LUKE 2:13 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And suddenly a multitude of the heavenly army was with the angel, praising God, and saying,

UST Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven appeared with the other angel. They were all praising God by saying,

BLB And suddenly there came with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:

AICNT And suddenly there was [with the angel][fn] a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

2:13, with the angel: Absent from Latin(b).

OEB Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly Host, praising God, and singing –

2DT Unexpectedly, it happened with the envoy: a mass, a heavenly army, praising God and saying,

WEBBE Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God and saying,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

LSV And suddenly there came with the messenger a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying,

FBV Suddenly many heavenly beings appeared, praising God, saying,

TCNT Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

T4T Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven appeared and joined the other angel. They all praised God, singing/saying,

LEB And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying,

BBE And suddenly there was with the angel a great band of spirits from heaven, giving praise to God, and saying,

Moff Then a host of heaven's army suddenly appeared beside the angel extolling God and saying,

Wymth And immediately there was with the angel a multitude of the army of Heaven praising God and saying,

ASV And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

DRA And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying:

YLT And suddenly there came with the messenger a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying,

Drby And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising [fn]God and saying,

2.13 Elohim

RV And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
(And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host/army praising God, and saying, )

SLT And suddenly was there a multitude with the messenger of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,

Wbstr And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

KJB-1769 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
(And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host/army praising God, and saying, )

KJB-1611 And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heauenly hoste praising God, and saying,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps And straightway, there was with the Angel, a multitude of heauenly souldiers, praysyng God, and saying.
(And straightway, there was with the Angel, a multitude of heavenly soldiers, praising God, and saying.)

Gnva And straightway there was with the Angel a multitude of heauenly souldiers, praising God, and saying,
(And straightway there was with the Angel a multitude of heavenly soldiers, praising God, and saying, )

Cvdl And straight waye there was by the angell a multitude of heauenly hoostes, which praysed God, and sayde:
(And straight way there was by the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts/armies, which praised God, and said:)

TNT And streight waye ther was with the angell a multitude of hevenly sowdiers laudynge God and sayinge:
(And straightway there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly sowdiers lauding God and saying: )

Wycl And sudenli ther was maad with the aungel a multitude of heuenli knyythod, heriynge God,
(And sudenli there was made with the angel a multitude of heavenly knighthood/army, hearinge God,)

Luth Und alsbald war da bei dem Engel die Menge der himmlischen Heerscharen, die lobten GOtt und sprachen:
(And soon what/which there at/in to_him angel the crowd(n) the/of_the heavenly armycharen, the praisedn God and said:)

ClVg Et subito facta est cum angelo multitudo militiæ cælestis laudantium Deum, et dicentium:
(And suddenly facts it_is when/with messenger/angel multitude/crowd military cælestis they_praiseium God, and they_will_sayium: )

UGNT καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐγένετο σὺν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ πλῆθος στρατιᾶς οὐρανίου, αἰνούντων τὸν Θεὸν καὶ λεγόντων,
(kai exaifnaʸs egeneto sun tōi angelōi plaʸthos stratias ouraniou, ainountōn ton Theon kai legontōn,)

SBL-GNT καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐγένετο σὺν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ πλῆθος στρατιᾶς ⸀οὐρανίου αἰνούντων τὸν θεὸν καὶ λεγόντων·
(kai exaifnaʸs egeneto sun tōi angelōi plaʸthos stratias ⸀ouraniou ainountōn ton theon kai legontōn;)

RP-GNT Καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐγένετο σὺν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ πλῆθος στρατιᾶς οὐρανίου, αἰνούντων τὸν θεόν, καὶ λεγόντων,
(Kai exaifnaʸs egeneto sun tōi angelōi plaʸthos stratias ouraniou, ainountōn ton theon, kai legontōn,)

TC-GNT Καὶ [fn]ἐξαίφνης ἐγένετο σὺν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ πλῆθος στρατιᾶς οὐρανίου, αἰνούντων τὸν Θεόν, καὶ λεγόντων,
(Kai exaifnaʸs egeneto sun tōi angelōi plaʸthos stratias ouraniou, ainountōn ton Theon, kai legontōn, )

2:13 εξαιφνης ¦ εξεφνης WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ (from our SR-GNT base).

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

The Birth of Christ

The accounts of the birth of Jesus (Matt 1:18–2:12; Luke 2:1-20) are a study in contrasts. On the one side is the lowliness of the birth. A poor peasant couple makes their way to their ancestral home of Bethlehem to register for a census imposed on them by the oppressive Roman Empire. Their journey is a long and hard one from Galilee, and when they arrive they can find no place of lodging. They are consigned to a place reserved for animals. There is a sense of poverty, rejection, and obscurity. At the birth of the child, announcements are sent not to great kings or to the rich and powerful, but to lowly shepherds watching their flocks in a field.

Yet beside this humble lowliness is a message of unspeakable power and grandeur. The child who is laid in a manger is the Messiah, the long-awaited descendant of King David. He will reign triumphant over the people of Israel and his kingdom will never end. He is the one spoken about by all the prophets. All of history has been pointing forward to its climax in him. A group of wise men from the East come to pay homage to him. And an army of mighty angels comes from heaven to announce his birth.

These contrasts are a foretaste of things to come. In Jesus, the God of Israel and Lord of all the earth has come to visit and to save his people. The Divine One reaches down to meet them where they are. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus will show special concern for the lowly, the poor, the outcast, and sinners. These are the ones he has come to save because they recognize their need for him. They receive the message of salvation with joy and rejoicing.

The contrast between lowliness and exaltation also relates to Jesus’ mission. Though wicked people reject him and put him to death, Jesus is vindicated at his resurrection and exalted to the right hand of God, where he reigns as Lord and Messiah. From there he pours out the Spirit of God to guide and direct his church. Through his life, death, resurrection, and exaltation, Jesus provides forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all those who respond in faith to him.

Passages for Further Study

Matt 1:18–2:12; Luke 2:1-20

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:8–20: Angels announced to shepherds that the Savior was born

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)

2:13a

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host,

¶ Suddenly, a very large group of angels appeared there with the first angel.
¶ A great number of angels from heaven were suddenly there together with the other angel.
¶ Then a very large group of angels from heaven joined the first angel. (NCV)

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host: This clause indicates that immediately after the angel said the words in 2:12, many other angels from heaven were there with him. They suddenly joined the angel there. Other ways to say this are:

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven (NLT)

All at once there was with the angel a great company of the heavenly host (REB)

a great multitude of the heavenly host: The Greek word that the BSB translates as a great multitude means “a very large group.” It describes the phrase heavenly host, which is used as an idiom in this context. It literally means “the army of heaven.” For example:

a great army of heaven’s angels (GNT)

However, in this context the word “army” simply indicates that there were many angels, as in an army. Luke was not using the phrase in a military sense. Here is another way to translate a great multitude of the heavenly host:

a very large group of angels from heaven (NCV)

2:13b

praising God and saying:

They were praising God by saying,
All of them were saying good things about God. They said,

praising God and saying: When the angels appeared, they were praising God for Jesus’ birth. The verb saying introduces what the angels said to praise God. Some ways to show this are:

praising God by saying (GW)

praising God. They said (CEV)

praising God: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as praising God means “to express approval of God, to speak well of God.” In some languages there may be an idiom to express this. It would be good to use an expression that fits with what the angels said in 2:14.

God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as God refers here to the eternal spirit who created everything. He is more powerful than any other spirit, and he is perfectly good and wise. In many languages there will already be an established term for God. If that is not true in your language, here are some ways to translate God:

Use a name or title for God that people in your culture already use.
Use a descriptive term that fits the truth about God that is revealed in the Bible. For example:
Creator
Great Spirit
Ruler of the universe
Use a borrowed word from the national or trade language Bible.

Choose a term that is acceptable to the believers and churches in your area. For more detailed information, see God in the Glossary.

saying: The Greek verb that the BSB translates literally as saying introduces the words that the angels used to praise God. These words are arranged in the form of a poem, and some English versions translate the verb as “sang” (GNT, REB). The Greek verb itself does not indicate that the angels sang the words. However, it also does not indicate that they did not sing them. There are two ways to translate the verb here:

Use a general word such as “say.”
Use a more specific word in your language that describes what the angels said.

Parallel LUKE 2:13

Section 2:8–20: Angels announced to shepherds that the Savior was born

2:13a

2:13b