And Peace to All Men
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2.8-14, KJV)
Many of us have received Christmas cards which say the King James phrase, “Good will toward men.” The King James Version was based upon Greek transcripts which had “ευδοκια” for good will in verse 14. “Ευδοκια” renders the generic good will that we see in that version and in most of our Hallmark stores. Modern versions, however, use transcripts that have “ευδοκιας.” The added sigma (“ς”) changes the nature of the angels’ pronouncement entirely. Instead of the generic “good will toward men,” they announce a peace that is limited to only those who obtain favor with God by being justified out of faith (see Romans 5:1). See, for instance, the NASB version:
Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased. (Luke 2.14)
In the future, we should ensure that all of our Christmas cards that we send carry the added sigma.
Have a merry Christmas and in your celebrations thank the Lord that you have been saved (surprisingly, many tend to forget to do that during the holidays).
VERY interesting - I guess I do need to learn Greek! In my ESV it renders the phrase “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” which certainly matches what you have said.