Text
The hymn comprises eight stanzas, together with a doxology. The text is scripturally inspired by Ephesians ii. 20, 1 Peter ii. 5, and Revelation xxi. The translation below is by John Mason Neale.
| Original Latin | Literal English | Verse translation (Neale) |
|---|---|---|
Urbs beata Jerusalem,
Quæ construitur in coelo
Et angelis coronata
|
Blessed city of Jerusalem,
Built in heaven
And crowned by the angels
|
Blessed City, Heavenly Salem,
Who, of living stones upbuilded,
And, with angel cohorts circled,
|
Under Pope Urban VIII, a group of correctors revised the hymn, replacing the unquantitative, accentual, trochaic rhythm with quantitative, iambic metre (with an addition syllable), and the stanza appeared in the Breviary with divided lines:
Coelestis Urbs Jerusalem,
Beata pacis visio,
Quæ celsa de viventibus
Saxis ad astra tolleris,
Sponsæque ritu cingeris
Mille Angelorum millibus.
Originally, the first four stanzas of "Urbs beata Jerusalem" were usually assigned, in the Office of the Dedication of a church, to Vespers and Matins, while the last four were given to Lauds. After the revision, the hymn for Lauds was changed to "Alto ex Olympi vertice".
Read more about this topic: Urbs Beata Jerusalem Dicta Pacis Visio
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