Luke 2:14

[Truth light]

Hello,
Just read this verse and i like its meaning.

Can you explain this verse regarding exegesis and linguistics :

King James 2000 Bible
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

New International Version
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Thanks in advance

 

[archer75]

Are you asking about the onvious difference between translations?

 

[SkyWriting]

Hello,
Just read this verse and i like its meaning.

Can you explain this verse regarding exegesis and linguistics :

King James 2000 Bible
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

New International Version
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Thanks in advance

14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”

 

[Greg J.]

Two more (more literal) translations:

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:14, 1984 NASB)

δόξα εν υψίστοις θεώ και επί γης
Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth

ειρήνη εν ανθρώποις ευδοκία
peace, among men with benevolence.

(Luke 2:14, ABP)

The exegesis of this verse is roughly how hearers (the shepherds) at the time would have understood it. To understand that in a scholarly way, a variety of study is required. The most complete existing explanations will be found in commentaries for the book of Luke, although each is just the interpretation of the evidence by the writer. By consulting several commentaries, you may find there is not much disagreement about it, though.

 

[archer75]

ειρήνη εν ανθρώποις ευδοκία
peace, among men with benevolence.

(Luke 2:14, ABP)

Where does the "with" come from?

 

[Greg J.]

From the Greek expert translator who believed that it was implied by the other words. It's part of the process of translating it into English.

 

[archer75]

From the Greek expert translator who believed that it was implied by the other words. It's part of the process of translating it into English.

Okay. Then what's the sense? Is the peace to be among men who "have" benevolence, or is the peace 'with' benevolence?

 

[Greg J.]

I'm not a Greek expert. Personally, I'd look at the NASB to see if it answers a question like that for me. If not, then the NIV. If that didn't do it, then personally, I would go to the NLT, but it might be safer to go to commentaries at that point. Or learn more Greek.

 

[archer75]

I'm not a Greek expert. Personally, I'd look at the NASB to see if it answers a question like that for me. If not, then the NIV. If that didn't do it, then personally, I would go to the NLT, but it might be safer to go to commentaries at that point. Or learn more Greek.

Fair enough. Kind of interesting. I can see why this verse was brought up.

 

[Truth light]

Thanks for your responses.

I am confused about peace on earth; is it given only to those who earned God pleasure, as in NIV or good will is general as i understood from KJB.

Thanks alot.

 

[Romansthruphilemon]

I think the NIV corrupts the meaning and the KJV is correct. Good will from God toward men.

2 Corinthians 5:18,19 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling THE WORLD unto himself, NOT IMPUTING THEIR TRESPASSES UNTO THEM; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

 

[outlawState]

I'm not a Greek expert, but I can see that the issue is to do with ambiguity of the case of the Greek word for "goodwill" - εὐδοκία eudokia, which occurs after the noun ἀνθρώποις, which is dative (nominative = ἄνθρωπος).

The Greek reads "εἰρήνη ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία."

εὐδοκία can be associated with ἀνθρώποις because εὐδοκία can be seen as dative, and it occurs after ἀνθρώποις. So the meaning would be "to the men [with / who are the beneficiaries of God's] good will / desire."

But the KJV seem to have opted to construe εὐδοκία as nominative, and link it to back to
εἰρήνη (eirēnē) which can also be nominative or dative, but presumptively nominative, and occurs before ἐν in the word ordering (en - meaning "towards.").

In point of word order, the KJV is plainly at variance with the Greek ordering of words. The Greek ordering is

"peace to men [having] good will/satisfaction/desire."

I suppose "peace to the men [having] God's good will" is a reasonable rendering, whereas I would have supposed that "peace to men [and] good will" would have required a conjunction (kai, te).

However the meaning is surely given by the words themselves. If God expresses peace to someone, they are in receipt of his good will by that very fact alone, so to the King James rendering is wrong and does not convey the sense that God's peace is veritable sign of his good will.

 

[St_Worm2]

This might be helpful:

The angels ascribed glory to God in the highest; that is, heaven. On earth, the lowest place in comparison with heaven, they proclaimed peace among men with whom He is pleased. The peace of which the angels spoke is the peace with God that results from salvation (Romans 5:1; cf. Acts 10:36). Through faith in the Messiah, the “Prince of Peace” God and sinners are reconciled (Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19; Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:20-22).

The peace of which the angels spoke is only for men with whom God is pleased. That does not, of course, mean that He gives salvation to those who please Him by their good works, since salvation is “not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Greek text literally reads, “men of His good pleasure.” As Marshall explains, “The phrase means ‘those upon whom God’s will/favour rests’, and expresses the thought of God’s free choice of those whom he wills to favour and save” (The Gospel of Luke, The New International Greek Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978], 112). Salvation peace belongs to those to whom God is pleased to give it; it is not a reward for those who have good will, but a gracious gift to those who are the objects of God’s good will. ~MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2009). Commentary on Luke 1–5 (p. 161). Chicago: Moody Publishers.​