# O Little Town of Bethlehem: lyrics with the Bible verses behind them O Little Town of Bethlehem starts from Micah 5:2, where Bethlehem is small among the clans of Judah and a ruler will come from it. Matthew quotes that verse when the magi ask where the king is born. The sleeping streets and silent stars are Phillips Brooks’s own memory of Bethlehem, not the Bible’s. Words: Phillips Brooks, 1868. Music: “St. Louis,” Lewis Redner, 1868. In Britain, “Forest Green”. The words are in the public domain. The 4 verses most hymnals print. Brooks wrote 5. Source: https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/o-little-town-of-bethlehem. Scripture quotations are from the Lumin Translation. ## The words, line by line ### Verse 1 - O little town of Bethlehem ([Micah 5:2](https://www.lumin.faith/read/micah/5#2): “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will come out for me to be ruler in Israel, one whose origins go back to the distant past, to ancient days.”) - How still we see thee lie Beyond the Bible: The poet’s picture. The Bible does not describe the town that night. - Above thy deep and dreamless sleep - The silent stars go by - Yet in thy dark streets shineth ([Isaiah 9:2](https://www.lumin.faith/read/isaiah/9#2): “The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death a light has shone.”) - The everlasting Light ([John 8:12](https://www.lumin.faith/read/john/8#12): “Again Jesus spoke to them, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”) - The hopes and fears of all the years ([Luke 2:25](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#25): “In Jerusalem there was a man by the name of Simeon. He was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s comfort, and the Holy Spirit was on him.”) - Are met in thee tonight ### Verse 2 - For Christ is born of Mary ([Matthew 1:16](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/1#16): “Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, and from her was born Jesus, who is called the Messiah.”) - And gathered all above - While mortals sleep, the angels keep ([Luke 2:8](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#8): “There were shepherds in that same area who were staying out in the open country, standing guard over their flock through the night.”) Beyond the Bible: Luke’s shepherds were awake, standing guard over their flock through the night. - Their watch of wondering love - O morning stars, together ([Job 38:7](https://www.lumin.faith/read/job/38#7): “as the morning stars sang out together and all the sons of God raised a joyful shout?”) - Proclaim the holy birth - And praises sing to God the King ([Luke 2:13](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#13): “All at once there was with the angel a vast crowd of heaven’s army, praising God and saying,”) - And peace to men on earth ([Luke 2:14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#14): “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people in whom he delights!”) ### Verse 3 - How silently, how silently Beyond the Bible: The Bible says nothing about the sound of the birth. - The wondrous gift is given ([2 Corinthians 9:15](https://www.lumin.faith/read/2-corinthians/9#15): “Thanks be to God for his gift, which is beyond words!”) - So God imparts to human hearts ([Ephesians 1:3](https://www.lumin.faith/read/ephesians/1#3): “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in Christ has blessed us in the heavenly places with every spiritual blessing,”) - The blessings of his heaven - No ear may hear his coming - But in this world of sin - Where meek souls will receive him still ([John 1:12](https://www.lumin.faith/read/john/1#12): “But to all who received him he gave the authority to become God’s children—to those who believe in his name,”) - The dear Christ enters in ([Revelation 3:20](https://www.lumin.faith/read/revelation/3#20): “Look, I am standing at the door and knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to them and share a meal with them, and they with me.”) ### Verse 4 - O holy Child of Bethlehem ([Luke 1:35](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/1#35): “The angel replied, The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. That is why the holy child to be born will be called Son of God.”) - Descend to us, we pray - Cast out our sin, and enter in ([1 John 1:9](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-john/1#9): “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous: he will forgive our sins and make us clean from every kind of unrighteousness.”) - Be born in us today ([Galatians 4:19](https://www.lumin.faith/read/galatians/4#19): “My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,”) - We hear the Christmas angels ([Luke 2:10](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#10): “The 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:”) - The great glad tidings tell - O come to us, abide with us ([John 15:4](https://www.lumin.faith/read/john/15#4): “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch is not able to bear fruit on its own unless it remains in the vine, and in the same way you cannot unless you remain in me.”) - Our Lord Emmanuel ([Matthew 1:23](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/1#23): “Look, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.”) ## Where it goes beyond the Bible - The still streets, the deep sleep, and the silent stars are the poet’s picture. Luke says the shepherds were out in the fields, standing guard over their flock through the night. - “No ear may hear his coming” is a picture of grace coming quietly. The Bible says nothing about the sound of the birth. ## The story of the carol Phillips Brooks, rector of Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, rode from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve 1865 and looked down on the town at night. Three years later he wrote this poem for the children of his Sunday school. He asked his church organist, Lewis Redner, to give it a tune. Redner said the melody came to him in the night before it was first sung. In Britain it is sung to “Forest Green,” an English folk tune arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams.