Luke 2:13-14

2:13 Suddenly ¹  a vast, heavenly army ²  appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

2:14 “Glory ³  to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among people ⁴  with whom he is pleased!” ⁵ 

Luke 2:20

2:20 So ⁶  the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising ⁷  God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told. ⁸ 

Luke 1:46

Mary’s Hymn of Praise

1:46 And Mary ⁹  said, ¹⁰ 

“My soul exalts ¹¹  the Lord, ¹² 

Luke 1:64

1:64 Immediately ¹³  Zechariah’s ¹⁴  mouth was opened and his tongue ¹⁵  released, ¹⁶  and he spoke, blessing God.

Luke 1:68

1:68 “Blessed ¹⁷  be the Lord God of Israel,

because he has come to help ¹⁸  and has redeemed ¹⁹  his people.

Psalms 32:11--33:1

32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!

Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright! ²⁰ 

Psalm 33 ²¹ 

33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!

It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.

Psalms 105:1-3

Psalm 105 ²² 

105:1 Give thanks to the Lord!

Call on his name!

Make known his accomplishments among the nations!

105:2 Sing to him!

Make music to him!

Tell about all his miraculous deeds!

105:3 Boast about his holy name!

Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

Psalms 135:19-20

135:19 O family ²³  of Israel, praise the Lord!

O family of Aaron, praise the Lord!

135:20 O family of Levi, praise the Lord!

You loyal followers ²⁴  of the Lord, praise the Lord!

[2:13]  ¹ tn Grk “And suddenly.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:13]  ² tn Grk “a multitude of the armies of heaven.”

[2:14]  ³ sn Glory here refers to giving honor to God.

[2:14]  ⁴ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") referring to both males and females.

[2:14]  ⁵ tc Most witnesses (א² B² L Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï sy bo) have ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία (en anqrwpoi" eudokia, “good will among people”) instead of ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκίας (en anqrwpoi" eudokia", “among people with whom he is pleased”), a reading attested by א* A B* D W pc (sa). Most of the Itala witnesses and some other versional witnesses reflect a Greek text which has the genitive εὐδοκίας but drops the preposition ἐν. Not only is the genitive reading better attested, but it is more difficult than the nominative. “The meaning seems to be, not that divine peace can be bestowed only where human good will is already present, but that at the birth of the Saviour God’s peace rests on those whom he has chosen in accord with his good pleasure” (TCGNT 111).

[2:20]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the topic.

[2:20]  ⁷ sn The mention of glorifying and praising God is the second note of praise in this section; see Luke 2:13-14.

[2:20]  ⁸ tn Grk “just as [it] had been spoken to them.” This has been simplified in the English translation by making the prepositional phrase (“to them”) the subject of the passive verb.

[1:46]  ⁹ tc A few witnesses, especially Latin mss, (a b l* Ir^arm Or^lat mss Nic) read “Elizabeth” here, since she was just speaking, but the ms evidence overwhelmingly supports “Mary” as the speaker.

[1:46]  ¹⁰ sn The following passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:46]  ¹¹ tn Or “lifts up the Lord in praise.”

[1:46]  ¹² sn This psalm (vv. 46-55) is one of the few praise psalms in the NT. Mary praises God and then tells why both in terms of his care for her (vv. 46-49) and for others, including Israel (vv. 50-55). Its traditional name, the “Magnificat,” comes from the Latin for the phrase My soul magnifies the Lord at the hymn’s start.

[1:64]  ¹³ tn Grk “And immediately.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:64]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:64]  ¹⁵ sn The mention of both mouth and tongue here is a figure called zeugma and emphasizes that the end of the temporary judgment came instantly and fully upon Zechariah’s expression of faith in naming the child. He had learned to trust and obey God during his short period of silence. He had learned from his trial.

[1:64]  ¹⁶ tn “Released” is implied; in the Greek text both στόμα (stoma) and γλῶσσα (glwssa) are subjects of ἀνεῴχθη (anewcqh), but this would be somewhat redundant in English.

[1:68]  ¹⁷ sn The traditional name of this psalm, the “Benedictus,” comes from the Latin wording of the start of the hymn (“Blessed be…”).

[1:68]  ¹⁸ sn The verb come to help can refer to a visit, but can also connote concern or assistance (L&N 85.11).

[1:68]  ¹⁹ tn Or “has delivered”; Grk “has accomplished redemption.”

[32:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “all [you] pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[33:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 33. In this hymn the psalmist praises the Lord as the sovereign creator and just ruler of the world who protects and vindicates those who fear him.

[105:1]  ²² sn Psalm 105. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God because he delivered his people from Egypt in fulfillment of his covenantal promises to Abraham. A parallel version of vv. 1-15 appears in 1 Chr 16:8-22.

[135:19]  ²³ tn Heb “house” (here and in the next two lines).

[135:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “fearers.”