Christmas carol · 1818
Silent Night
The words, with the Bible verse behind each line
Silent Night is not in the Bible, but almost every picture in it is: the virgin mother and child, the shepherds afraid at the sight, the glory from heaven, and “Christ the Savior is born” from Luke 2. What it adds is the mood. Luke never says the night was silent or calm.
- 12 of 13 lines draw on a verse
- 9 passages
- 4 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
- Silent night, holy nightBeyond Luke does not say the night was silent. He tells of a crowd of angels praising God.
- All is calm, all is brightLuke 2:9Then an angel of the Lord stood over them, the Lord’s glory shone all around them, and they were struck with great fear.Beyond The light is in Luke. The calm is not: the shepherds were terrified.
- Round yon virgin mother and childMatthew 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.”
- Holy infant so tender and mildLuke 1:35The 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.
- Sleep in heavenly peaceLuke 2:14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people in whom he delights!”Beyond The peace is the angels’ word. The Gospels do not say the baby slept.
- Sleep in heavenly peace
Verse 2
- Silent night, holy night
- Shepherds quake at the sightLuke 2:9
- Glories stream from heaven afarLuke 2:9
- Heavenly hosts sing AlleluiaLuke 2:13All at once there was with the angel a vast crowd of heaven’s army, praising God and saying,Beyond Luke says the host was “praising God and saying.” He does not say they sang.
- Christ the Savior is bornLuke 2:11this very day in David’s city a Savior has been born for you. He is the Messiah, the Lord.
- Christ the Savior is born
Verse 3
- Silent night, holy night
- Son of God, love’s pure lightJohn 1:9The true light that shines on every person was coming into the world.
- Radiant beams from thy holy face2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- With the dawn of redeeming graceLuke 1:78because of the heartfelt mercy of our God, by which the rising light from on high will visit us
- Jesus, Lord, at thy birthLuke 2:11
- Jesus, Lord, at thy birth
Words: Joseph Mohr, 1816 (German). English by John Freeman Young, 1859. Music: Franz Xaver Gruber, 1818. In the public domain. The 3 verses sung in English. Mohr wrote 6 in German. Verses are from the Lumin Translation.
Where it goes beyond the Bible
- Luke never says the night was silent, calm, or bright. The quiet is the carol’s picture.
- Luke says the angels were “praising God and saying.” He does not say they sang.
- Nothing in the Gospels says the baby slept. That is the carol’s tender guess.
The story of the carol
Joseph Mohr, a young Catholic priest in Austria, wrote “Stille Nacht” as a poem in 1816. Two years later, in the village of Oberndorf, he asked his friend Franz Xaver Gruber, a schoolteacher and organist, to set it to music for two voices and a guitar.
They sang it together at the end of Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 1818. A story says the church organ was broken that night. No one knows if that is true.
Travelling singers carried it across Europe. John Freeman Young, an Episcopal priest in New York, made the English words most people sing in 1859. Soldiers on both sides are said to have sung it during the Christmas truce of 1914.
- Words
- Joseph Mohr, 1816 (German). English by John Freeman Young, 1859
- Music
- Franz Xaver Gruber, 1818
Questions
Is Silent Night in the Bible?
Silent Night is not in the Bible, but almost every picture in it is: the virgin mother and child, the shepherds afraid at the sight, the glory from heaven, and “Christ the Savior is born” from Luke 2. What it adds is the mood. Luke never says the night was silent or calm.
Who wrote Silent Night?
Words: Joseph Mohr, 1816 (German). English by John Freeman Young, 1859. Music: Franz Xaver Gruber, 1818.
What does Silent Night add to the Bible?
Luke never says the night was silent, calm, or bright. The quiet is the carol’s picture. Luke says the angels were “praising God and saying.” He does not say they sang. Nothing in the Gospels says the baby slept. That is the carol’s tender guess.