The Nunc dimittis (), also known as the Song of Simeon or the Canticle of Simeon, is a

canticle A canticle (from the Latin ''canticulum'', a diminutive of ''canticum'', "song") is a hymn, psalm or other Christian song of praise with lyrics usually taken from biblical or holy texts. Canticles are used in Christian liturgy. Catholic Church ...

taken from the second chapter of the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...

, verses 29 through 32. Its

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name comes from its incipit, the opening words, of the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

translation of the passage, meaning "Now you let depart". Since the 4th century it has been used in services of evening worship such as Compline,

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

, and

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

Biblical account

The title is formed from the opening words in the Latin Vulgate, “''Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine''" ("Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord"). Although brief, the

abounds in Old Testament allusions. For example, "Because my eyes have seen thy salvation" alludes to Isaiah 52:10. According to the narrative in Luke 2:25-32,

Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. Meaning The name is derived from Simeon, so ...

was a devout Jew who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

. When

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and Joseph brought the baby

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

to the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

for the ceremony of redemption of the firstborn son (after the time of Mary's purification: at least 40 days after the birth, and thus distinct from the

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Top ...

), Simeon was there, and he took Jesus into his arms and uttered words rendered variously as follows:

Versions

Folio 63r - The Presentation in the Temple

The "Nunc dimittis" passage in the original

Koiné Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

: Transliterated: Latin (

): English (Translation of the

): English (''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

'', 1662): English ( Roman Breviary): The

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

(1611) contains the same text as the Book of Common Prayer, except for the last line (), which simply reads "A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." Church Slavonic (in Slavonic)

Commentary

Friedrich Justus Knecht Friedrich Justus Heinrich Knecht (7 October 1839 – 31 January 1921) was a German Catholic theologian, writer and bishop in Freiburg, Germany. Early life and education Justus Knecht was born in Bruchsal, the fourth of seven children of Heinrich ...

draws the conclusion from this passage, that "''belief in Jesus Christ drives away all fear of death.''" He writes:

Simeon now rejoiced at the prospect of death. Such a sensation was hitherto unknown in Israel. “Pious Israelites closed their eyes in death, weary of life and submissive to God’s will; not altogether hopeless, but full of horror of the future. Death was a thing to be feared, and each new day of life which was granted was looked on as a gain” (Grimm). But all at once every thing was changed. Holy Simeon had seen the Saviour, and was now ready to die joyfully. In fact, he did die very soon after; a pious tradition even goes so far as to say that he died before he left the Temple. He was thus the first to take the joyful news to Limbo that the Saviour was born and the day of salvation at hand.

Roger Baxter Roger Baxter (1784–1827) was an English Jesuit, a Catholic missionary in the United States, and Prefect of Studies at Georgetown College. Life Baxter was a native of Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, in Lancashire and studied at Stonyhurst Coll ...

reflects on this passage in his ''Meditations'', saying: "Oh that you would also bid farewell to all earthly things, and say with the Apostle, 'But I am straitened — having a desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ.' (Phil. 1:23.)"

Liturgy and musical settings

The Nunc Dimittis is the traditional 'Gospel Canticle' of Night Prayer ( Compline), just as

Benedictus Benedictus may refer to: Music * Benedictus (Song of Zechariah), ''Benedictus'' (''Song of Zechariah''), the canticle sung at Lauds, also called the Canticle of Zachary * The second part of the Sanctus, part of the Eucharistic prayer * Benedictus ...

and

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

are the traditional Gospel Canticles of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer respectively. Hence the Nunc Dimittis is found in the liturgical night office of many western denominations, including Anglican

in the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'', Compline (A Late Evening Service) in the 1928 ''Book of Common Prayer'', and the Night Prayer service in the Common Worship, as well as both the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

service of Compline. In eastern tradition the canticle is found in

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

. One of the most well-known settings in England is a

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...

theme of Thomas Tallis.

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

wrote at least two settings, one in Musikalische Exequien (1636), the other i
Symphoniae sacrae II
(1647). The feast day ''Mariae Reinigung'' was observed in the Lutheran Church at J.S. Bach's time. He composed several cantatas for the occasion, including ''Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin'', BWV 125, a chorale cantata on Martin Luther's paraphrase of the canticle, and ''Ich habe genug'', BWV 82. In many Lutheran orders of service the ''Nunc Dimittis'' may be sung following the reception of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

. A 1530 rhymed version by , "

Im Frieden dein, o Herre mein "" (In Your peace, o my Lord) is a three-stanza German Christian communion hymn. In 1527 the early Reformer Johann Englisch (Johannes Anglicus) wrote two stanzas as a rhyming close paraphase of the Nunc dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon. The hymn ...

", with a melody by Wolfgang Dachstein, was written in Strasbourg for that purpose. Many composers have set the text to music, usually coupled in the Anglican church with the

, as both the Magnificat and the Nunc dimittis are sung (or said) during the Anglican service of Evening Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer, 1662, in which the older offices of Vespers (Evening Prayer) and Compline (Night Prayer) were deliberately merged into one service, with both Gospel Canticles employed. In Common Worship, it is listed among "Canticles for Use at Funeral and Memorial Services" Herbert Howells composed 20 settings of it, including Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (Gloucester) (1947) and Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for St Paul's Cathedral (1951). A setting of the Nunc dimittis by

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the ...

was sung at the funeral of Margaret Thatcher as the recessional. Stanford wrote many settings of both the ''Magnificat'' and ''Nunc dimittis''. Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote a setting of the Slavonic ''Nunc dimittis'' text, Ны́не отпуща́еши (''Nyne otpushchayeshi''), as the fifth movement of his ''

All-Night Vigil The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches consisting of an aggregation of the canonical hours of Compline (in Greek usage only), Vespers (or, on a few occasions, Great Compline), Matins, and the F ...

.'' It is known for its final measures, in which the basses sing a descending scale ending on the B♭ below the bass clef. A setting by the British composer

Geoffrey Burgon Geoffrey Alan Burgon (15 July 194121 September 2010) was an English composer best known for his television and film scores. Among his most recognisable works are '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'' for film, and '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' and ...

featured during the end credits of episodes in the 1979 television adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV series).

Literary settings

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

, Letter to Marquis de Lafayette (17 May 1816), Joseph Cabell (31 January 1821), and General Andrew Jackson (18 December 1823) * T. H. White novel ''

The Once and Future King ''The Once and Future King'' is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is loosely based upon the 1485 work ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory. It was first published in 1958 as a collection ...

'' – recitation by Merlyn * T. S. Eliot poem '' A Song for Simeon'' (1928) * Joseph Brodsky poem "Nunc Dimittis" (1972) * Ezra Pound poem "Cantico del Sole" (1918) *

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal ...

play '' R.U.R.'' * Roald Dahl short story " Nunc Dimittis" (1953–1979) *

Tanith Lee Tanith Lee (19 September 1947 – 24 May 2015) was a British science fiction and fantasy writer. She wrote more than 90 novels and 300 short stories, and was the winner of multiple World Fantasy Society Derleth Awards, the World Fantasy Lifetime ...

story " Nunc Dimittis" (1984–1986) * Walter Miller, '' A Canticle for Leibowitz'' *

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

novel ''

A Murder of Quality ''A Murder of Quality'' is the second novel by John le Carré, published in 1962. It features George Smiley, the most famous of le Carré's recurring characters, in his only book set outside the espionage community. Plot summary Long retired s ...

'' *

novel ''

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' is a 1974 spy novel by British author John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has receive ...

'' – closing theme of TV adaptation *

novel ''

The Constant Gardener ''The Constant Gardener'' is a 2001 novel by British author John le Carré. The novel tells the story of Justin Quayle, a British diplomat whose activist wife is murdered. Believing there is something behind the murder, he seeks to uncover the t ...

'' – sung at the funeral of Tessa Quayle * H. W. Brands novel '' The Strange Death of American Liberalism * David Mitchell novel ''

Cloud Atlas A cloud atlas is a pictorial key (or an atlas) to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use ...

'' – "Pacific journal of Adam Ewing, part 1" *

Edith Pargeter Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her '' nom de plume'' Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her transla ...

novel, writing as Ellis Peters in the 6th and 15th volumes of "

The Cadfael Chronicles ''The Cadfael Chronicles'' is a series of historical murder mysteries written by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter (1913–1995) under the name "Ellis Peters". Set in the 12th century during the Anarchy in England, the novels focus on a Bene ...

", The Virgin in the Ice and The Confession of Brother Haluin

References

External links

List of available settings
at Choral Public Domain Library. {{Authority control Vulgate Latin words and phrases Canticles Latin-language Christian hymns Christian prayer Gospel of Luke Nativity of Jesus in the New Testament New Testament Latin words and phrases

Biblical account

Versions

Commentary

Liturgy and musical settings

Literary settings

See also

References

External links