Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The Great King

Traditional

“The Great King” as printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 399 1920 · historical text
Public domainHymnSacred song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Army and Navy Hymnal, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

THE people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:

They that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder:

And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end,

Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it,

And to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Verse 2

AND there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and branch out of his roots shall bear, fruit.

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,

Neither decide after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor,

And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins,

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;

And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;

And a little child shall lead them.

Verse 3

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together;

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain;

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Credits

Written by Traditional

Traditional words. Historical text published in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920), “The Great King”

The 1920 published edition is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Entries whose credited author died more than 70 years ago are also in the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions; traditional and anonymous entries are public domain. Pages whose scan quality is below the proofread threshold are held for review.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-26. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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