Luke 2:14

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 2:14

On earth peace . At that juncture, strange to say, the Roman empire was at peace with all the world, and, as was ever the case in these brief rare moments of profound peace, the gates of the temple of Janus at Rome were closed, there being, as they supposed, no need for the presence of the god to guide and lead their conquering armies. Not a few have supposed that the angel choir in these words hymned this earthly peace. So Milton in his 'Ode to the Nativity'— "No war or battle's sound ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 2:14

Glory to God - Praise be to God, or honor be to God. That is, the praise of redeeming man is due to God. The plan of redemption will bring glory to God, and is designed to express his glory. This it does by evincing his love to people, his mercy, his condescension, and his regard to the honor of his law and the stability of his own government. It is the highest expression of his love and mercy. Nowhere, so far as we can see, could his glory be more strikingly exhibited than in giving his... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Luke 2:13-14

Luke 2:13-14 . And suddenly there was with the angel, &c. The welcome news was no sooner published, than a multitude of heavenly beings were heard celebrating, in songs and hymns divine, the praises of God, on account of his unspeakable mercy and love to men; and saying, Glory to God in the highest, &c. The shouts of a multitude are generally broken into short sentences, and are commonly elliptic; which is the cause of some ambiguity in these words, which may be understood in... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Luke 2:1-20

8. Shepherds visit the stable (Luke 2:1-20)Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth in the north of Palestine (see Luke 1:26-27), but the town to which they belonged according to their ancestry was Bethlehem, the birthplace of their forefather David. When the government issued an order that all people were to return to their ancestral town for a census (probably for taxation purposes), Joseph and Mary made the journey to Bethlehem. The town was so overcrowded with travellers returning for the census... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Luke 2:14

Glory. Supply the Ellipsis: [be] to God. Compare Luke 19:38 . on earth peace. But man murdered "the Prince of peace", and now vainly talks about "Peace". on. Greek. epi. App-104 . earth. Greek. ge . App-124 . good will toward men. All the texts read "among men of good pleasure", reading eudokias instead of eudokia. But the sense is the same, as the "good pleasure" is that of Jehovah alone = among men of [His] good pleasure: See Luke 12:32 , "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Luke 2:14

Luke 2:14. Glory to God in the highest, &c.— This verse is very differently understood, and the original is certainly capable of different senses. Some choose to render it, Glory to God in the highest, that is to say, in heaven,—and on earth; peace, yea, favour towards men. Others have given as the sense of it, that the good will or favour which is now shewn to men, is the glory to God in the highest, and is the peace and happiness of those who dwell on earth: which is indeed an important... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Luke 2:14

14. Glory, c.—brief but transporting hymn—not only in articulate human speech, for our benefit, but in tunable measure, in the form of a Hebrew parallelism of two complete clauses, and a third one only amplifying the second, and so without a connecting "and." The "glory to God," which the new-born "Saviour" was to bring, is the first note of this sublime hymn: to this answers, in the second clause, the "peace on earth," of which He was to be "the Prince" ( :-) —probably sung responsively by the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 2:1-52

D. The birth and early life of Jesus ch. 2Luke followed the same pattern of events with Jesus’ birth and early life as he did for those of John. His purpose was to compare and contrast these two important individuals. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 2:5-52

II. THE BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD OF JESUS 1:5-2:52This section contains material unique in Luke. The only repeated statement occurs in Luke 2:39 and Matthew 2:23. Other unique features are the way Luke alternated the reader’s attention between John and Jesus, and the joy that several individuals expressed (Luke 1:46-55; Luke 1:68-79; Luke 2:14; Luke 2:29-32). [Note: For studies of the structure of this passage, see Robert C. Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts , 1:15-20; R. E. Brown, The... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 2:8-20

2. The announcement to the shepherds 2:8-20There is great theological significance in this familiar passage. It comes through mainly in the angel’s words and in the symbolism of what happened."In Luke 2:8-14 we have a third annunciation scene, which follows the same pattern as the previous two: the appearance of an angel, a response of fear, the command not to fear, the announcement of a birth that brings joy. In this case, however, the announcement is not to a parent of the child to be born,... read more

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