Funeral reading
Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)
King James Bible
“Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)” (King James Bible) is a prayer read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 20 seconds read aloud, usually by the officiant. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
Where it comes from
In Luke 2, Simeon has been told by the Holy Ghost that he will not see death before he has seen the Lord’s Christ, and he says these words holding the infant Jesus in the temple. Known as the Song of Simeon, it has been used in Christian evening services such as Compline, Vespers and Evensong since the 4th century.
What it says
An old man who has been waiting all his life sees what he was waiting for and says: Lord, now you can let your servant go in peace, as you promised, because I have seen your salvation. That salvation is for every nation, a light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. Read at a funeral, it becomes the prayer of someone who has seen enough and is ready to go, content that the promise has been kept.
The prayer of someone who is ready. Fits a death at the end of a long life. Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: depart in peace · a long life completed · an old age death · very short · traditional.
Who it suits
The death of an old person at the end of a long life, especially one who was ready and at peace. It suits Anglican, Episcopal, Catholic and other churchgoing families who know it from evensong or night prayer. It is a lovely choice for a grandparent who lived to see grandchildren or great-grandchildren born, since Simeon’s moment is holding a baby. It is wrong for a young or sudden death.
Where it goes in the ceremony
Near the end of the service, before the commendation or the committal, so that “depart in peace” leads into the farewell. The officiant can say it, or the congregation can say it together if it is printed. It can also be sung.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 43 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 20 seconds of reading.
- Four lines, about twenty seconds. Read the first line slowly and with a sense of release.
- “Lettest thou thy servant depart” is old English for “you let your servant go”. Do not modernize it unless the whole service is modern.
- The last two lines widen out to the whole world. Lift your eyes and voice slightly there.
- If the person lived to hold a great-grandchild, a sentence beforehand about Simeon holding a child will make the room understand why it was chosen.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)” take to read aloud?
“Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)” takes about 20 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)” runs about 20 seconds, which sits inside the part of the service the officiant is already leading, and keeping it there means it is carried by the person who has rehearsed it.
Can “Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- Crossing the Bar55 secondsAnother farewell from someone ready to go
- Psalm 90:1–6, 10, 12a minute and a halfThe length of a life, seventy or eighty years
- 2 Timothy 4:6–835 secondsI have finished my course, from the end of a long ministry
- The Lord's Prayer40 secondsMatthew 6, King James Bible
- In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)35 secondsBook of Common Prayer
- Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)10 secondsTraditional Catholic prayer