Thread by @PeterSokolowski

Such an important point here:

"I get pedantic about the placement of the vocative comma in “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.” The song is not a suggestion to “merry gentlemen” to rest but an imperative to gentlemen to “rest merry.”"

https://twitter.com/MaryNorrisTNY/status/1075409420610404352

'Rest' in this transitive sense isn't used very much in contemporary English.

"God rest you merry, gentlemen"="God keep you happy, gentlemen"

'Merry' doesn't modify 'gentlemen.'

While we're at it, the 'ye' in "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" is a false archaism.

'Ye' was the old form of 'you' but only in the subjective case. It's ungrammatical in this song title.

Originally:

'ye' [subject] is to 'you' [object] (plural) as 'thou' [subject] is to 'thee' [object] (singular).

So you can say:

"Seek and ye shall find," BUT "I can see you."

and

"Of thee I sing," BUT "How great thou art."

merriam-webster.com/dictionary/you

Also: the article 'ye' (as in "ye olde") is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FALSE ARCHAISM.

It came about because the Old English letter for the sound /th/, 'þ,' looked like a 'y' to early typesetters.

Lack of fonts.

This 'ye' simply means "the."