VERSE STUDY • KJV

Luke 2:8-20

⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶ And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they had seen [it], they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all they that heard [it] wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, and pondered [them] in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶ And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they had seen [it], they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all they that heard [it] wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, and pondered [them] in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

⁸ And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. ⁹ Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: ¹¹ Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! ¹² And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!” ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ After they had seen the Child, they spread the message they had received about Him. ¹⁸ And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them.

WEB World English Bible

⁸ There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. ⁹ Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. ¹¹ For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.” ¹³ Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.” ¹⁵ It happened, when the angels went away from them into the sky, that the shepherds said one to another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough. ¹⁷ When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.

ASV American Standard Version

⁸ And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: ¹¹ for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶ And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child. ¹⁸ And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

⁸ And there were shepherds in the same region, lodging in the field, and keeping the night-watches over their flock, ⁹ and lo, a messenger of the Lord stood over them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they feared a great fear. ¹⁰ And the messenger said to them, ‘Fear not, for lo, I bring you good news of great joy, that shall be to all the people— ¹¹ because there was born to you to-day a Saviour—who is Christ the Lord—in the city of David, ¹² and this is to you the sign: Ye shall find a babe wrapped up, lying in the manger.’ ¹³ And suddenly there came with the messenger a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ ‘Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men—good will.’ ¹⁵ And it came to pass, when the messengers were gone away from them to the heavens, that the men, the shepherds, said unto one another, ‘We may go over indeed unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that hath come to pass, that the Lord did make known to us.’ ¹⁶ And they came, having hasted, and found both Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger, ¹⁷ and having seen, they made known abroad concerning the saying spoken to them concerning the child. ¹⁸ And all who heard, did wonder concerning the things spoken by the shepherds unto them; ¹⁹ and Mary was preserving all these things, pondering in her heart; ²⁰ and the shepherds turned back, glorifying and praising God, for all those things they heard and saw, as it was spoken unto them.

Surrounding context — Luke 2

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen [it], they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard [it] wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered [them] in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present [him] to the Lord;

23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

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HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

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