A hymn and its story
Be Thou My Vision
Ancient Irish, 6th to 8th century · translated 1905 and 1912
This prayer is over a thousand years old, an ancient Irish poem asking that God himself, and nothing lesser, be the vision the whole life is aimed at.
The story behind it
Be Thou My Vision is one of the oldest hymns still sung today. Its words come from an Old Irish poem, 'Rop tu mo baile,' traditionally attributed to the sixth-century poet Dallan Forgaill and rooted in the monastic faith of early Christian Ireland in the centuries after Saint Patrick. For more than a thousand years it was prayed in Irish before it was ever sung in English.
In 1905 the scholar Mary Elizabeth Byrne translated the poem into English prose, and in 1912 Eleanor Hull shaped it into the verses we sing, later paired with the old Irish folk melody 'Slane,' named for the hill where, in legend, Patrick lit a defiant Easter fire. The hymn is a single, steady prayer: that God would be not one interest among many but the very eyes through which the believer sees everything.
The words
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
The Scripture behind it
Why it still moves us
A vision is what you organise your life around, what you look toward when you decide what matters. This ancient prayer asks for the boldest thing: that God himself would be that vision, so that riches and human praise fade to 'naught,' not because they are worthless but because he is worth so much more. To pray it slowly is to let your eyes be retrained, day by day, toward the one treasure that will not be lost.
Sing it, and mean it
A hymn is a prayer you can carry in your chest. The people who wrote these did not write from a stage; they wrote from shipwreck and sickbeds, from ordinary faithful mornings, and handed us words for the days we cannot find our own. You do not have to sing well. You only have to lift it, and mean it, to the One it is about.
Meet the One these hymns are aboutWorship in The Living BreadBe still and beholdRead Psalm 27Jesus Christ is Lord.
Frequently asked questions
- How old is Be Thou My Vision?
- Its words come from an Old Irish poem over a thousand years old, traditionally attributed to the sixth-century poet Dallan Forgaill. It was translated into English by Mary Byrne in 1905 and versified by Eleanor Hull in 1912.
- What is the story behind Be Thou My Vision?
- It began as an ancient Irish prayer from the monastic Christianity of Patrick's Ireland, prayed in Irish for centuries. Sung to the old Irish melody 'Slane,' it asks that God himself be the vision, wisdom, and treasure of the believer's whole life.
- What does Be Thou My Vision mean?
- It is a prayer for God to be the centre and aim of everything, the 'vision' the whole life looks toward, more precious than riches or praise. It echoes Psalm 27:4, the desire to behold the beauty of the Lord above all else.