The O Antiphons, are also known as 'The Great Os' or 'Magnificat Antiphons'. Each one is sung at Vespers (Dinner/Early Evening) on the last 7 days of Advent in the week before Christmas. Each one looks at one of the names of Jesus and one of his attributes written about in the Bible. They are sung as an opening followed by Mary's Song the Magnificant, taken from her speech when she met her Aunt Elizabeth after the visit of the Angel Gabriel.

The first one today is O Sapientia (O Wisdom). They are a very old tradition dating back to the very early church, and have been sung for Centuries. The Advent song/hymn, ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ is a version of all the antiphons containing the meaning and lyrics of all 7 of them. Not only is each one a title and attribute of the Messiah but each one is tied to a prophecy given by the prophet Isaiah.

O Sapientia (O Wisdom)

I managed to get a translation of this in English, it is usually sung in Latin. The English Translations which mainly come from the Anglican Liturgy are not always literal translations of the Latin, the meaning and comprehension being the important factors. It is at The Blessing of the Light (Vespers) tonight. O Sapientia (O Wisdom) is based on two verses in Isaiah:

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might; the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight will be obedience to the Lord. He will not judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay. – Isaiah 11:2-3

This also comes from the LORD of hosts;
he is wonderful in counsel,
and excellent in wisdom. – Isaiah 28:29 (NRSVA)

Our Old Testament reading today looks at the coming Messiah as being the righteous branch of King David, which is why the genealogy of Jesus was given twice in the New Testament showing that indeed he was a descendant of King David. Today we read Matthew’s version of Jesus Family Tree.