Luke 2:9

Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

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.

ASV

And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

YLT

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.

DBT

And lo, an angel of [the] Lord was there by them, and [the] glory of [the] Lord shone around them, and they feared [with] great fear.

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Commentary voices

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Voices4

On this verse

(ubi sup.) It was in a mystery that the Angel appeared to the shepherds while they were watching, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, implying that they are thought worthy above the rest to see sublime things who take a watchful care of their faithful flocks; and while they themselves are piously watching over them, the Divine grace shines widely round about them.

Gregory the Dialogist· Catena Aurea by Aquinas, 604patristic

Related commentary

And lo, the angel of the Lord,....

John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)reformed

The glory of the Lord - This is the same as a great glory - that is, a splendid appearance or light. The word glory is often the same as light, 1Co 15:41; Luk 9:31; Act 22:11. The words Lord and God are often used to denote greatness or intensity. Thus, trees of God mean great trees; hills of God, high or lofty hills, etc. So the glory of the Lord here means an exceedingly great or bright luminous appearance perhaps not unlike what Paul saw on the way to Damascus.

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

That they might be sure it was an angel from heaven, they saw and heard the glory of the Lord round about them; such as made the night as bright as day, such a glory as used to attend God's appearance, a heavenly glory, or an exceedingly great glory, such as they could not bear the dazzling lustre of.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

Voices on this verse

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Rabbinic commentary

How the Hebraic tradition has read this verse — and Marcus Brown’s own reading of it.

Cross-references

31 linked verses

The verses this one reaches12

Isaiah 60:1
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
Hebrews 1:14
Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
John 1:51
Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
1 Kings 8:11
so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
Revelation 18:1
After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory.
Acts 27:23
For just last night an angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, stood beside me
Genesis 28:17
And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”
Acts 12:7
Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
Acts 26:13–14
About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.
Luke 1:12
When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and gripped with fear.
Hebrews 1:6
And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”

19 more linked verses are grouped by book below ↓

Cross-references

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The quotation web

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Original language

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Around this verse

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

Featured studyThe Canticles — the Four Songs of Luke 1–2This study walks through this verse.

The Return of the Prodigal Son — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Luke — Luke's 'orderly account' (1:3) follows Jesus from Bethlehem through the long travel narrative to Jerusalem and the Emmaus road.

Canon: New Testament
Author: Luke, beloved physician (Col 4:14), travel-companion of Paul
Date: c. AD 60–62

More cross-references19 further linked verses, grouped by book▾ open

Every other verse the study tradition links to this one, in the Bible’s own order. The first links in each book carry a line of their text; every reference opens its full verse page.

Exodus3

Exodus 40:34

Judges1

Judges 6:11Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in…

Isaiah3

Isaiah 40:5

Ezekiel1

Ezekiel 3:23So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory…

Matthew1

Matthew 1:20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to…

Luke3

Luke 24:4

John1

John 12:41Isaiah said these things because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.

Acts2

2 Corinthians1

2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine…

1 Timothy1

1 Timothy 3:16By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh,…

Hebrews1

Hebrews 12:21The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

Revelation1

Revelation 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth…

Cross-references are drawn from classic Bible study tools and open, shareable Bible data.

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
leads to
- 2 Corinthians 4:6
  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Ephesians 4:22–24
  to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
- Romans 12:2
  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of…
- 2 Corinthians 4:4
  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Through
Isaiah 60:1
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
leads to
- Ephesians 5:14
  So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- Ephesians 5:8
  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- John 8:12
  Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- Isaiah 52:1–2
  Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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