Luke 2:7-20: "And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'
"When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.' And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."
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The text is public domain:
Angels we have heard on high,
Sweetly singing o'er the plains,
And the mountains in reply,
Echoing their joyous strains.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heav'nly song?
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
I'd always thought that "Gloria in excelsis Deo" meant "Glory to God in the highest" because that's what's in the Luke text, but then I lookt into the Latin. If I understand my Latin textbook correctly, "excelsis" is actually just a positive adjective (acting as a substantive), not a superlative. "Gloria in excelsis Deo" is something like "Glory to God in the high [heavens]. "Glory to God in the highest" would be "Gloria in excelssisimis Deo."
For what it's worth, "gloria" is a first declension feminine noun in the nominative case, and "Deo" is a second declension masculine noun in the dative case. The nominative form is deus. "In" is just a preposition, and "excelsis" (and "excelssisimis") is a plural substantive adjective in the ablative case.
For what it's worth, "gloria" is a first declension feminine noun in the nominative case, and "Deo" is a second declension masculine noun in the dative case. The nominative form is deus. "In" is just a preposition, and "excelsis" (and "excelssisimis") is a plural substantive adjective in the ablative case.
Last Christmas, I realized that I've been hearing - and saying - "Gloria in excelsis Deo" with incorrect pronunciation my whole life. I'd always heard "excelsis" pronounced with a -ch- sound and with the i pronounced as a long e. There isn't a -ch- sound in Latin; a c is always pronounced as a k. If I have my phonetics right, the i is pronounced as a short i here.
