Luke 2 · Verse 9

Luke 2:9

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luke 2:9, King James Version

Luke 2:9 in other translations

BSBJust then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
WEBBehold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
ASVAnd an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
YLTand lo, a messenger of the Lord stood over them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they feared a great fear.
DARBYAnd lo, an angel of the Lord was there by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they feared with great fear.
BBEAnd an angel of the Lord came to them, and the glory of the Lord was shining round about them: and fear came on them.
WebsterAnd lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were in great fear.

What does Luke 2:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
9. glory of the Lord--"the brightness or glory which is represented as encompassing all heavenly visions" [Olshausen]. sore afraid--So it ever was (Da 10:7, 8; Lu 1:12; Re 1:17). Men have never felt easy with the invisible world laid suddenly open to their gaze. It was never meant to be permanent; a momentary purpose was all it was intended to serve.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 9. The glory of the Lord. This is the same as a great glory--that is, a splendid appearance or light. The word glory is often the same as light, 1Cor 15:41; Lk 9:31; Acts 22:11. The words Lord and God are often used to denote greatness or intensity. Thus, trees of God mean great trees; hills of God, high or lofty hills, &c. So the glory of the Lord here means an exceedingly great or bright luminous appearance--perhaps not unlike what Paul saw on the way to Damascus.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 The angel of the Lord came upon them - Or, stood over them, επεστη. It is likely that the angel appeared in the air at some little distance above them, and that from him the rays of the glory of the Lord shone round about them, as the rays of light are projected from the sun. They were sore afraid - Terrified with the appearance of so glorious a being, and probably fearing that he was a messenger of justice, coming to denounce Divine judgments, or punish them immediately, for sins with which their consciences would not fail, on such an occasion, to reproach them.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 2:8-20

Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God's good-will to men, manifested in…

Read the full comment on Luke 2:8-20 →

Luke 2:9 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532
ἰδούidoubeholdG2400
ἄγγελοςangelosan angelG32
κυρίουkuriouof [the] LordG2962
ἐπέστηepestēstood byG2186
αὐτοῖς,autoisthem,G846
καὶkaiandG2532
δόξαdoxa[the] gloryG1391
κυρίουkuriouof [the] LordG2962
περιέλαμψενperielampsenshone aroundG4034
αὐτούς,autousthem,G846
καὶkaiandG2532
ἐφοβήθησανephobēthēsanthey fearedG5399
φόβονphobon[with] fearG5401
μέγαν.megangreat.G3173

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Luke 2:9

  • Isaiah 60:1

    Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

  • 2 Corinthians 3:18

    But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

  • Acts 27:23

    For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

  • Revelation 18:1

    And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

  • 1 Kings 8:11

    So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

  • Acts 26:13-14

    At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

  • Judges 6:11-12

    And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi–ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

  • Exodus 40:34-35

    Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

  • Matthew 1:20

    But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

  • Acts 5:19

    But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,

  • Luke 24:4

    And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

  • Acts 22:6-9

    And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
lo.
1:11,28; Jud 6:11,12; Mt 1:20; Ac 27:23; 1Ti 3:16
and the.
Ex 16:7,10; 40:34,35; 1Ki 8:11; Isa 6:3; 35:2; 40:5; 60:1; Eze 3:23
Joh 12:41; 2Co 3:18; 4:6; Re 18:1
and they.
1:12; Isa 6:4,5; Ac 22:6-9; 26:13,14; Heb 12:21; Re 20:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Luke 2:8

    And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

  • Luke 2:9

    And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

  • Luke 2:10

    And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Read all of Luke 2

Luke 2:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y he aquí el ángel del Señor vino sobre ellos, y la claridad de Dios los cercó de resplandor; y tuvieron gran temor.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et voici, un ange du ✶Seigneur se trouva avec eux, et la gloire du ✶Seigneur resplendit autour d’eux; et ils furent saisis d’une fort grande peur.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und siehe, ein Engel des Herrn stand bei ihnen, und die Herrlichkeit des Herrn umleuchtete sie, und sie fürchteten sich mit großer Furcht.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et ecce angelus Domini stetit juxta illos, et claritas Dei circumfulsit illos, et timuerunt timore magno.