. - Wisdom 7:26

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them has light shined.
- Isaiah 9:2
I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. - Isaiah 42:6-7

And you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. - Luke 1:76-79

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

In a hole in the ground...

The Hobbit is to be made into a film.

Meanwhile, watch this:

Death!

(The Hobbit trailer has been out for years, of course.)

Hobbit movie official site.

I can scarcely contain myself, regular readers will be unsurprised to learn.

U2 in 3D

Posted because I can:

O Clavis David - O Key of David - 20th December

Video; Audio .rm (with notation); Audio .mp3; Notation.

O clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel; qui áperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo áperit: veni et educ vinctum de domo cárceris, sedéntem in ténebris et umbra mortis.
Monastic Diurnal
:

O Key of David and Sceptre of the house of Israel. Who dost open and no man shutteth, Who dost shut and no man openeth; come and lead forth from his prison the captive sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Divine Office (UK, Ireland and Australia):

O key of David and sceptre of Israel, what you open no one else can close again; what you close no one can open. O come to lead the captive from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
J.M. Neale:

O come, thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.


T.E. Lacey:

O come, thou Lord of David's Key!
The royal door fling wide and free;
Safeguard for us the heavenward road,
And bar the way to death's abode.

Scripture:

The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes uncovered: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth. - Numbers 24:15-17

But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Napthali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them has light shined. - Isaiah 8:23-9:1

Jesus headquartered his ministry at Capernum (Matthew 4:13) on the border between Zebulun and Napthali - the first of the tribal territories to be ravaged by the Assyrians (2 Kings 15:29) and so a the place for Jesus to start his ministry to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24) as opposed to just the faithful tribe of Judah. By the time of Jesus this territory, Galilee, was home to gentiles, truly Galilee of the nations. (See Scott Hahn's printed and audio commentaries on Matthew).

And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. - Isaiah 22:22

I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. - Isaiah 42:6-7

O Radix Jesse - O Root of Jesse - 19th December

Video; Audio .rm (with notation); Audio .mp3; Notation.

O radix Iesse, qui stas in signum populórum, super quem continébunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabúntur: veni ad liberándum nos, iam noli tardáre.


The Monastic Diurnal:

O Root of Jesse, who dost stand for an enseign of the people, before Whom kings shall remain silent, and unto Whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: come to deliver us and delay not.

The Divine Office (UK, Ireland and Australia):

O stock of Jesse, you stand as a signal for the nations; kings fall silent before you whom the peoples acclaim. O come to deliver us, and do not delay.
J.M. Neale (1818-1866):

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell they people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.


T.A. Lacey (1853-1931):

O come, thou Branch of Jesse! draw
The quarry from the lion's claw;
From the dread caverns of the grave,
From nether hell, thy people save.


Scripture:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots...In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.
- Isaiah 11:1,10.

Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours, they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying: 'God is with you only, and there is no other, no god besides him.'" - Isaiah 45:14.

As many were astonished at him - his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men - so shall he startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they shall see, and that which they have not heard they shall understand. - Isaiah 52:14-15.

And further Isaiah says "The root of Jesse shall come, he who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles hope." - Romans 15:12.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

O Adonai - 18th December

O Adonái et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysí in igne flammæ rubi apparuísti, et ei in Sina legem dedísti: veni ad rediméndum nos in brácchio exténto.

The Monastic Diurnal has:

O Adonai, and Leader of the house of Israel, Who didst appear to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and didst give him the law in Sinai: come, and with an outstretched arm, redeem us.


The Divine Office (used in the UK, Ireland and Australia) has:

O Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush and you gave him the law on on Sinai. O come and save us with your mighty power.
At some point (13th century according to my hymn book) the O Antiphons were turned into a (Latin) hymn. J.M. Neale (1818-1866) translated it as "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"

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.

This version of the same hymn, sung to the same tune, by T.A. Lacey (1853-1931) is less well known. It appears in older Anglican hymnals and is the version used by the Choir of King's College Cambridge for their recording of an Advent carol service.

O come, O come, Adonaï,
Who in thy glorious majesty
From that high mountain clothed with awe
Gavest thy folk the elder law.

Scripture:

And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
- Exodus 3:2

For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our ruler, the LORD is our king, he will save us. - Isaiah 33:22.

O give thanks to the Lord of lords...to him who smote the first-born of Egypt...and brought Israel out from among them...with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever. - Psalm 135 (136):10-12.

Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. - Acts 7:30.

cf Exodus 20.

Video, audio (.rm) with notation, audio (mp3).

Sunday, December 16, 2007

O Sapientia - O Wisdom - 17th December

O Sapientiá, quæ ex ore Altíssimi prodísti, attíngens a fine usque ad finem, fórtitudinem suavitérque dispónens ómnia: veni ad docéndum nos viam prudéntiæ.
The Monastic Diurnal has:

O Wisdom, who didst come from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and disposing all things sweetly and mightily: come and teach us the way of prudence.
The translation used in the UK and Australia is:

O Wisdom, you come forth from the mouth of the Most High. You fill the universe and hold all things together in a strong yet gentle manner. O come to teach us the way of truth.
This is verse two in J.M. Neale's hymn "O come, O come Emmanuel", based at one remove on the O antiphons:

O come, thou Wisdom, from on high,
And order all things far and nigh:
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.


Scripture:

She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well.
-
Wisdom 8:1.I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist. - Ecclesiasticus 24:5.

See also Proverbs 8-9.

Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding (viam prudentiæ)?
- Isaiah 40:14.
Video, audio (what is it with Dominicans and the O antiphons?) and again.