Wahyu 1:20

1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: ¹  The seven stars are the angels ²  of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Wahyu 8:10

8:10 Then ³  the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky; ⁴  it landed ⁵  on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

Yesaya 14:12

14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,

O shining one, son of the dawn! ⁶ 

You have been cut down to the ground,

O conqueror ⁷  of the nations! ⁸ 

Lukas 10:18

10:18 So ⁹  he said to them, “I saw ¹⁰  Satan fall ¹¹  like lightning ¹²  from heaven.

Lukas 10:2

10:2 He ¹³  said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ¹⁴  to send out ¹⁵  workers into his harvest.

Lukas 2:3-8

2:3 Everyone ¹⁶  went to his own town ¹⁷  to be registered. 2:4 So ¹⁸  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ¹⁹  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ²⁰  of David called Bethlehem, ²¹  because he was of the house ²²  and family line ²³  of David. 2:5 He went ²⁴  to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, ²⁵  and who was expecting a child. 2:6 While ²⁶  they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ²⁷  2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth ²⁸  and laid him in a manger, ²⁹  because there was no place for them in the inn. ³⁰ 

The Shepherds’ Visit

2:8 Now ³¹  there were shepherds ³²  nearby ³³  living out in the field, keeping guard ³⁴  over their flock at night.

Lukas 2:2

2:2 This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor ³⁵  of Syria.

Titus 3:1-5

Conduct Toward Those Outside the Church

3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and ³⁶  authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work. 3:2 They must not slander ³⁷  anyone, but be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people. 3:3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another. 3:4 ³⁸  But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

[1:20]  ¹ tn The words “is this” are supplied to make a complete sentence in English.

[1:20]  ² tn Or perhaps “the messengers.”

[8:10]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:10]  ⁴ tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[8:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “fell.”

[14:12]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.

[14:12]  sn What is the background for the imagery in vv. 12-15? This whole section (vv. 4b-21) is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other kings of the earth address him in vv. 9ff., he is called “the man” in v. 16, and, according to vv. 19-20, he possesses a physical body. Nevertheless the language of vv. 12-15 has led some to see a dual referent in the taunt song. These verses, which appear to be spoken by other pagan kings to a pagan king (cf. vv. 9-11), contain several titles and motifs that resemble those of Canaanite mythology, including references to Helel son of Shachar, the stars of El, the mountain of assembly, the recesses of Zaphon, and the divine title Most High. Apparently these verses allude to a mythological story about a minor god (Helel son of Shachar) who tried to take over Zaphon, the mountain of the gods. His attempted coup failed and he was hurled down to the underworld. The king of Babylon is taunted for having similar unrealized delusions of grandeur. Some Christians have seen an allusion to the fall of Satan here, but this seems contextually unwarranted (see J. Martin, “Isaiah,” BKCOT, 1061).

[14:12]  ⁷ tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”

[14:12]  ⁸ sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.

[10:18]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply in vv. 18-20 follows from the positive report of the messengers in v. 17.

[10:18]  ¹⁰ tn This is an imperfect tense verb.

[10:18]  ¹¹ tn In Greek, this is a participle and comes at the end of the verse, making it somewhat emphatic.

[10:18]  ¹² tn This is probably best taken as allusion to Isa 14:12; the phrase in common is ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (ek tou ouranou). These exorcisms in Jesus’ name are a picture of Satan’s greater defeat at Jesus’ hands (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1006-7).

[10:2]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:2]  ¹⁴ sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[10:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

[2:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And everyone.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or “hometown” (so CEV).

[2:4]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:4]  ¹⁹ sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

[2:4]  map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

[2:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

[2:4]  ²¹ sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

[2:4]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:4]  ²² sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

[2:4]  ²³ tn Or “family,” “lineage.”

[2:5]  ²⁴ tn The words “He went” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to begin a new sentence in the translation. The Greek sentence is longer and more complex than normal contemporary English usage.

[2:5]  ²⁵ tn Traditionally, “Mary, his betrothed.” Although often rendered in contemporary English as “Mary, who was engaged to him,” this may give the modern reader a wrong impression, since Jewish marriages in this period were typically arranged marriages. The term ἐμνηστευμένῃ (emnhsteumenh) may suggest that the marriage is not yet consummated, not necessarily that they are not currently married. Some mss read “the betrothed to him wife”; others, simply “his wife.” These readings, though probably not original, may give the right sense.

[2:6]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:6]  ²⁷ tn The words “her child” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify what was being delivered. The wording here is like Luke 1:57. Grk “the days for her to give birth were fulfilled.”

[2:7]  ²⁸ sn The strips of cloth (traditionally, “swaddling cloths”) were strips of linen that would be wrapped around the arms and legs of an infant to keep the limbs protected.

[2:7]  ²⁹ tn Or “a feeding trough.”

[2:7]  ³⁰ tn The Greek word κατάλυμα is flexible, and usage in the LXX and NT refers to a variety of places for lodging (see BDAG 521 s.v.). Most likely Joseph and Mary sought lodging in the public accommodations in the city of Bethlehem (see J. Nolland, Luke [WBC], 1:105), which would have been crude shelters for people and animals. However, it has been suggested by various scholars that Joseph and Mary were staying with relatives in Bethlehem (e.g., C. S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 194; B. Witherington, “Birth of Jesus,” DJG, 69-70); if that were so the term would refer to the guest room in the relatives’ house, which would have been filled beyond capacity with all the other relatives who had to journey to Bethlehem for the census.

[2:7]  sn There was no place for them in the inn. There is no drama in how this is told. There is no search for a variety of places to stay or a heartless innkeeper. (Such items are later, nonbiblical embellishments.) Bethlehem was not large and there was simply no other place to stay. The humble surroundings of the birth are ironic in view of the birth’s significance.

[2:8]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:8]  ³² sn Some argue that shepherds were among the culturally despised, but the evidence for this view of shepherds is late, coming from 5th century Jewish materials. December 25 as the celebrated date of Jesus’ birth arose around the time of Constantine (ca. a.d. 306-337), though it is mentioned in material from Hippolytus (a.d. 165-235). Some think that the reason for celebration on this date was that it coincided with the pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia, and Christians could celebrate their own festival at this time without fear of persecution. On the basis of the statement that the shepherds were living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night it is often suggested that Jesus’ birth took place in early spring, since it was only at lambing time that shepherds stood guard over their flocks in the field. This is not absolutely certain, however.

[2:8]  ³³ tn Grk “in that region.”

[2:8]  ³⁴ tn Grk “living in the field (see BDAG 15 s.v. ἀγραυλέω) and guarding their flock.”

[2:2]  ³⁵ tn Or “was a minister of Syria.” This term could simply refer to an administrative role Quirinius held as opposed to being governor (Josephus, Ant. 18.4.2 [18.88]). See also Luke 2:1.

[3:1]  ³⁶ tc Most later witnesses (D² 0278 Ï lat sy) have καί (kai, “and”) after ἀρχαῖς (arcai", “rulers”), though the earliest and best witnesses (א A C D* F G Ψ 33 104 1739 1881) lack the conjunction. Although the καί is most likely not authentic, it has been added in translation due to the requirements of English style. For more discussion, see TCGNT 586.

[3:2]  ³⁷ tn Or “discredit,” “damage the reputation of.”

[3:4]  ³⁸ tn Verses 4-7 are set as poetry in NA²⁶/NA²⁷. These verses probably constitute the referent of the expression “this saying” in v. 8.