: Re: Is there a convention about the use of Old English in Hymns? Is it wrong to modernise the words? Although most hymns were written in earlier centuries, I notice that modern-day collections of

@Shanna875

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The language of old hymns is often richer and more poetic than modern hymns, that may be why their language has been maintained. "Bethlem" and "o'er" seem to me like contracted words used to fit the meter of the song that accompanies the lyrics. "Blesséd" may just be indicating that the word is two syllables instead of "blessed" (pronounced "blest"), again, for the purpose of fitting a meter.

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