Proverbs 17:22

17:22 A cheerful heart ¹  brings good healing, ² 

but a crushed spirit ³  dries up the bones. ⁴ 

Proverbs 25:25

25:25 Like cold water to a weary person, ⁵ 

so is good news from a distant land. ⁶ 

Psalms 89:15

89:15 How blessed are the people who worship you! ⁷ 

O Lord, they experience your favor. ⁸ 

Luke 2:10-19

2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, ⁹  for I proclaim to you good news ¹⁰  that brings great joy to all the people: 2:11 Today ¹¹  your Savior is born in the city ¹²  of David. ¹³  He is Christ ¹⁴  the Lord. 2:12 This ¹⁵  will be a sign ¹⁶  for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹⁷  2:13 Suddenly ¹⁸  a vast, heavenly army ¹⁹  appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

2:14 “Glory ²⁰  to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among people ²¹  with whom he is pleased!” ²² 

2:15 When ²³  the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem ²⁴  and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord ²⁵  has made known to us.” 2:16 So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. ²⁶  2:17 When ²⁷  they saw him, ²⁸  they related what they had been told ²⁹  about this child, 2:18 and all who heard it were astonished ³⁰  at what the shepherds said. 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean. ³¹ 

[17:22]  ¹ sn Heb “a heart of rejoicing”; KJV “a merry heart”; NAB, NASB “a joyful heart.” This attributive genitive refers to the mind or psyche. A happy and healthy outlook on life brings healing.

[17:22]  ² tc The word “healing” is a hapax legomenon; some have suggested changes, such as to Arabic jihatu (“face”) or to גְּוִיָּה (gÿviah, “body”) as in the Syriac and Tg. Prov 17:22, but the MT makes sense as it is and should be retained.

[17:22]  ³ sn The “crushed spirit” refers to one who is depressed (cf. NAB “a depressed spirit”). “Crushed” is figurative (an implied comparison) for the idea that one’s psyche or will to go on is beaten down by circumstances.

[17:22]  ⁴ sn The “bones” figuratively represent the whole body encased in a boney framework (metonymy of subject). “Fat bones” in scripture means a healthy body (3:8; 15:30; 16:24), but “dried up” bones signify unhealthiness and lifelessness (cf. Ezek 37:1-4).

[25:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “a weary [or, faint] soul” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, ASV, NRSV “a thirsty soul,” but “soul” here refers to the whole person.

[25:25]  ⁶ sn The difficulty of getting news of any kind from a distant land made its reception all the more delightful when it was good (e.g., Gen 45:27; Prov 15:30).

[89:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “who know the shout.” “Shout” here refers to the shouts of the Lord’s worshipers (see Pss 27:6; 33:3; 47:5).

[89:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the light of your face they walk.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; Dan 9:17).

[2:10]  ⁹ tn Grk “behold.”

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “I evangelize to you great joy.”

[2:11]  ¹¹ sn The Greek word for today (σήμερον, shmeron) occurs eleven times in the Gospel of Luke (2:11; 4:21; 5:26; 12:28; 13:32-33; 19:5, 9; 22:34, 61; 23:43) and nine times in Acts. Its use, especially in passages such as 2:11, 4:21, 5:26; 19:5, 9, signifies the dawning of the era of messianic salvation and the fulfillment of the plan of God. Not only does it underscore the idea of present fulfillment in Jesus’ ministry, but it also indicates salvific fulfillment present in the church (cf. Acts 1:6; 3:18; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:412; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 873).

[2:11]  ¹² tn Or “town.” See the note on “city” in v. 4.

[2:11]  ¹³ tn This is another indication of a royal, messianic connection.

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:12]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And this.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:12]  ¹⁶ sn The sign functions for the shepherds like Elizabeth’s conception served for Mary in 1:36.

[2:12]  ¹⁷ tn Or “a feeding trough,” see Luke 2:7.

[2:13]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And suddenly.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:13]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “a multitude of the armies of heaven.”

[2:14]  ²⁰ sn Glory here refers to giving honor to God.

[2:14]  ²¹ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") referring to both males and females.

[2:14]  ²² 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).

[2:15]  ²³ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:15]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:15]  ²⁵ sn Note how although angels delivered the message, it was the Lord whose message is made known, coming through them.

[2:16]  ²⁶ tn Or “a feeding trough.”

[2:17]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:17]  ²⁸ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[2:17]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the word which had been spoken to them.”

[2:18]  ³⁰ tn Grk “marveled.” It is a hard word to translate with one term in this context. There is a mixture of amazement and pondering at work in considering the surprising events here. See Luke 1:21, 63; 2:33.

[2:19]  ³¹ tn The term συμβάλλουσα (sumballousa) suggests more than remembering. She is trying to put things together here (Josephus, Ant. 2.5.3 [2.72]). The words “what they might mean” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.