Christmas carol · 1862
Angels We Have Heard on High
The words, with the Bible verse behind each line
Angels We Have Heard on High retells Luke 2:8-16 as a conversation: the angels praise God, someone asks the shepherds why they are so glad, and they answer, “Come to Bethlehem and see.” The refrain, “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” is the angels’ words in Luke 2:14 in Latin: Glory to God in the highest.
- 11 of 17 lines draw on a verse
- 8 passages
- 3 lines go beyond the Bible
The wordsBeyond the BibleIts story
The words, line by line
Luke 2:14 the verse a line draws on. Tap it to read the verse.Beyond where the line goes past the Bible.
Verse 1
- Angels we have heard on highLuke 2:13All at once there was with the angel a vast crowd of heaven’s army, praising God and saying,
- Sweetly singing o’er the plainsBeyond Luke says “saying.” He does not say they sang.
- And the mountains in replyIsaiah 55:12For you will go out with gladness and be brought along in peace; the mountains and hills will burst out singing in front of you, and every tree in the field will clap its hands.
- Echoing their joyous strains
Refrain
- Gloria in excelsis DeoLuke 2:14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people in whom he delights!”Beyond Latin for “Glory to God in the highest.”
- Gloria in excelsis Deo
Verse 2
- Shepherds, why this jubilee?
- Why your joyous strains prolong?
- What the gladsome tidings beLuke 2:10The angel told them, “Do not be afraid, for look, I am proclaiming to you good news of great joy that will belong to all the people:
- Which inspire your heavenly song?
Verse 3
- Come to Bethlehem and seeLuke 2:15After the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Come, let us make our way to Bethlehem and see this event that has taken place, which the Lord has revealed to us.”
- Him whose birth the angels singLuke 2:13
- Come, adore on bended kneePsalm 95:6Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker.Beyond Luke does not say the shepherds knelt. In Matthew the magi bow down.
- Christ the Lord, the newborn KingLuke 2:11this very day in David’s city a Savior has been born for you. He is the Messiah, the Lord.
Verse 4
Words: French, “Les Anges dans nos campagnes,” 1700s or 1800s. English by James Chadwick, 1862. Music: Traditional French, “Gloria”. In the public domain. Verses are from the Lumin Translation.
Where it goes beyond the Bible
- Luke says the angels were “praising God and saying.” He does not say they sang.
- The mountains echoing back and the shepherds kneeling are the carol’s picture. Luke says the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found the baby.
The story of the carol
It began as a French carol, “Les Anges dans nos campagnes” (“The angels in our fields”). It was sung in France for years before it was first printed in the early 1800s. No one knows who wrote it.
James Chadwick, a Catholic bishop in the north of England, made the English words in 1862. The long, rolling “Glo-o-o-ria” in the refrain is meant to sound like a crowd of voices filling the sky.
- Words
- French, “Les Anges dans nos campagnes,” 1700s or 1800s. English by James Chadwick, 1862
- Music
- Traditional French, “Gloria”
Questions
Is Angels We Have Heard on High in the Bible?
Angels We Have Heard on High retells Luke 2:8-16 as a conversation: the angels praise God, someone asks the shepherds why they are so glad, and they answer, “Come to Bethlehem and see.” The refrain, “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” is the angels’ words in Luke 2:14 in Latin: Glory to God in the highest.
Who wrote Angels We Have Heard on High?
Words: French, “Les Anges dans nos campagnes,” 1700s or 1800s. English by James Chadwick, 1862. Music: Traditional French, “Gloria”.
What does Angels We Have Heard on High add to the Bible?
Luke says the angels were “praising God and saying.” He does not say they sang. The mountains echoing back and the shepherds kneeling are the carol’s picture. Luke says the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found the baby.