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Luke 2:16

in Luke 2

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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

KJV

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

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This verse in Luke 2

Commentary

13 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 397.

How remarkably Scripture weighs the import of each word. For when we behold the flesh of the Lord, we behold the Word, which is the Son. Let not this seem to you a slight example of faith, because of the humble character of the shepherds. For simplicity is sought for, not pride. It follows, And they came in haste. For no one indolently seeks after Christ.

This site's exposition

Let us now go even unto Bethlehem

on Luke 2:15-17

Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass shows the shepherds acting the moment the angels leave, no delay between hearing the word and testing it. They came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger, the same haste Mary showed at 1:39, and the scene matches the angel's sign exactly, swaddling clothes and manger both, the word confirmed by sight. When they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child: unlettered shepherds become the Gospel's first preachers, carrying the news to whoever would listen before a single apostle is called.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Irenaeus

Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 10) · Written before 202.

And the angel of the Lord, he says, appeared to the shepherds, proclaiming joy to them: "For [Luke 2:11, etc.] there is born in the house of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Then [appeared] a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory in the highest to God, and on earth peace, to men of good will." The falsely-called Gnostics say that these angels came from the Ogdoad, and made manifest the descent of the superior Christ.

A commentator

Origen of Alexandria

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 253.

proposed

But because they came in haste, and not with loitering steps, it follows, They found Mary, (i. e. her who had brought Jesus into the, world,) and Joseph, (i. e. the guardian of our Lord's birth,) and the babe lying in the manger, (i. e. the Saviour Himself.) That was the manger which Israel knew not, according to those words of Isaiah, The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib. (Isa. 3:1.)

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Bede

On the Gospel of Luke · Written before 735.

proposed

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. The shepherds hasten to Christ whom they recognize, desiring …

A commentator

Bede

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 735.

proposed

Again, the shepherds of the Lord's flock by contemplating the life of the fathers who went before them, (which preserved the bread of life,) enter as it were the gates of Bethlehem, and find therein none other than the virgin beauty of the Church, that is, Mary; the manly company of spiritual doctors, that is, Joseph; and the lowly coming of Christ contained in the pages of Holy Scripture, that is, the infant child Christ, laid in the manger.

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Luke · Written before 1107.

proposed

Bethlehem means house of bread. And what other house of bread is this but the church, in which that bread is stored? Thus, it is the duty of the rational shepherds to seek the heavenly bread.
6 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

As for the promptness of execution, it is added thirdly: And they came with haste. And this is what is said in Proverbs 9: "Teach a just man, and he will hasten to receive." This haste was a sign of interior promptness, by which they …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And they came with haste,.... In the night, leaving their flocks, to see their incarnate Lord, as Zacchaeus hastened down from the tree to receive the Saviour.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The poverty and meanness in which they found Christ the Lord were no shock to their faith, who themselves knew what it was to live a life of comfortable communion with God in very poor and mean circumstances.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

We read, in these verses — how the birth of the Lord Jesus was first announced to mankind. The birth of a king's son is generally made an occasion of public reveling and rejoicing. But the announcement of the birth of the Prince of Peace was made privately, at midnight, and without anything of worldly pomp and ostentation. Let us mark WHO they were, to whom the tidings first came that Christ was born . They were shepherds abiding in the field near Bethlehem, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
We read, in these verses — how the birth of the Lord Jesus was first announced to mankind. The birth of a king's son is generally made an occasion of public reveling and rejoicing. But the announcement of the birth of the Prince of Peace was made privately, at midnight, and without anything of worldly pomp and ostentation. Let us mark WHO they were, to whom the tidings first came that Christ was born . They were shepherds abiding in the field near Bethlehem, keeping watch over their flocks by night. To shepherds — not to priests and rulers; to shepherds — not to Scribes and Pharisees, an angel appeared, proclaiming, "unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." The saying of James should come into our mind, as we read these words, "Has not God chosen the poor of this world, to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him." (James 2:5.) The lack of money debars no one from spiritual privileges. The things of God's kingdom are often hidden from the great and noble, and revealed to the poor. The busy labor of the hands need not prevent a man being favored with special communion with God. Moses was keeping sheep, Gideon was threshing wheat, Elisha was ploughing, when they were each honored by direct calls and revelations from God. Let us resist the suggestion of Satan, that religion is not for the working man. The weak of the world, are often called before the mighty. The last are often first — and the first last. Let us mark, secondly — the LANGUAGE used by the angel in announcing Christ's birth to the shepherds. He said, "I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." We need not wonder at these words. The spiritual darkness which had covered the earth for four thousand years, was about to be rolled away.

Modern Voices1 voice

The shepherds had found their Shepherd.

The words behind it

18 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Matthew 2:11On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.18 worksLuke 19:32So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them.8 worksLuke 2:12And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”7 worksLuke 2:7And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.6 worksLuke 22:13So they went and found it just as Jesus had told them. And they prepared the Passover.4 worksLuke 1:39In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah,3 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Matthew 8:20Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”3 worksLuke 19:6So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully.2 worksEcclesiastes 9:10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Luke 2:7

    And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

    it leads to

    • Galatians 4:4

      But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

    • 2 Corinthians 8:9

      For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

    • John 1:14

      The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

    • Isaiah 53:2–3

      He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.

    • Matthew 1:25

      But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.

  • Through

    Luke 2:12

    And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 7:14

      Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

    • Isaiah 53:1–2

      Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

    • Isaiah 7:11

      “Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”

Where this verse is studied

About Luke

The Return of the Prodigal Son, Gustave Doré. Public domain.
The Return of the Prodigal Son, Gustave Doré. Public domain.
Luke: the study guide →Read Luke 2 →
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 2; G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man, Part II Ch. 1 "The God in the Cave"; Irenaeus, Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 10); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke.

Read on in Luke 2 →