The seven Great or 'O' Antiphons were developed in the early centuries of the Church, addressing Christ by the mysterious titles found in the Old Testament. These prayers called Him to come anew.
The prayers were prayed by two groups side by side, hence 'antiphonally,' on either side of the Magnificat (Mary's Prayer) at Vespers (the early evening service) from 17 to 23 December, although some communities started it a day earlier.
There is the common refrain at the end of each prayer that Christ would come ('Veni').
O Sapientia
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
O Wisdom, coming from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other mightily,
and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.
O Adonai
O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,
qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
O LORD, and leader of the house of Israe,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
O Radix
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
kings will shut their mouths before you,
the nations will make their prayer to you:
Come and deliver us, and no longer delay.
O Clavis
O Clavis David, et sceptum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentum in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Key of David and sceptre of the house of Israel;
You open and none can shut;
You shut and none can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison,
those who live in darkness and the shadow of death.
O Oriens
O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Daystar,
spendour of eternal light and sun of righteousness:
Come and bring your light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death.
O Rex Gentium
O Rex gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva homenim
quem de limo formasti.
O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone who makes both one:
Come and save humankind,
which you fashioned from clay.
O Emmanuel
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
Veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.
O Emmanuel, our King and lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, Lord our God.
In 'Waiting on the Word' (Canterbury Press, 2015, p. 89), Malcolm Guite has mad the point that if you take the first letters of the titles:
Emmanuel
Rex
Oriens
Clavis
Radix
Adonai
Sapientia
it reads Ero cras: the Latin meaning 'Tomorrow I come'.
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