"Gelobet seist du, Jesu Chr." (#21)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ,

daß du Mensch geboren bist

von einer Jungfrau, das ist wahr,

deß freuet sich der Engel Schar.

Kyrieleis.

Des ewgen Vaters einig Kind

jetzt man in der Krippen findt,

in unser armes Fleisch und Blut

verkleidet sich das ewig Gut.

Kyrieleis.

Den aller Weltkreis nie beschloß,

der liegt in Marien Schoß,

er ist ein Kindlein worden klein,

der alle Ding erhält allein.

Kyrieleis.

Das ewig Licht geht da herein,

gibt der Welt ein neuen Schein,

es leucht wohl mitten in der Nacht

und uns des Lichtes Kinder macht.

Kyrieleis.

Der Sohn des Vaters, Gott von Art,

ein Gast in der Welt hie ward

und führt uns aus dem Jammerthal,

er macht uns Erben in seim Sal.

Kyrieleis.

Er ist auf Erden kommen arm,

daß er unser sich erbarm

und in dem Himmel macht reich

und seinen lieben Engeln gleich.

Kyrieleis.

Das hat er alles uns gethan,

sein groß Lieb zu zeigen an,

des freu sich alle Christenheit

und dank ihm des in Ewigkeit.

Kyrieleis.

V. 1 aus dem 15. Jahrhundert,

V. 2-7 Dr. M. Luther, 1524.

My prose translation:

May You be praised, Jesus Christ

That You are born man

Of a virgin, that is true,

Therefore the angel host rejoices.

Kyrie eleison.

The only child of the eternal Father

Now one finds in the manger

In our poor flesh and blood

The eternal good clothes Himself.

Kyrie eleison.

He Who never ends the whole orbit of the world

Lays in Mary's lap,

He is become a little child

Who alone maintains all things.

Kyrie eleison.

The eternal light goes in there,

Gives to the world a new appearance,

It shines well in the middle of the night

And makes us children of the light.

Kyrie eleison.

The Son of the Father, God by nature

Became a guest here in the world

And led us out of the vale of tears

He makes us heirs in His hall.

Kyrie eleison.

He is come on the earth poor

To have pity on us

And make us rich in Heaven

And like His dear angels.

Kyrie eleison.

All this He has done for us

To display His great love

Therefore rejoice, all Christendom

And thank Him in eternity.

Kyrie eleison.

Verse 1 from the 15th century

Verses 2-7 Dr. Martin Luther, 1524.

"Schein" has two different meanings (glow, light, shine or appearance, look), and either could work in the context ("gibt der Welt ein neuen Schein").  I went with appearance.

"Und uns des Lichtes Kinder macht" (and makes us children of the light) may be a reference to part of Ephesians 5:8:  "Walk as children of light."

I couldn't decipher the meaning of the second "des" in the last verse (the first seems to be an abbreviation of "deshalb"), but I don't think leaving it out affects the meaning too much.

This hymn appears as "All Praise to Thee, Eternal God" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#80), "We Praise, O Christ, Your Holy Name" in Lutheran Worship (#35), and "We Praise You, Jesus, at Your Birth" in The Lutheran Service Book (#382).  The TLH and LW versions are abbreviated, but the LSB version has all seven verses.  In all three hymnals and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to "its own melody."  Here's the TLH arrangement:

"Fröhlich soll mein Herze" (#20)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen

dieser Zeit,

da für Freud

alle Engel singen.

Hört, hört, wie mit vollen Chören

alle Luft

laute ruft:

Christus ist geboren.

Heute geht aus seiner Kammer

Gottes Held,

der die Welt

reißt aus allem Jammer.

Gott wird Mensch, dir, Mensch, zu gute,

Gottes Kind

das verbindt

sich mit unserm Blute.

Sollt uns Gott nun können hassen,

der uns gibt,

was er liebt

über alle Maßen?

Gott gibt, unserm Leid zu wehren,

seinen Sohn

aus dem thron

seiner Macht und Ehren.

Sollte von uns sein gekehret,

der Sein Reich

uns zugleich

sich uns selbst verehret?

Sollt uns Gottes Sohn nicht lieben,

der jetzt kömmt,

von uns nimmt,

was uns will betrüben?

Hätte für der Menschen Orden

unser Heil

einen Greul,

wär er nicht Mensch worden.

Hätt er Lust zu unserm Schaden,

ei, so würd

unser Bürd

er nicht auf sich laden.

Er nimmt auf sich, was auf Erden

wir gethan

gibt sich an,

unser Lamm zu werden,

unser Lamm, das für uns stirbet

und bei Gott

für den Tod

Gnad und Fried erwirbet.

Nun er liegt in seiner Krippen,

ruft zu sich

mich und dich,

spricht mit süßen Lippen:

Lasset fahrn, o lieben Brüder,

was euch quält,

was euch fehlt,

ich bring alles wieder.

Ei, so kommt und laßt uns laufen,

stellt euch ein,

groß und klein,

eilt mit großen Haufen;

liebt den, der für Liebe brennet;

schaut den Stern,

der uns gern

Licht und Labsal gönnet.

Die ihr schwebt in großen Leiden,

sehet, hier

ist die Thür

zu den wahren Freuden.

Faßt ihn wohl, er wird euch führen

an den Ort,

da hinfort

euch kein Kruz wird rühren.

Wer sich fühlt beschwert im Herzen,

wer empfindt

seine Sünd

und Gewissensschmerzen,

sei getrost, hie wird gefunden,

der in Eil

machet heil

die vergiften Wunden.

Die ihr arm seid und elende,

kommt herbei,

füllet frei

eures Glaubens Hände.

Hier sind alle gute Gaben

und das Gold,

dran ihr sollt

euer Herz mit laben.

Süßes Heil, laß dich umfangen,

laß mich dir,

meine Zier,

unverrückt anhangen.

Du bist meines Lebens Leben;

nun kann ich

mich durch dich

wohl zufrieden geen.

Meine Schuld kann mich nicht drücken,

denn du hast

meine Last

all auf deinem Rücken;

kein Fleck ist an mir zu finden,

ich bin gar

rein und klar

aller meiner Sünden.

Ich bin rein um deinetwillen,

du gist gnug

Ehr und Schmuck,

mich darein zu hüllen.

Ich will dich ins Herze schließen,

o mein Ruhm,

edle Blum,

laß dich recht genießen.

Ich will dich mit Fleiß bewahren,

ich will dir

leben hier,

dir will ich abfahren;

mit dir will ich endlich scweben

voller Freud

ohne Zeit

dort in andern Leben.

Paul Gerhardt, 1656.

My prose translation:

Cheerfully should my heart jump

In this time

While for joy

All angels are singing.

Hear, hear how will full choirs

All the air

Loudly calls:

Christ is born

Today goes out of His chamber

God's Champion,

Who pulls the world

Out of all misery.

God becomes man for your good, man,

God's Child

Who binds

Himself with our blood.

Should God now be able to hate us,

[He] Who gives us

What He loves

Above all measure?

To resist our sorrow, God gives

His Son

From the throne

Of His mighty and glory.

Should [He] be turned from us,

[We] who worship His kingdom

And ourselves

At the same time?

Should God's Son not love us

[He] Who is coming now,

Takes from us

That which wants to distress us?

If for the order of men

Our Salvation

Had a horror,

He would not have become man.

If He had desired our harm

Oh, so would

He not have taken

Our burden on Himself.

He takes on Himself what on earth

We have done,

Gives Himself

To be our Lamb,

Our Lamb Who dies for us

And with God

For death

Acquires mercy and peace.

Now He lies in His manger,

Calls to Himself

Me and you,

Speaks with sweet lips:

Let go, o dear brothers,

Of what plagues you,

Of what you lack,

I bring everything back.

Oh, so come and let us walk,

Arise,

Big and small,

Hurry in a great crowd;

Love Him Who burns for love;

Look at the star

That gladly

Allows us light and comfort.

You who are suspended in great sorrow,

See, here

Is the door

To true joy.

Grasp Him well, He will lead you

To the place

Where from now on

No cross will touch you.

[He] who feels weighed down in his heart,

Who feels

His sin

And pains of conscience,

Be comforted, here will be found,

[He] Who quickly

Mends

The poisoned wounds.

You [who] are poor and miserable,

Come here,

Fill freely

Your hands of faith.

Here are all good gifts

And the gold

With which

You should revive your hearts.

Sweet Salvation, may You be embraced,

Let Me to You,

My joy,

Hang on unshaken.

You are the life of my life;

Now I can

Through You

Be well contented.

My guilt cannot press me,

For You have

My burden

All on Your back;

No spot is to be found on me

I am completely

Clean and clear

Of all my sins.

I am clean for Your sake,

You give enough

Honor and decoration

To wrap me in them.

I want to close You in my heart,

O my glory,

Noble flower,

Let You be rightly enjoyed.

I want to keep You with diligence,

I want to live

For You here,

I want to leave to You;

With You I want finally to soar

Full of joy

Without time

There in an-other life.

Paul Gerhardt, 1656.

For many of these verses, I had to change the word order around quite a bit in order to get lines that made good sense in English.

The door in the ninth verse seems to refer to John 10:9:  "'I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.'"

This hymn appears as "All My Heart This Night Rejoices" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#77), "Once Again My Heart Rejoices" in Lutheran Worship (#39), and "All My Heart Again Rejoices" in The Lutheran Service Book (#360).  The LW and LSB versions are abbreviated.

The Gesangbuch notes that this text is sung to "its own melody," and this is the tune it's paired with in all three of these hymnals.  Here's the TLH arrangement:

"Freut euch, ihr Menschenk." (#19)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

Freut euch, ihr Menschenkinder all,

Gott kömmt zu euch vom Himmelssal,

er wird geborn ein Kindlein klein

von Maria, der Jungfrau rein.

Er ist der Zweig aus Jesse Stamm,

der Löw Judä und Weibessam,

Jesus, der Heiden Trost und Licht

und der der Schlang den Kopf zerbricht.

Er bringt mit sich Fried, Wonn, und Freud,

vertreibt alls Leid und Traurigkeit,

damit der Mensch geplaget war

durch Adams Fall stets immerdar.

Durch sein Geburt, Angst, Blut, und Tod

errett uns all der wahre Gott;

er macht uns auch den Engeln gleich

und Erben in seins Vaters Reich.

Cornelius Freund, + 1591.

My prose translation:

Rejoice, all you children of men,

God comes to you from the hall of Heaven,

He is born a little child

Of Mary, the virgin pure.

He is the shoot from Jesse's stump,

The lion of Judah and woman's seed,

Jesus, the Savior of comfort and light

And He Who crushed the head of the snake.

He brings with Himself peace, delight, and joy

Expels all sorrow and sadness,

With which man was constantly plagued

Through Adam's fall.

Through His birth, dread, blood, and death

The true God saves us all;

He makes us even like the angels

And heirs in His Father's kingdom.

In the second verse, there are allusions to Isaiah 11:1 (which informed my translation more than the hymn text itself), Revelation 5:5, and Genesis 3:15.  I'm not entirely sure of my translation of "Weibessam."  I think it's a combination of "Weib" and "Samen."

In order to make the sense more obvious, I had to move "stets immerdar" (which I translated as "constantly") up a line:  "With which man was constantly plagued."

"Heirs in His Father's kingdom" seems to refer to Galatians 4:7:  "So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."

As far as I can tell, the hymn does not appear in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book.  There's a note above the text in the Gesangbuch that it's sung to the tune "Vom Himmel hoch, da k."  Here's an arrangement from The Lutheran Hymnal:

"Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle (Weihnachtslied)" (#18)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle!

Freue sich, wer immer kann,

Gott hat viel an uns gethan;

freuet euch mit großem Schalle,

daß er uns so hoch geacht,

sich mit uns befreundt gemacht.

Freude, Freude über Freude!

Christus wehret allem Leide.

Wonne, Wonne über Wonne!

Er ist die Genadensonne.

Siehe, siehe, meine Seele,

wie dein Heiland kömmst zu dir,

brennt in Liebe für und für,

daß er in der Krippen Höhle

harte lieget dir zu gut,

dich zu lösen durch sein Blut.

Freude, Freude über Freude!

Christus wehret allem Leide.

Wonne, Wonne über Wonne!

Er ist die Genadensonne.

Jesu, wie soll ich dir danken?

Ich bekenne, daß von dir,

meine Seligkeit herrühr;

so laß mich von dir nicht wanken,

nimm mich dir zu eigen hin,

so empfindet Herz und Sinn

Freude, Freude über Freude!

Christus wehret allem Leide.

Wonne, Wonne über Wonne!

Er ist die Genadensonne.

Jesu, nimm dich deiner Glieder

ferner in Genaden an;

schenke, was man bitten kann,

zu erquicken deine Brüder;

gib der ganzen Christenschar

Frieden und ein selges Jahr.

Freude, Freude über Freude!

Christus wehret allem Leide.

Wonne, Wonne über Wonne!

Er ist die Genadensonne.

Christian Keymann, + 1662.

My prose translation:

Rejoice, all you Christians!

Rejoice, who always can,

God has done much for us;

Rejoice with a great sound,

That He valued us so highly

[He] has become our friend.

Joy, joy above joy!

Christ defends from all sorrow.

Delight, delight above delight!

He is the Sun of Mercy.

Look, look, my soul,

How your Savior comes to you,

Burns in love forever,

That He in the hollow manger

Lies hard for your good,

To redeem you through His blood.

Joy, joy above joy!

Christ defends from all sorrow.

Delight, delight above delight!

He is the Sun of Mercy.

Jesus, how should I thank You?

I admit that from You

My salvation comes;

So let me from You not waver,

Take me for your own,

So heart and sense feel

Joy, joy above joy!

Christ defends from all sorrow.

Delight, delight above delight!

He is the Sun of Mercy.

Jesus, take Your members

Further into mercy;

Give, what one can ask for,

To revive Your brothers;

Give to the whole Christian congregation

Peace and a blessed year.

Joy, joy above joy!

Christ defends from all sorrow.

Delight, delight above delight!

He is the Sun of Mercy.

"Christenschar" is a combination of "Christen" and "Schar."  "Schar" can mean "crowd," "swarm," "horde," and so on, but I felt that "congregation" was a better translation, considering the context.

This hymn appears as "Oh, Rejoice, Ye Christians, Loudly" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#96), "Oh, Rejoice, All Christians, Loudly" in Lutheran Worship (#40), and "O Rejoice, Ye Christians, Loudly" in The Lutheran Service Book (#897).  In all of these (and as the Gesangbuch notes:  "In its own melody"), the text is paired with the tune "Freuet euch, ihr Christen."  Here's the arrangement from TLH:

"Der Tag der ist so freudenr." (#17)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

Der Tag der ist so freudenreich

aller Kreature,

denn Gottes Sohn vom Himmelreich

über die Nature

von einer Jungfrau ist geborn;

Maria, du bist auserkorn,

daß du Mutter wärest.

Was geschah so wunderlich?

- Gottes Sohn vom Himmelreich

der ist Mensch geboren.

Ein Kindelein so löbelich

ist uns geboren heute

von einer Jungfrau säuberlich

zu Trost uns armen Leuten;

wär uns das Kindlein nicht geborn,

so wärn wir allzumal verlorn,

das Heil ist unser aller.

Ei, du süßer Jesu Christ!

daß du Mensch geboren bist

behüt uns vor der Hölle.

Als die Sonn durchscheint das Glas

mit ihrem klaren Scheine,

und doch nicht versehret das,

so merket allgemeine,

zu gleicher Weis geboren ward

von einerJungfrau rein und zart

Gottes Sohn der werthe.

In ein Kripp ward er geleit,

große Marter für uns leidt

hie auf dieser Erden.

Die Hirten auf dem Felde warn

erfuhren neue Mähre

von den englischen Scharn,

wie Christ geboren wäre,

ein König übr all König groß;

Herod' die Red gar sehr verdroß,

aussandt er seine Boten

Ei, wie gar ein flasche List

erdacht er wider Jesum Christ,

die Kindlein ließ er tödten.

Verdeutschung des Hymnus: Dies est laetitiae.  Schon vor der Reformation in Gebrauch.

My prose translation

The day that is so joyful

For all creatures

For God's Son from Heaven,

Higher than nature,

Of a virgin is born.

Mary, you are chosen

That you would become a mother.

What is so strange that happened?

- God's Son from Heaven,

He is born as a human being.

A little child so praise worthy

Is born for us to-day

Of a virgin pure

For the comfort of us poor people;

Were the little child not born to us,

We would be lost for all time

The salvation is for us all.

O, You sweet Jesus Christ!

That You are born as a human being,

Protect us from hell.

As the sun shines through the glass

With its clear light

And is not dimmed

So everyone notices

In the same way was born

Of a virgin pure and gentle

God's dear Son.

To a manger He was directed

Great torment for us suffered

Here on this earth.

The shepherds in the field were

Told new stories

By the angelic hosts,

How Christ would be born

A great King over all kings;

The talk greatly annoyed Herod,

He send out his messengers

Oh, what a false trick

He devised against Jesus Christ,

He had the little children put to death.

German translation of the hymn The Day Is of Joy.  In use even before the Reformation.

I'm not entirely sure that I translated "Mähre" correctly.  All translations I could find for this word had to do with horses, which obviously doesn't fit the context.  I think it's an-other instance of older German words being spelt differently; a modern rendering would be Mär (Mären in the plural).

It's a bit unclear what "groß" in the line "ein König übr all König groß" is modifying.  I took it as a post-positive adjective modifying the first "König" (A great King over all kings), but I think it could also modify the second "König" (A King over all great kings).  The second "König" is plural, but the -e of Könige (and alle) is omitted, apparently for metrical reasons.

The hymn appears as "Hail the Day So Rich in Cheer" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#78), although this  contains only the first two verses.  The Gesangbuch notes that this text is sung to "its own melody," and this is also what it's paired with in TLH: