While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Author: Nahum Tate
Composer: Varies by tune (see below)
Languages (19)
This song text has been indexed at SingPraises.net in the following languages:
- Albanian: Kur Tufat Ruanin Barinjt’
- American Sign Language (ASL): While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
- Cantonese (Romanized/Pingyam): [Unknown title]
- English: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
- English Braille: ⠠⠱⠊⠇⠑ ⠠⠩⠑⠏⠓⠻⠙⠎ ⠠⠺⠁⠞⠡⠫ ⠠⠮⠊⠗ ⠠⠋⠇⠕⠉⠅⠎
- French: Les humbles bergers dans les champs / Ia ratou i tiai ra I ta ratou mau nănă
- French (French Polynesia): Les humbles bergers dans les champs / Ia ratou i tiai ra I ta ratou mau nănă
- French (Haiti): Les humbles bergers dans les champs
- Japanese: 羊飼いらが
- Japanese (Hiragana): 羊飼いらが
- Japanese (Kanji): 羊飼いらが
- Korean: 목자가 밤에 양 지킬 때
- Mandarin (Romanized/Pinyin): [Unknown title]
- Mandarin (Traditional): [Unknown title]
- Russian: Ночной порой
- Shona: Vafudzi Zvavaifudza
- Swedish: När markens herdar höllo vakt
- Tahitian: Les humbles bergers dans les champs / Ia ratou i tiai ra I ta ratou mau nănă
- Tongan: Lolotonga Leʻo ʻa e Kau Tauhi-sipi ʻi he Pō
- All Languages →
Statistics
Most common tunes for “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”
This chart shows the tunes that are paired with this text most frequently, in hymnbooks and other collections published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If the text appears with the same tune in multiple editions or translations of the same hymnbook, it is only counted once.
Appearances of “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” over time
This timeline shows which tunes have been used with this text over time, in hymnbooks and other collections published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Copyright status of original text
This text was first published in English, in 1841 or earlier.
Public domain
Earliest source indexed at SingPraises.net: Sacred Hymns (Nauvoo Hymnal) (1841), no. 244.
Representative lyrics
English (Original Language)
1. While shepherds watch’d their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, The angel of the Lord came down, And glory shone around. “Fear not,” said he, for mighty dread Had seized their troubled mind; “Glad tidings of great joy I bring To you and all mankind.”
2. “To you, in David’s town this day, Is born of David’s line The Savior who is Christ the Lord, And this shall be the sign: The heav’nly Babe you there shall find To human view displayed, All meanly wrapped in swathing bands, And in a manger laid.”
3. Thus spake the seraph, and forthwith Appeared a shining throng Of angels praising God, who thus Addressed their joyful song: “All glory be to God on high And on the earth be peace. Goodwill henceforth from heav’n to men Begin and never cease.”
Compare
Compare different versions of the lyrics side-by-side: English