Revelation 1:20

1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: ¹  The seven stars are the angels ²  of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Revelation 8:10

8:10 Then ³  the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky; ⁴  it landed ⁵  on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

Isaiah 14:12

14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,

O shining one, son of the dawn! ⁶ 

You have been cut down to the ground,

O conqueror ⁷  of the nations! ⁸ 

Luke 10:18

10:18 So ⁹  he said to them, “I saw ¹⁰  Satan fall ¹¹  like lightning ¹²  from heaven.

Luke 10:2

10:2 He ¹³  said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ¹⁴  to send out ¹⁵  workers into his harvest.

Luke 2:3-8

2:3 Everyone ¹⁶  went to his own town ¹⁷  to be registered. 2:4 So ¹⁸  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ¹⁹  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ²⁰  of David called Bethlehem, ²¹  because he was of the house ²²  and family line ²³  of David. 2:5 He went ²⁴  to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, ²⁵  and who was expecting a child. 2:6 While ²⁶  they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ²⁷  2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth ²⁸  and laid him in a manger, ²⁹  because there was no place for them in the inn. ³⁰ 

The Shepherds’ Visit

2:8 Now ³¹  there were shepherds ³²  nearby ³³  living out in the field, keeping guard ³⁴  over their flock at night.

Luke 2:2

2:2 This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor ³⁵  of Syria.

Luke 3:1-5

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, ³⁶  when Pontius Pilate ³⁷  was governor of Judea, and Herod ³⁸  was tetrarch ³⁹  of Galilee, and his brother Philip ⁴⁰  was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ⁴¹  was tetrarch of Abilene, 3:2 during the high priesthood ⁴²  of Annas and Caiaphas, the word ⁴³  of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ⁴⁴  3:3 He ⁴⁵  went into all the region around the Jordan River, ⁴⁶  preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴⁷ 

3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice ⁴⁸  of one shouting in the wilderness: ⁴⁹ 

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ⁵⁰  his paths straight.

3:5 Every valley will be filled, ⁵¹ 

and every mountain and hill will be brought low,

and the crooked will be made straight,

and the rough ways will be made smooth,

[1:20]  ¹ tn The words “is this” are supplied to make a complete sentence in English.

[1:20]  ² tn Or perhaps “the messengers.”

[8:10]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:10]  ⁴ tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[8:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “fell.”

[14:12]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.

[14:12]  ⁷ tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”

[14:12]  ⁸ sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.

[10:18]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply in vv. 18-20 follows from the positive report of the messengers in v. 17.

[10:18]  ¹⁰ tn This is an imperfect tense verb.

[10:18]  ¹¹ tn In Greek, this is a participle and comes at the end of the verse, making it somewhat emphatic.

[10:18]  ¹² tn This is probably best taken as allusion to Isa 14:12; the phrase in common is ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (ek tou ouranou). These exorcisms in Jesus’ name are a picture of Satan’s greater defeat at Jesus’ hands (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1006-7).

[10:2]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:2]  ¹⁴ sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[10:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

[2:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And everyone.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or “hometown” (so CEV).

[2:4]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:4]  ¹⁹ sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

[2:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

[2:4]  ²¹ sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

[2:4]  ²² sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

[2:4]  ²³ tn Or “family,” “lineage.”

[2:5]  ²⁴ tn The words “He went” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to begin a new sentence in the translation. The Greek sentence is longer and more complex than normal contemporary English usage.

[2:5]  ²⁵ tn Traditionally, “Mary, his betrothed.” Although often rendered in contemporary English as “Mary, who was engaged to him,” this may give the modern reader a wrong impression, since Jewish marriages in this period were typically arranged marriages. The term ἐμνηστευμένῃ (emnhsteumenh) may suggest that the marriage is not yet consummated, not necessarily that they are not currently married. Some mss read “the betrothed to him wife”; others, simply “his wife.” These readings, though probably not original, may give the right sense.

[2:6]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And it happened that while.” 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.

[2:6]  ²⁷ tn The words “her child” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify what was being delivered. The wording here is like Luke 1:57. Grk “the days for her to give birth were fulfilled.”

[2:7]  ²⁸ sn The strips of cloth (traditionally, “swaddling cloths”) were strips of linen that would be wrapped around the arms and legs of an infant to keep the limbs protected.

[2:7]  ²⁹ tn Or “a feeding trough.”

[2:7]  ³⁰ tn The Greek word κατάλυμα is flexible, and usage in the LXX and NT refers to a variety of places for lodging (see BDAG 521 s.v.). Most likely Joseph and Mary sought lodging in the public accommodations in the city of Bethlehem (see J. Nolland, Luke [WBC], 1:105), which would have been crude shelters for people and animals. However, it has been suggested by various scholars that Joseph and Mary were staying with relatives in Bethlehem (e.g., C. S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 194; B. Witherington, “Birth of Jesus,” DJG, 69-70); if that were so the term would refer to the guest room in the relatives’ house, which would have been filled beyond capacity with all the other relatives who had to journey to Bethlehem for the census.

[2:8]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:8]  ³² sn Some argue that shepherds were among the culturally despised, but the evidence for this view of shepherds is late, coming from 5th century Jewish materials. December 25 as the celebrated date of Jesus’ birth arose around the time of Constantine (ca. a.d. 306-337), though it is mentioned in material from Hippolytus (a.d. 165-235). Some think that the reason for celebration on this date was that it coincided with the pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia, and Christians could celebrate their own festival at this time without fear of persecution. On the basis of the statement that the shepherds were living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night it is often suggested that Jesus’ birth took place in early spring, since it was only at lambing time that shepherds stood guard over their flocks in the field. This is not absolutely certain, however.

[2:8]  ³³ tn Grk “in that region.”

[2:8]  ³⁴ tn Grk “living in the field (see BDAG 15 s.v. ἀγραυλέω) and guarding their flock.”

[2:2]  ³⁵ tn Or “was a minister of Syria.” This term could simply refer to an administrative role Quirinius held as opposed to being governor (Josephus, Ant. 18.4.2 [18.88]). See also Luke 2:1.

[3:1]  ³⁶ tn Or “Emperor Tiberius” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[3:1]  ³⁷ sn The rule of Pontius Pilate is also described by Josephus, J. W. 2.9.2-4 (2.169-177) and Ant. 18.3.1 (18.55-59).

[3:1]  ³⁸ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He ruled from 4 b.c.-a.d. 39, sharing the rule of his father’s realm with his two brothers. One brother, Archelaus (Matt 2:22) was banished in a.d. 6 and died in a.d. 18; the other brother, Herod Philip (mentioned next) died in a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ³⁹ sn A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage.

[3:1]  ⁴⁰ sn Philip refers to Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and brother of Herod Antipas. Philip ruled as tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis from 4 b.c.-a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ⁴¹ sn Nothing else is known about Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.

[3:2]  ⁴² sn Use of the singular high priesthood to mention two figures is unusual but accurate, since Annas was the key priest from a.d. 6-15 and then his relatives were chosen for many of the next several years. After two brief tenures by others, his son-in-law Caiaphas came to power and stayed there until a.d. 36.

[3:2]  ⁴³ tn The term translated “word” here is not λόγος (logos) but ῥῆμα (rJhma), and thus could refer to the call of the Lord to John to begin ministry.

[3:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “desert.”

[3:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:3]  ⁴⁶ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁴⁷ sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it (Luke 3:10-14).

[3:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “A voice.”

[3:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the LXX. The MT favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the LXX takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT while certain rabbinic texts favor the LXX (see D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:290-91). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [NAC], 129; I. H. Marshall, Luke [NIGTC], 136; NIV, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, REB).

[3:4]  ⁵⁰ tn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poiew) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.

[3:5]  ⁵¹ sn The figurative language of this verse speaks of the whole creation preparing for the arrival of a major figure, so all obstacles to his approach are removed.