Luke 2:16-20, annotated

The bolded scriptural citation will take you to additional translations. The entire chapter is included to provide context. 

 

Information about the meaning the original Greek of what seem to be key words is provided in blue.  

 

Collections of or meditations on scriptures dealing with principles similar to those addressed in this scripture are hyperlinked after the information about the original Hebrew.

 

Excerpts collected in yellow  at the end of this post tell us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him. 

 

Excerpts collected in green  at the end of this post tell us about something God wants us to do. 

 

Luke 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.

 

And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

 

Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.  

When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

went = ἔρχομαι = erchomai  Blue Letter Bible  denoting either to come, or to go; signifies the act, in contrast with heko, which stresses the arrival; to come from one place to another; to come into being, arise, come forth, show itself, find place or influence; to come to a thing; to go;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  start, set out; come or go; to go a journey; any kind of motion 

in haste = σπεύδω = speudō   Blue Letter Bible  earnestly desiring;  to haste, make haste; urge on (diligently or earnestly); by implication, to await eagerly;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   get going, urge on, hasten; seek eagerly, strive after; promote or further zealously; press or urge on; exert oneself, strive eagerly or anxiously; to be anxious; show eagerness; to be troubled in mind, harassed

found = ἀνευρίσκω = aneuriskō  Blue Letter Bible  to find out by search; discover, implying diligent searching; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   find out; discover; win, gain; think out; invent

lying = κεῖμαι = keimai  Blue Letter Bible   to lie, to be laid; set; put or set in any place; destined, appointed; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   to be; lie; lie outstretched; lie down to rest, repose; remain; to be situated, lie or be in a place; posture, attitude, as a category; to be laid up, in store; to be set up, ordained, established; of laws, the law is laid down; to be laid down in argument, posited, assumed; to rest entirely or be dependent on him; to be found, occur; received; remain, endure 

manger = φάτνη = phatnē  Blue Letter Bible  stall; manger; a crib (for fodder); Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   manger, crib

made known = γνωρίζω = gnōrizō  Blue Letter Bible communicating things before unknown; reasserting things already known; to make known; certify, declare; to come to know, discover, know; to become known, be recognized; to gain knowledge of, have thorough knowledge of; give to understand; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   make known, point out; certify; gain knowledge of, become acquainted with, discover

 

message = ῥῆμα = rhema  Blue Letter Bible  that which is said; that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech or writing; that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken; any sound produced by the voice and having definite meaning; subject matter of speech, thing spoken of; utterances in which God through someone declares his mind; the word by which something is commanded, directed, enjoined; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  that which is said or spoken, word, saying; subject of speech 

 

told = λαλέω = laleō Blue Letter Bible To say, utter, talk; to utter a voice or emit a sound; to utter articulate sounds; to use words in order to declare one's mind and disclose one's thoughts; preach; tell; promulgate; converse; commanding; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  talk, chat; speak

 

heard = ἀκούω = akouō  Blue Letter Bible  harkin to; to attend to, consider what is or has been said; to understand, perceive the sense of what is said; to give ear to a teaching or a teacher; to comprehend; to perceive anyone's voice; to yield to, hear and obey; have regard to; to perceive the distinct words of a voice; to yield obedience to the voice; to perceive in the soul;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  hearken, give ear; listen to; obey; hear and understand

 

amazed = θαυμάζω = thaumazō  Blue Letter Bible  to wonder at, marvel; admire;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  wonder, marvel; honor, admire; say with astonishment

 

told—see above

kept = συντηρέω = syntēreō  Blue Letter Bible  to preserve, keep safe, keep close;  to preserve (a thing from perishing or being lost); to keep within one's self, keep in mind (a thing, lest it be forgotten); keep closely together; conserve (from ruin); to remember (and obey); Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  keep or preserve closely; keep it close; preserve, maintain; observe strictly; keep distance; watch one's opportunity; watch over, protect

reflecting = συμβάλλω = symballō  Blue letter Bible   to put one thing with another in considering circumstances; to bring together; to bring together in one's mind, confer with one's self; combine; ponder; bring together of one's property, to contribute, aid, help; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   throw together, dash together; store up, accumulate; jumble up together; to be profitable; come together; join, unite; contribute; fall in with one, meet him; compare; compare for the purpose of checking; reckon, compute; conclude, infer, conjecture, interpret; make out, understand; agree, arrange; agree upon, fix, settle 

in = ἐν = en  Blue Letter Bible  in, by, with, among, under, at, near, by; in the presence of; within, in the course of; motion into something, entering into, mingling in; that which one either leads or brings with him, or with which he is furnished or equipped; the instrument or means by or with which anything is accomplished; aided by one, by the intervention or agency of someone, by (means of) one; the state or condition in which anything is done or anyone exists, acts, suffers; the form in which anything appears or is exhibited; the measure or standard; the things in (with) which one is busied; that in which other things are contained and upheld, as their cause and origin; that which gives opportunity; to exchange one thing for another; remaining, staying, continuing in some place, state, or condition; that in which any person or thing is inherently fixed, implanted, or with which it is intimately connected; of the whole in which a part inheres; of a person to whom another is wholly joined and to whose power and influence he is subject, so that the former may be likened to the place in which the latter lives and moves; ingrafted; in fellowship and union with; spiritual fellowship or union with; to be in the power of, be actuated by, inspired by; give self wholly to; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   in, within, surrounded by; in the number of, amongst; in the presence of; in one's hands, within one's reach or power; depends on, rests with; implying both motion to and subsequent position in a place; in the practice of

 

heart= καρδία = kardia  Blue Letter Bible  man's entire mental and moral activity, both the rational and the emotional elements; used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life; the seat of moral nature and spiritual life; the vigour and sense of physical life; the centre and seat of spiritual life; seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavours; the faculty and seat of the intelligence; the will and character; the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions; the middle or central or inmost part of anything; will and character;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  the seat of feeling and passion; inclination, desire, purpose

 

glorifying = δοξάζω = doxazō Blue Letter Bible to magnify, extol, praise; ascribing honor to, acknowledging; to make glorious, adorn with lustre, clothe with splendor;  to make renowned, render illustrious; to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged; to honour, do honour to, hold in honour;to exalt to a glorious rank or condition; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  think, imagine; suppose; form or hold an opinion; magnify, extol; to be distinguished, held in honour

 

praising = αἰνέω = aineō  Blue Letter Bible  to speak in praise of, to praise; extol, to sing praises in honour to God; to allow, recommend; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  tell, speak of;  praise, approve; advise, recommend; to commend 

 

heard—see above

 

seen = ὁράω = horaō  Blue Letter Bible  to see with the eyes; to see with the mind, to perceive, know; to take heed, beware; to care for, pay heed to; to attend to;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   take, pay, or give heed; behold, perceive, observe; look out for, provide

 

told—see above

 

named = καλέω = kaleō. Blue Letter Bible  call, bid, invite; summon; to call aloud, utter in a loud voice; to call i.e. to name, by name; to salute one by name; to call out, call forth from; to cause to pass from one state into another; to be called i. e. to bear a name or title; to be acknowledged, pass as; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   call, summon; invoke; call by name, name; to be called

 

Jesus = Ἰησοῦς = iēsous  Blue Letter Bible  Jehovah is salvation; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon    Joshua 

AND

 (From Hebrew) = יְהוֹשׁוּעַ = yᵊhôšûaʿ  Blue Letter Bible   Jehovah is salvation; whose help or salvation is Jehovah; also rendered Joshua  

 

name = ὄνομα = onoma  Blue Letter Bible  all that a "name" implies, of authority, character, rank, majesty, power, excellence, etc.; of everything that the "name" covers; the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one's rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc.; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  name of a person or thing; give one a name; name, fame; to have a name, to be notable

 

angel = ἄγγελος = angelos  Blue Letter Bible   a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God; one of that host of heavenly spirits that, according alike to Jewish and Christian opinion, wait upon the monarch of the universe, and are sent by him to earth, now to execute his purposes; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   messenger, envoy; one that announces or tells; semi-divine being

 

conceived = συλλαμβάνω = syllambanō  Blue Letter Bible  to conceive, of a woman; take together; take or receive; clasp; catch; to seize, take one as prisoner; to seize for one's self; to take hold together with one, to assist, help, to succour; assist, take part with; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   collect, gather together, rally scattered troops; take with one, carry off; put together, close; enclose; comprehend, comprise; lay hands on, seize; buy up; seize the person of, apprehend, arrest, seize and hold; grasp the meaning of, comprehend; receive at the same time, enjoy together; of females, conceive; take with or besides, take as an assistant;  take part with another, assist him; contributed towards persuading

Scriptures addressing similar matters are considered or collected at:

 

What We Can Learn from Jesus’ Nativity: The Shepherds (Luke 2:8-20) 

 

Wisdom Principles—God Loves and Calls Us to Him, In Spite of our Sin   

Wisdom Principles--God Sees and Understands All   

 

 What this reading tells us about God/our relationship with Him:

the infant lying in the manger

the message that had been told them about this child

All who heard it were amazed

it had been told to them  
he was named Jesus

the name given him by the angel

he was conceived in the womb

 

What this reading tells us to do:

went in haste 

found

they made known the message that had been told them 

heard 

reflecting on them in her heart

glorifying and praising God 

Colossians 1:12-20, annotated

The bolded scriptural citation will take you to additional translations. The entire chapter is included to provide context. 

 

Information about the meaning the original Greek of what seem to be key words is provided in blue.  

 

Excerpts collected in yellow  at the end of this post tell us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him. 

 

Excerpts collected in green  at the end of this post tell us about something God wants us to do. 

 

Colossians 1:12-20

Let us give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. 

 

He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

He is the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

 

thanks = εὐχαριστέω = eucharisteō  Blue Letter Bible  to be grateful; feel thankful; give thanks; to express gratitude;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   to be thankful, return thanks; to be thanked; to be received with thanks; bestow a favour on, oblige

 

made you fit = ἱκανόω = hikanoō  Blue Letter Bible   render fit, meet, to make sufficient; to equip one with adequate power to perform duties of one; qualify; make able;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   make sufficient, qualify; to be empowered; to be made complete, brought to perfection, of the soul; to be satisfied, content

 

share = μερίς = meris  Blue Letter Bible  participation;  part or portion; a part as distinct from the whole; an assigned part, a portion, share; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon    contribution, contribute to, part, portion

 

inheritance = κλῆρος = klēros  Blue Letter Bible   a lot, allotment, heritage; what is obtained by lot, an allotted portion; an object used in casting or drawing lots; an acquisition; especially a patrimony; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   that which is assigned by lot; allotment of land; piece of land, farm, estate; legacy, inheritance, heritable estate; body of inheritors; province, sphere; casting of lots, drawing of lots

 

holy ones = ἅγιος = hagios  Blue Letter Bible fundamentally signifies "separated" (among the Greeks, dedicated to the gods), and hence, in Scripture in its moral and spiritual significance, separated from sin and therefore consecrated to God, sacred; most holy thing, a saint; sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated); reverend, worthy of veneration; things which on account of some connection with God possess a certain distinction and claim to reverence; set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively his; prepared for God; pure, sinless, upright, holy;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  devoted to the gods; sacred, holy; pure; R. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament  Its fundamental idea is separation, and, so to speak, consecration and devotion to the service of Deity

 

light = φῶς = phōs Blue Letter Bible  luminousness in the widest application, natural or artificial, abstract or concrete, literal or figurative; to give light; light as seen by the eye; a luminous emanation; anything emitting light; brightness; fire; that which is exposed to the view of all, openly, publicly;  reason, mind, the power of understanding esp. moral and spiritual truth; truth and its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity associated with it; God is light because light has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, brilliant quality; to live agreeably to saving wisdom; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   light, esp. daylight; daybreak; the light of a torch, lamp, fire, etc. ; illuminations; metaph. for deliverance, happiness, victory, glory, etc.; illumination of the mind

 

delivered = ῥύομαι = rhyomai  Blue Letter Bible  to rescue from, deliver; preserve from; to draw to one's self; to rush or draw to oneself; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon   to draw to oneself, i. e. draw out of danger, to rescue, save, deliver; to save from; to save from an illness, cure; to set free, redeem; to shield, guard, protect; defensive armour; to remove the charges; to draw back, to hold back, check; to keep off

 

power = ἐξουσία = exousia Blue Letter Bible  the power of one whose will and commands must be obeyed; right of disposal; power; the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises; the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed; privilege; mastery; the power of authority (influence) and of right; delegated authority; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  power, authority to do a thing; permission to do; license; qualification for; office, magistracy; abundance of means, resources

 

darkness = σκότος = skotos  Blue Letter Bible   physical darkness; intellectual darkness; darkened eyesight or blindness; of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality, together with their consequent misery in hell; persons in whom darkness becomes visible and holds sway;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   darkness, gloom; blindness; ignorance; deceit; shadows

transferred = μεθίστημι = methistēmi  Blue Letter Bible   change, remove; transpose, transfer; remove from one place to another; change of situation or place; carry away; exchange; seduce; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  place in another way, change; introduce a new polity; set free; remove by killing; remove from one place to another; remove from oneself or from one's presence; stand among or in the midst of; change one's position; depart; cease from; go over to another party, revolt; change or alter, either for the better or for the worse;  change position 

kingdom = βασιλεία = basileia  Blue Letter Bible  sovereignty, royal power, dominion; the people over whom a king rules; the right or authority to rule; reign; royal power and dignity; the rule of God; God's rule, the divine administration; the universe subject to God's sway, God's royal domain; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  dominion; being ruled by a king; reign

 

beloved = ἀγάπη = agape  Blue Letter Bible  affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  the love of husband and wife; brotherly love, charity

children = υἱός = yhios Blue Letter Bible a descendant, one of the posterity of any one; one who depends on another or is his follower, equivalent to pupils; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  child; term of affection; inheritors of the nature of

image = εἰκών = eikon Blue Letter Bible   representation; manifestation; an image, figure, likeness; one in whom the likeness of any one is seen; resemblance; moral likeness; denotes not mere similarity but likeness; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   likeness, image; image in a mirror;  living image, representation; similitude, comparison; pattern, archetype

firstborn = πρωτότοκος = prōtotokos  Blue Letter Bible the firstborn; priority to, and preeminence over

 

creation = κτίσις = ktisis  Blue Letter Bible  the act of founding, establishing, building etc.; the creative act in process; creation i.e. thing created; collectively, the sum or aggregate of created things; some particular kind or class of created things or beings; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  founding, settling; created thing, creature 

 

created = κτίζω = ktizō Blue Letter Bible   to create; to form, shape; to fabricate; to make habitable, to people; to found; to completely change or transform; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   people; build; found; plant; establish; produce, create, bring into being; bring about; make, perpetuate

 

all = πᾶς = pas Blue Letter Bible  radically means "all." Used without the article it means "every," every kind or variety; any and every, of every kind, all manner of; in every way or particular; the whole; each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything; thoroughly, whatsoever; all manner of; the highest degree, the maximum; always; in everything, in every way, on every side, in every particular or relation; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  when used of a number, all; when of one only, the whole; all, the whole; every; all things as a unity, as a totality; all kinds of things; in all points, entirely, wholly; in every way, by all means, altogether

 

through = διά = dia  Blue Letter Bible  on account of this, for this cause;  because of; by, by means of, by which means; to consider deeply; the ground or reason by which something is or is not done; on account of; the channel of an act; by occasion of, by reason of; instrument, or of the efficient cause; due to; instrument used to accomplish a thing, or of the instrumental cause in the stricter sense; the formal cause;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   through; the Instrument or Means; thanks to, by aid of; by reason of, on account of

 

before = πρό = pro  Blue Letter Bible   in front of, prior; previously; beforehand, in advance; superior to, above; superiority or pre-eminence; preference;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  before, in front of; more than; position before or in front

 

all—see above

 

hold  together= συνίστημι = synistēmi  Blue Letter Bible  to set together;  to place together, to set in the same place, to bring or band together; to put together, unite parts into one whole; to put together; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon    set together, combine; associate, unite; organize, frame; make solid or firm, brace up; congeal; to come or be put together; come into existence; to be compact, solid, firm; acquire substance or consistency

 

head = κεφαλή = kephalē Blue Letter Bible the head, both of men and often of animals; metaph. anything supreme, chief, prominent; the corner stone; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  head of man or beast; from above; the noblest part; source, origin, crown, capital, completion, consummation

 

body = σῶμα =sōma   Blue Letter Bible the body as a whole, the instrument of life; slaves, the body both of men or animals; the body (as a sound whole); the instrument of the soul; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  the living body; civic rights; a person, human being; a body, i.e. any corporeal substance, the body or whole of a thing 

 

beginning = ἀρχή = archē  Blue Letter Bible   the origin, the active cause; first in time, order, or place; the person or thing that commences; that by which anything begins to be; the first person or thing in a series; the leader; the first place, principality, rule, magistracy; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  beginning, origin; foundation, source; original, principal sum; first principle, element; first place or power, sovereignty; magistracy, office; authority, command

 

first born—see above

 

preeminent = πρωτεύω = prōteuō Blue Letter Bible   to be first, hold the first place; have the preeminence;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   to be the first, hold first place; to be first of or among

 

fullness = πλήρωμα = plērōma Blue Letter Bible  that which fills up; that which has been completed; that which is (has been) filled; fulness, abundance; repletion; copiousness; flooded; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

Satiety; full and perfect nature; the aggregate of properties which constitute the complete nature of a thing; filling up, completing, fulfillment

 

dwell = κατοικέω= katoikeō Blue Letter Bible  to settle down in a dwelling, to dwell fixedly in a place; inhabit; pervade, govern; reside; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  settle in, colonize; administer, govern; lie, be situated

 

reconcile = ἀποκαταλλάσσω = apokatallassō   Blue Letter Bible   to reconcile completely; to remove all enmity and leave no impediment to unity and peace; bring back a former state of harmony; Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon   reconcile again

 

making peace = εἰρηνοποιέω = eirēnopoieō  Blue Letter Bible   to make peace, establish harmony; to harmonize;  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon  to make peace, make peaceful

 

What this scripture tells about God/our relationship to Him:

the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light

He delivered us from the power of darkness

his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God

in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible,
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things

in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning

in all things he himself might be preeminent

in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell

through him to reconcile all things for him

making peace

whether those on earth or those in heaven.

 

What this scripture tells to do:

give thanks to the Father