Psalms 19:1

Psalm 19 ¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; ² 

the sky displays his handiwork. ³ 

Psalms 89:5

89:5 O Lord, the heavens ⁴  praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ⁵ 

Psalms 148:1-4

Psalm 148 ⁶ 

148:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the sky!

Praise him in the heavens!

148:2 Praise him, all his angels! ⁷ 

Praise him, all his heavenly assembly! ⁸ 

148:3 Praise him, O sun and moon!

Praise him, all you shiny stars! ⁹ 

148:4 Praise him, O highest heaven,

and you waters above the sky! ¹⁰ 

Luke 2:13-14

2:13 Suddenly ¹¹  a vast, heavenly army ¹²  appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

2:14 “Glory ¹³  to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among people ¹⁴  with whom he is pleased!” ¹⁵ 

Luke 15:10

15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels ¹⁶  over one sinner who repents.”

[19:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 19. The psalmist praises God for his self-revelation in the heavens and in the Mosaic law. The psalmist concludes with a prayer, asking the Lord to keep him from sinning and to approve of his thoughts and words.

[19:1]  ² sn God’s glory refers here to his royal majesty and power.

[19:1]  ³ tn Heb “and the work of his hands the sky declares.” The participles emphasize the ongoing testimony of the heavens/sky.

[89:5]  ⁴ tn As the following context makes clear, the personified “heavens” here stand by metonymy for the angelic beings that surround God’s heavenly throne.

[89:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the assembly of the holy ones.” The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3), but here it refers to God’s heavenly assembly and the angels that surround his throne (see vv. 6-7).

[148:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 148. The psalmist calls upon all creation to praise the Lord, for he is the creator and sovereign king of the world.

[148:2]  ⁷ tn Or “heavenly messengers.”

[148:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “all his host.”

[148:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “stars of light.”

[148:4]  ¹⁰ sn The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. See also Ps 104:3. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 47.

[2:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And suddenly.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:13]  ¹² tn Grk “a multitude of the armies of heaven.”

[2:14]  ¹³ sn Glory here refers to giving honor to God.

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

[2:14]  ¹⁵ 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).

[15:10]  ¹⁶ sn The whole of heaven is said to rejoice. Joy in the presence of God’s angels is a way of referring to God’s joy as well without having to name him explicitly. Contemporary Judaism tended to refer to God indirectly where possible out of reverence or respect for the divine name.