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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 2 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51
OET (OET-LV) And it_became as the messengers went_away from them into the heaven, the shepherds were_saying to one_another:
We_may_ indeed _pass_through as_far_as Baʸthleʼem/(Bēyt-leḩem), and we_may_see the message this the thing having_become, which the master made_known to_us.
OET (OET-RV) Then as the messengers left them and went up into the sky, the shepherds said to each other, “Well, we’ll certainly go into Bethlehem so we can see what this was about that Yahweh has let us know about.”
In this section some shepherds were taking care of their sheep in fields near Bethlehem. An angel came to them and told them that Christ the Savior had been born that night in Bethlehem. He told them that they would find the baby lying in a feeding box for animals. Then other angels came and praised God. After the angels left, the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found the baby, just as the angel had said they would.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:
Angels tell shepherds about Jesus’ birth and the shepherds visit him
The Shepherds and the Angels (GNT)
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven,
¶ When the angels left the shepherds and went back to heaven,
¶ After the angels had returned to heaven,
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven: This part of the verse is more literally “when the angels went from them to heaven.” It indicates that the angels left the shepherds and went (back) to heaven. The Greek text uses only one verb in this clause. There are two ways to translate the clause:
Use one verb, For example:
When the angels had returned to heaven (NLT)
After the angels had gone back to heaven
Supply a second verb. For example:
After the angels had left them and returned to heaven (REB)
When the angels left them and went back to heaven (NCV)
Translate this clause in a way that is natural in your language.
heaven: Here, the word heaven means “the place where God lives.” See heaven, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.
the shepherds said to one another,
the shepherds said to each other,
the shepherds said among themselves,
the shepherds discussed what the angel said,
the shepherds said to one another: The shepherds discussed what to do and decided together to go to Bethlehem (2:15c). Other ways to translate this part of the verse are:
the shepherds said among themselves
the shepherds said to each other
In some languages it may be more natural to translate 2:15b–c as indirect speech. See the General Comment on 2:15b–c at the end of the notes on 2:15c for an example.
“Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
“Let us(incl) go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has caused us to know about.”
“The Lord sent his angel to tell us(incl) about this baby being born tonight. Let us go to the town of Bethlehem and see him.”
and they decided to go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord had told them about.
Let us go: The form of the Greek verb that the BSB translates as Let us go indicates that the shepherds were suggesting to each other that they should go. They were not asking each other for permission. Another way to say this is:
We should/must go
Use a natural way in your language to talk about a group of people deciding to go somewhere together.
this thing that has happened: The phrase this thing refers to Jesus’ birth. He was the Christ whom God had promised.
which the Lord has made known to us: The clause which the Lord has made known to us refers to the message that God had given to the shepherds through his angel.
In some languages it may be more natural to translate 2:15b–c as indirect speech. For example:
The shepherds agreed together to go to Bethlehem and see the thing that had happened, which the Lord had told them about through the angel.
Note 1 topic: writing-newevent
καὶ ἐγένετο
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἀπʼ αὐτῶν εἰς τόν οὐρανόν οἱ ἄγγελοι οἱ ποιμένες ἐλάλουν πρός ἀλλήλους διέλθωμεν Δή ἕως Βηθλέεμ καί ἴδωμεν τό ῥῆμα τοῦτο τό γεγονός ὅ ὁ Κύριος ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν)
Luke uses this phrase to mark a shift in the story, to what the shepherds did after the angels left. Use a word, phrase, or other method in your language that is natural for this purpose.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive
διέλθωμεν & ἴδωμεν & ἡμῖν
˱we˲_˓may˒_pass_through & ˱we˲_˓may˒_see & ˱to˲_us
The shepherds are speaking to one another, so if your language distinguishes between exclusive and inclusive us, use the inclusive form here.
OET (OET-LV) And it_became as the messengers went_away from them into the heaven, the shepherds were_saying to one_another:
We_may_ indeed _pass_through as_far_as Baʸthleʼem/(Bēyt-leḩem), and we_may_see the message this the thing having_become, which the master made_known to_us.
OET (OET-RV) Then as the messengers left them and went up into the sky, the shepherds said to each other, “Well, we’ll certainly go into Bethlehem so we can see what this was about that Yahweh has let us know about.”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.