View source for Be Thou My Vision

{{Short description|Christian hymn}}
{{Infobox musical composition
| name                = Be Thou My Vision
| image               = File:Be Thou My Vision, first hymn setting in "Church Hymnal with Accompanying Tunes" (1919).jpg
| alt                 = 
| caption             = 
| translation         = 
| native_name         = {{ubl|Rop tú mo baile|Rob tu mo bhoile}}
| native_name_lang    = sga
| genre               = [[Christian hymn|Hymn]]
| form                = 
| text                = Author unknown, {{ubl|attr. [[Dallán Forgaill|St. Dallán Forgaill]]|trans. [[Mary Elizabeth Byrne]], [[Eleanor Hull]]}}
| language            = 
| meter               = 10.10.10.10
| melody              = ''Slane'' (trad. Irish)
| composed            = 
| published           = 10th or 11th century (trans. 1912)
| misc                = Translations into [[English language|English]], [[Irish language|Modern Irish]] and [[Scottish Gaelic]]
}}

"'''Be Thou My Vision'''" ({{langx|sga|Rop tú mo baile}} or ''Rob tú mo bhoile'') is a traditional [[Christianity|Christian]] hymn of Irish origin. The words are based on a [[Middle Irish]] [[Lorica (prayer)|lorica]] that has sometimes been attributed to [[Dallán Forgaill]].<ref name="Haynes">{{cite book |last1=Haynes |first1=Richard A. |title=The Spiritual Road |date=May 2012 |publisher=Xulon Press |isbn=978-1-62230-179-9 |page=362 note 2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqlrLdZtX4oC&pg=PA362 |language=en}}</ref> 

The best-known English version, with some minor variations, was translated in 1905 by [[Mary Elizabeth Byrne]],<ref name="Byrne">{{Cite journal|last=Byrne|first=Mary|date=1905|title=A Prayer|url=https://archive.org/details/riujournalschoo00acadgoog/page/n100/mode/2up|journal=Ériu|volume=2|pages=89–91|publisher=Royal Irish Academy|jstor=30007131}}</ref> then made into verse by [[Eleanor Hull]] and published in 1912. Since 1919 it has been commonly sung to an Irish [[folk tune]], noted as "Slane" in church [[hymnal]]s,<ref name="Haynes"/><ref name=slane>[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Be_Thou_My_Vision,_first_hymn_setting_in_%22Church_Hymnal_with_Accompanying_Tunes%22_(1919).jpg 'Be Thou My Vision': first hymn setting in ''Church Hymnal with Accompanying Tunes'' (1919)]</ref> and is one of the most popular hymns in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3DnJQz7zsF1JrB3rZ8yQ86w/vote-for-your-favourite-hymn|title=BBC One – Songs of Praise – Vote for your favourite hymn|website=BBC}}</ref>

==Text==
[[File:Slane Hill Church on a cloudy day.jpg|thumb|Church ruins on [[Slane Hill]]]]
The original [[Middle Irish|Early Middle Irish]] text, "Rop tú mo baile", has sometimes been attributed{{By whom|date=March 2025}} to [[Dallán Forgaill|Saint Dallán Forgaill]] in the 6th century.<ref name="CHymnal">[http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/b/e/t/bethoumv.htm Be Thou My Vision] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519182436/http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/b/e/t/bethoumv.htm |date=2012-05-19 }} at Cyberhymnal</ref> However, scholars believe it was written much later than that. Gerard Murphy follows Monica Nevin in dating it to "…the end of the tenth century or in the eleventh century" based on the language used.<ref name="Murphy1956">{{cite book |last1=Murphy |first1=Gerard |title=Early Irish Lyrics: Eighth to Twelfth Century |date=1956 |publisher=The Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |pages=42–45, 190–191 |quote=Spelling normalized from…National Library of Ireland MS. 3, f. 22 [P]…after collation with…R.I.A. MS., 23 N 10, pp. 95–96 [N]. N is a sixteenth-century manuscript. P may also have been written in the sixteenth century, or perhaps a century or so earlier. … Mrs. Nevin with reason attributes the poem to the Early Middle Irish period: ‘All its pronouns…are infixed, and the disyllabic ''-chëar'' and the absence of elision in the reading adopted in 2c are in favour of a date not far removed from the Old Irish period. That it is not Old Irish is suggested by Middle Irish forms such as ''nom‑thocba'' (q. 6) and ''dínsiur'' (q. 11), and is made certain by the rhymes ''cridi:nime'' (q. 8), ''‑airi:baile'' (q.16).}}</ref><ref name="Nevin1940">{{Cite journal |last=Nevin |first=Monica |date=1940 |title=Rab tú mu baili |journal=Éigse |volume=2 |pages=114–116}}</ref>

There are two manuscript sources for the prayer, [[National Library of Ireland]] MS. 3 (f. 22r), which Murphy calls P, and [[Royal Irish Academy]] MS. 23 N 10 (pp. 95–96), which Murphy calls N. Murphy attributes N to the sixteenth-century (one of the scribes refers to the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day 1575<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Irish Academy MS 23 N 10 (Catalogue Note p.77) |page=77|url=https://www.isos.dias.ie/RIA/RIA_MS_23_N_10_correct_order.html#19 |quote=p. 77 i.…According to the Calendar of State papers, James FitzMaurice and his wife were received at the French Court on April 28, 1575. This would date this colophon as the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day, 1575, which is proved to be correct by the date given by Dubthach (see below, colophon on p. 101).…p. 101 m.…in chéad Luan iar n-aurtach Iohannes…Anno Domini 1575.|access-date=2025-03-31 |website=ISOS |language=en}}</ref>) and P "may also have been written in the sixteenth century, or perhaps a century of so earlier".<ref name="Murphy1956" /><ref name="Nevin1940" />  Manuscript P has been attributed to [[Ádhamh Ó Cianáin|Adhamh Ó Cianáin]] which would suggest a 14th century origin, but parts of the manuscript, including this prayer, are in a different hand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Library of Ireland MS G 3 (Catalogue note) |page=iir|url=https://www.isos.dias.ie/NLI/NLI_MS_G_3.html#4 |quote=Scribe: Adam Ó Cianáin (d. 1373); the Law tract is by another, contemporary hand, also certain of the poems.|access-date=2025-03-31 |website=ISOS |language=en}}</ref>

Mary Elizabeth Byrne’s 1905 edition and translation in ''[[Ériu (journal)|Ériu]]'' used Manuscript N (RIA MS 23 N 10), referring to Manuscript P as "evidently only a careless transcript of [Manuscript N]", though she gave no justification for this claim.<ref name="Byrne" /> Mrs. Monica Nevin also published an edition and translation of Manuscript P (NLI MS 3) in the journal ''[[Éigse]]'' in 1940.<ref name="Nevin1940" />

Byrne’s English translation was first versified by [[Eleanor Hull]], co-founder of the [[Irish Texts Society]], and published  under the title "A Prayer" in ''The Poem-Book of the Gael'' in 1912.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hull |first=Eleanor |url=https://archive.org/details/poembookofgael00hulliala/page/118/mode/2up |title=The Poem-Book of the Gael |publisher=Chatto & Windus |year=1912 |location=London |pages=119–120}}</ref> This is now the most common text used.<ref name="Telford1934">{{Cite book |last=Telford |first=John |title=The New Methodist Hymn Book Illustrated |publisher=Epworth Press |year=1934 |location=London |quote=This Old Irish poem was translated by Mary E. Byrne M.A. of the University of Ireland, an Irish Research worker to the Board of Intermediate Education. It was versified by Miss Eleanor Henrietta Hull, founder of the Irish Text Society, its secretary in 1899 and sometimes President of the Irish Literary Society of London and author of books on Ireland.}}</ref><ref name="bradley">{{cite book|last1=Bradley|first1=Ian|title=Daily Telegraph Book of Hymns|date=2006|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=9780826482822|page=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uWfUAwAAQBAJ&q=be%20thou%20my%20vision%20hymn%20high%20king%20of%20ireland&pg=PA64|access-date=11 December 2017|language=en}}</ref>

The text of "Rop tú mo Baile"/"Be Thou My Vision" reflects aspects of life in [[History of Ireland (400–800)|Early Christian Ireland (c.400-800 AD)]]. The prayer belongs to a type known as a ''[[Lorica (prayer)|lorica]]'', a prayer for protection.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CcleDAAAQBAJ&q=dall%C3%A1n+forgaill&pg=PA455|title=Glory to God: A Companion|first=Carl P. Jr|last=Daw|date=May 25, 2016|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=9781611646528|via=Google Books}}</ref> The symbolic use of a [[Shield|battle-shield]] and a [[sword]] to invoke the power and protection of God draws on [[Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]]'s [[Epistle to the Ephesians]] ({{bible|Ephesians|6:16-17}}), which refers to "the shield of faith" and "the sword of the Spirit". Such military symbolism was common in the poetry and hymnology of Christian monasteries of the period due to the prevalence of clan warfare across Ireland.<ref name="byfield">{{cite book|last1=Byfield|first1=Ted|title=Darkness Descends : A.D. 350 to 565, the Fall of the Western Roman Empire|date=2003|publisher=Christian History Project|isbn=9780968987339|page=244]|url=https://archive.org/details/darknessdescends04byfi/page/244|url-access=registration|quote=Be Thou My Vision High King of ireland.|access-date=11 December 2017|language=en}}</ref> The poem makes reference to God as "King of the [[Seven Heavens]]" and the "[[High King]] of Heaven".<ref name="byfield" /> This depiction of the Lord God of heaven and earth as a [[chieftain]] or High King ({{langx|ga|Ard Rí}}) is a traditional representation in Irish literature; medieval Irish poetry typically used heroic imagery to cast God as a clan protector.<ref name="umc">{{cite web|last1=Ministries|first1=Discipleship|title=History of Hymns: "Be Thou My Vision" – umcdiscipleship.org|url=https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-be-thou-my-vision|website=www.umcdiscipleship.org|access-date=11 December 2017|language=en}}</ref>

==Musical accompaniment==
[[File:Slane.png|thumb|The melody "Slane"]]
[[File:Slane (anacrucial version).png|thumb|The alternative version of "Slane" (upbeats highlighted in red)]]
The hymn is sung to the melody noted as “Slane” in hymnals, an Irish [[folk music#Tune|folk tune]] in [[3/4 time|{{music|time|3|4}} time]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://library.timelesstruths.org/library/music/B/Be_Thou_My_Vision/Be_Thou_My_Vision.pdf|title=''Be Thou My Vision'' sheet music}}</ref> first published as "With My Love on the Road" in Patrick Joyce's ''Old Irish Folk Music and Songs'' in 1909.<ref name="Joyce">{{Cite book |last=Joyce |first=Patrick Weston |url=https://archive.org/details/oldirishfolkmusi00royauoft/page/150/mode/2up |title=Old Irish Folk Music and Songs |publisher=Longman, Green & Co. / Hodges, Figgis & Co. |year=1909 |location=London, New York, Bombay, Calcutta, Dublin |pages=151|quote=323. WITH MY LOVE ON THE ROAD.}}</ref> The tune is a more elemental distillation of earlier forms, such as "The Hielan's o' Scotland'<ref name="huntington">{{cite book|last1=Huntington|first1=Gale|last2=Herrmann|first2=Lani|title=Sam Henry's Songs of the People|date=2010|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=9780820336251|page=487|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aiQ7UAwQgDUC&q=%22with%20my%20love%20on%20the%20road%22&pg=PA487|access-date=11 December 2017|language=en}}</ref> and "By the Banks of the Bann," also compiled in Joyce (1909).<ref name="Joyce-Bann">{{Cite book |last=Joyce |first=Patrick Weston |url=https://archive.org/details/oldirishfolkmusi00royauoft/page/294/mode/2up |title=Old Irish Folk Music and Songs |publisher=Longman, Green & Co. / Hodges, Figgis & Co. |year=1909 |location=London, New York, Bombay, Calcutta, Dublin |pages=295|quote=556. THE BANKS OF THE BANN.}}</ref> The words of "Be Thou My Vision" were first combined with this tune in 1919 (harmonised by  Leopold L Dix, 1861-1935),<ref name=slane/> and in a new version harmonised by [[David Evans (composer)|David Evans]] in 1927.<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith III |first=James D. |title=Be Thou My Vision |url=http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1998/issue60/60h037.html |publisher=Christianity Today Library |access-date=15 January 2013 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422232626/http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1998/issue60/60h037.html |archive-date=22 April 2014 }}</ref> A further version was harmonised by [[Erik Routley]] for the English Hymnal.<ref>[https://corymbus.co.uk/be-thou-my-vision/ Corymbus. ''Be Thou My Vision'']</ref>

It was common practice <ref>”Hymn Tune Names: their sources and significance”, publisher: Nashville, Abingdon Press (1957). Authors: McCutchan, Robert Guy, page 20</ref> to attribute hymn tune names to the place where they were collected by folk song collectors, such as [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]] who co-edited ''[[The English Hymnal]]'', published in 1906. Slane is a village in Ireland.

Four more 20th century hymns have been set to the same tune. The first was "[[Lord of All Hopefulness]]" written by [[Jan Struther]] around 1931.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hymnary.org/text/lord_of_all_hopefulness_lord_of_all_joy|title=Lord of All Hopefulness|website=Hymnary.org}}</ref> The second was "Lord of Creation, to Thee be All Praise" written by [[J. C. Winslow]] and first published in 1961.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hymns for Church and School|publisher=Gresham|date=1964|isbn=0-946095-20-5}}</ref> The third was a popular wedding hymn, "God, In the Planning and Purpose of Life", written by [[John L. Bell]] and Graham Maule and first appearing in publication in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hymnary.org/text/god_in_the_planning_and_purpose_of_life|title=God, in the Planning|website=Hymnary.org}}</ref> The fourth is "Wake Now My Senses," written by Thomas Michaelson and published in "Singing the Living Tradition Hymnal" 1994, by the Unitarian Universalist Association.<ref>{{cite book|title=Singing the Living Tradition Hymnal|publisher=UUA|date=1994|isbn=9781558962606}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=50 Years of UU Music {{!}} GA Presentations {{!}} General Assembly {{!}} UUA.org |url=https://www.uua.org/ga/past/2011/worship/185029.shtml |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=www.uua.org |language=en}}</ref>

''Gå inte förbi'' ("Don't Walk Past") is a duet-single set to the tune, recorded by Swedish singer [[Peter Jöback]] and [[Norway|Norwegian]] singer [[Sissel Kyrkjebø]] and written by Ulf Schagerman. [[Peter Jöback|Jöback]] sings the lyrics in Swedish while [[Sissel Kyrkjebø|Sissel]] sings in Norwegian. It was released as a single in 2003 and at an extended reissue of Jöback's Christmas album [[Jag kommer hem igen till jul]]. It was a hit in Norway and Sweden in the Christmas time of 2003 and a music video directed by Mikadelica was made in Denmark.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://peterjoback.com/nyheter_swedish.php?newsdetail=71&page=55 |title=Peter Jöback – Official site – Nyheter – Svenska |access-date=2016-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103234049/http://peterjoback.com/nyheter_swedish.php?newsdetail=71&page=55 |archive-date=2016-11-03 |url-status = dead}}</ref> Norwegian newspaper VG gave it 4 out of 6.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vg.no/rampelys/musikk/i/KvBkkE/peter-joback-sissel-kyrkjeboe-gaa-inte-forbi-single|title=Peter Jöback & Sissel Kyrkjebø: "Gå inte förbi" (single)|website=www.vg.no|date=11 November 2003 }}</ref>

==Lyrics==
{{listen |filename=Rop tu mo baile.ogg |title="Rop Tú mo Baile" |description=Selected verses of "Be thou my vision" sung in [[Old Irish language|Old Irish]] to the musical composition, "Slane" |format=[[Ogg]]}}
The original texts of the now-called "Be Thou My Vision" are in [[Middle Irish|Early Middle Irish]]. The hymn has been translated into Modern Irish many times.{{By whom|date=March 2025}} The most popular is that by Aodh Ó Dúgain of [[Gaoth Dobhair]], [[County Donegal]]. Two verses of his translation were recorded by his granddaughter [[Moya Brennan|Máire Ní Bhraonáin]] – the first time any part of his text has been publicly recorded. Since then, those two verses have been recorded by many artists, including [[Roma Downey]] and [[Aoife (singer)|Aoife]] and [[Iona (band)|Iona]]. These verses are paraphrases of the English text and do not closely follow the original.

The song has also been translated into [[Scottish Gaelic]] by Céitidh Mhoireasdan and published by [[Sabhal Mòr Ostaig]].<ref>[http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/corpus/laoidhean/soillse.html Soills’ Air Mo Smuain]</ref>

Two variants of Eleanor Hull's 1912 English translation exist; one version, commonly used in Irish and Scottish hymnals (including the [[Hymnbooks of the Church of Scotland]]), fits the [[Hymn metre|metre]] 10.10.10.10, while a paraphrased version that is used in English books (such as the ''[[New English Hymnal]]'') is suitable to an [[Anacrusis|anacrucial]] metre 10.11.11.11.<ref name="ch">{{cite book|last1=Stainer|first1=John|title=The Church Hymnary: Authorized for Use in Public Worship by the Church of Scotland, the United Free Church of Scotland, The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Presbyterian Church of Australia, the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, the Presbyterian Church of South Africa|date=1913|publisher=H. Frowde|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgI9AQAAIAAJ&q=church+hymnary&pg=PA870|access-date=11 December 2017|language=en|chapter=477. Be Thou my Vision}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The New English Hymnal|date=1998|publisher=Canterbury Press|isbn=9781853110979|chapter=339. Be Thou my Vision}}</ref>

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===Original Old Irish Text===
Rop tú mo baile, a Choimdiu cride:<br />
ní ní nech aile acht Rí secht nime.

Rop tú mo scrútain i lló 's i n-aidche;<br />
rop tú ad-chëar im chotlud caidche.

Rop tú mo labra, rop tú mo thuicsiu;<br />
rop tussu dam-sa, rob misse duit-siu.

Rop tussu m'athair, rob mé do mac-su;<br />
rop tussu lem-sa, rob misse lat-su.

Rop tú mo chathscíath, rop tú mo chlaideb;<br />
rop tussu m'ordan, rop tussu m'airer.

Rop tú mo dítiu, rop tú mo daingen;<br />
rop tú nom-thocba i n-áentaid n-aingel.

Rop tú cech maithius dom churp, dom anmain;<br />
rop tú mo flaithius i nnim 's i talmain.

Rop tussu t'áenur sainṡerc mo chride;<br />
ní rop nech aile acht Airdrí nime.

Co talla forum, ré ndul it láma,<br />
mo chuit, mo chotlud, ar méit do gráda.

Rop tussu t'áenur m'urrann úais amra:<br />
ní chuinngim daíne ná maíne marba.

Rop amlaid dínsiur cech sel, cech sáegul,<br />
mar marb oc brénad, ar t'ḟégad t'áenur.

Do ṡerc im anmain, do grád im chride,<br />
tabair dam amlaid, a Rí secht nime.

Tabair dam amlaid, a Rí secht nime,<br />
do ṡerc im anmain, do grád im chride.

Go Ríg na n-uile rís íar mbúaid léire;<br />
ro béo i flaith nime i ngile gréine

A Athair inmain, cluinte mo núall-sa:<br />
mithig (mo-núarán!) lasin trúagán trúag-sa.

A Chríst{{refn|group=note|Some sources<ref name="Byrne" /> have "cride" instead of "Chríst".}} mo chride, cip ed dom-aire,<br />
a Flaith na n-uile, rop tú mo baile.

{{Column}}

===English translation by Mary Byrne (1905)===
Be thou my vision O Lord of my heart<br />
None other is aught but the King of the seven heavens.

Be thou my meditation by day and night.<br />
May it be thou that I behold ever in my sleep.

Be thou my speech, be thou my understanding.<br />
Be thou with me, be I with thee

Be thou my father, be I thy son.<br />
Mayst thou be mine, may I be thine.

Be thou my battle-shield, be thou my sword.<br />
Be thou my dignity, be thou my delight.

Be thou my shelter, be thou my stronghold.<br />
Mayst thou raise me up to the company of the angels.

Be thou every good to my body and soul.<br />
Be thou my kingdom in heaven and on earth.

Be thou solely chief love of my heart.<br />
Let there be none other, O high King of Heaven.

Till I am able to pass into thy hands,<br />
My treasure, my beloved through the greatness of thy love

Be thou alone my noble and wondrous estate.<br />
I seek not men nor lifeless wealth.

Be thou the constant guardian of every possession and every life.<br />
For our corrupt desires are dead at the mere sight of thee.

Thy love in my soul and in my heart —<br />
Grant this to me, O King of the seven heavens.

O King of the seven heavens grant me this —<br />
Thy love to be in my heart and in my soul.

With the King of all, with him after victory won by piety,<br />
May I be in the kingdom of heaven, O brightness of the sun.

Beloved Father, hear, hear my lamentations.<br />
Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch.

O heart of my heart, whatever befall me,<br />
O ruler of all, be thou my vision.<ref name="Byrne" />
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===Modern Irish translation===
Bí Thusa ’mo shúile a Rí mhóir na ndúl<br />
Líon thusa mo bheatha mo chéadfaí ’s mo stuaim<br />
Bí thusa i m'aigne gach oíche ’s gach lá<br />
Im chodladh nó im dhúiseacht, líon mé le do ghrá.

Bí thusa ’mo threorú i mbriathar ’s i mbeart<br />
Fan thusa go deo liom is coinnigh mé ceart<br />
Glac cúram mar Athair, is éist le mo ghuí<br />
Is tabhair domsa áit cónaí istigh i do chroí.
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===English version by Eleanor Hull (1912)===
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;<br />
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.<br />
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,<br />
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;<br />
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;<br />
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;<br />
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;<br />
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;<br />
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tow’r:<br />
Raise Thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,<br />
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:<br />
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,<br />
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,<br />
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun!<br />
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,<br />
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

(The English Methodist version from 1964 omits verse 3.)

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===Alternative English version by Eleanor Hull (1912)===
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;<br />
Be all else but naught to me, save that Thou art;<br />
Be Thou my best thought in the day and the night,<br />
Both waking and sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;<br />
Be Thou ever with me, and I with Thee, Lord;<br />
Be Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son;<br />
Be Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my Breastplate, my Sword for the fight;<br />
Be Thou my whole Armour, be Thou my true Might;<br />
Be Thou my soul's Shelter, be Thou my strong Tow’r,<br />
O raise Thou me heav’nward, great Pow’r of my pow’r.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise;<br />
Be Thou mine inheritance, now and always;<br />
Be Thou and Thou only the first in my heart,<br />
O high King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, Thou heaven's bright Sun,<br />
O grant me its joys, after vict'ry is won;<br />
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,<br />
Still be Thou my vision, O Ruler of all.

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===Modern Scottish Gaelic translation===
Dèan dhòmh-sa tuigse,<br />
Cuir soills’ air mo smuain;<br />
Dh’iarrainn gur Tu<br />
Bhiodh ’gam stiùreadh gach uair;<br />
Làmh rium ’s an oidhche<br />
Is romham ’s an tràth,<br />
Réidh rium ’sa mhadainn<br />
Agus glèidh mi tro’n latha.

Ceartas do m’ bhriathran<br />
Agus fìrinn do m’ bheul,<br />
Thusa toirt iùil dhomh<br />
’S mi dlùth riut, a Dhè.<br />
Athair, thoir gràdh dhomh,<br />
Gabh mis’ thugad fhéin;<br />
Cum mi ri d’ thaobh<br />
Is bi daonnan ’nam chrè.

Dìon mi, a Thighearna,<br />
Ri mo chliathaich ’s gach feachd;<br />
Cùm mi fo d’ sgiath<br />
’S thoir dhomh misneachd is neart,<br />
Fasgadh do m’ anam<br />
Is mi ri d’uchd dlùth;<br />
Treòraich mi dhachaigh,<br />
Dhè chumhachdaich Thu.

Beartas cha’n fhiach leam;<br />
No miann chlann ’nan daoin’,<br />
Thusa na m’ fhianais<br />
Fad làithean mo shaogh’il<br />
Thusa, Dhè ghràsmhoir,<br />
A-mhàin na mo chrìdh’,<br />
Le blàths is gràdh sìorraidh,<br />
Mo Thighearna ’s mo Rìgh.
{{Columns-end}}

===Other languages===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2025}}
*Bahasa Indonesia – "Kaulah, ya Tuhan, Surya Hidupku", "Dikau, Tuhan, Jadilah Impianku"
*Chinese – "成為我異象"
*Czech – "Buď mojí nadějí"
*Danish – "Herre, at se dig"
*Dutch – "Wees Mijn Verlangen"
*Esperanto – "Donu vizion de Vi, Di-Sinjor'"
*Finnish – "Silmäni aukaise, Jumalani"
*French – "Qu'en toi je vive, Seigneur bien aimé"
*German – "Steh mir vor Augen"
*Greek – "Γίνε όραμα μου Θεέ της καρδίας"
*Hungarian – "Légy te menedékem"
*Italian – "[[:it:Be Thou My Vision|Sii la mia Visione]]"
*Japanese – "きみはわれのまぼろし", "[[:jp:こころみの世にあれど|こころみの世にあれど]]"
*Korean – "내 맘의 주여 소망 되소서"
*Nepali – "होऊ मेरो दर्शन"
*Norwegian – "Deg å få skode"
*Polish – "On moim Panem"
*Portuguese – "Sê minha vida, ó Deus de Poder"
*Romanian – "Fii a mea lumină"
*Spanish – "Oh Dios, Sé Mi Visión", "Oh Dios de mi alma, Sé Mi Visión"
*Swedish – "Närmare mig (Herre, du min klippa)"
*Thai – "โอ้เจ้าแห่งดวงจิต"
* Taiwanese (Hokkien) - "主Tiàm我心內，無驚惶自在"
*Ukrainian – "Будь мені, Боже, метою життя"
*Welsh – "Bydd yn Welediad fy nghalon a'm byw"

==See also==
* [[Saint Patrick's Breastplate]]
* [[Lord of All Hopefulness]], a hymn sung to the same tune

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
'''Manuscripts'''
* National Library of Ireland: [https://www.isos.dias.ie/NLI/NLI_MS_G_3.html#49 NLI MS G 3, f. 22r] ~ ''Rab tu mu baíli''
* Royal Irish Academy: [https://www.isos.dias.ie/RIA/RIA_MS_23_N_10_correct_order.html#41 RIA MS 23 N 10, p.95] ~ ''Rob tu mo boile''
'''Editions'''
*[https://celt.ucc.ie/published/G400018/ Rop tú mo baile] (Normalized edition by Gerard Murphy—based on the two manuscripts—at [[Corpus of Electronic Texts|CELT]])
*[http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/sengoidelc/corpus/danta/Rop_tu_mo_baile/ Rop tú mo baile – pronunciation] – soundfile by Dennis King
'''Hymn'''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070204080700/http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Be_Thou_My_Vision_%28Traditional%29 CPDL.org Article]
*{{ChoralWiki|Be Thou my vision (Traditional)|"Be Thou My Vision"|prep=of}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120519182436/http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/b/e/t/bethoumv.htm Lyrics, History and MIDI at CyberHymnal]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7i5RiejVeg&list=OLAK5uy_neYxGRsCUBlOD3Lojx8CbbDW6Fgj9RuhU Modern version of the hymn by the band The Chairman Dances]
*[http://www.your-church.com/music-be-thou-my-vision.php Utah Baroque Ensemble Version with Lyrics at Your-Church.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520091733/http://your-church.com/music-be-thou-my-vision.php |date=2019-05-20 }}
*[http://tradtune.com/848450/Be_Thou_My_Vision.htm Be Thou My Vision] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812144219/http://tradtune.com/848450/Be_Thou_My_Vision.htm |date=2016-08-12 }} tune information and sheet music on TradTune.com
*[https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0531/1143647-ancient-irish-hymn/ The Irish Blessing 2020] (a recording of the Hull 1912 translation, by over 300 churches in Ireland during the Covid19 pandemic)

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Irish Christian hymns]]
[[Category:Peter Jöback songs]]
[[Category:Sissel Kyrkjebø songs]]
[[Category:Songs in Irish]]
[[Category:Van Morrison songs]]