Once in royal David's city
In the past, there was a royal city belonging to David

Stood a lowly cattle shed
In it was a shabby stable where cattle were kept

There a mother laid her baby
In the said stable, a mother put her baby to rest

In a manger for His bed
And she made a manger a bed for him

Mary was that mother mild
The mother's name was Mary, and she was gentle

Jesus Christ her little child
The baby's name was Jesus Christ

He came down to earth from heaven
Jesus Christ descended from heaven to earth

Who is God and Lord of all
Jesus Christ is God as well as the ruler of everything

And His shelter was a stable
During his stay, his shelter was the aforementioned stable

And His cradle was a stall
In the absence of a proper cradle, the stall served the purpose

With the poor, oppressed and wholly
As an infant, Jesus lived among the underprivileged, downtrodden, and wholly disadvantaged

Lived on earth our Savior holy
Jesus, our holy savior, lived his life on earth

And our eyes
One day in the future

At last shall see Him
We will finally have a chance to see him

Through His own redeeming love
It will happen through His love that saved us from sin

For that child, so dear and gentle
That dear and gentle baby

Is our Lord in heaven above
Is the same Lord who resides in Heaven above

And He leads His children along
He guides us throughout our life

To the place where He is gone
Towards the destination where He went