Christmas Error?

Q: I've heard that Luke 2:14 is not accurately stated in our Christmas recitations. Someone in our church told me that it doesn't actually say "Peace on earth, goodwill toward men." I looked in my Bible and it doesn't. So where does that come from?

A: Luke 2:14 has been a misnomer for many Christians to figure out. The King James version (translation) of the Bible does say, "Peace on earth, goodwill toward men." However, the original manuscripts translate into something a bit different, more like, "Peace on earth, toward men of goodwill." The order of the words in the sentence makes a world of difference!

If you look at other translations of the Bible, you'll find that they tend to follow this latter translation pretty consistently. It's not an error, but rather just one way of translating it. Remember the English language is the most complex language on earth. No other language has as many variables and options as English does. So it is impossible to make a word for word translation from any language to English. Rather one must consider the context and try to select English words that best reflect what's being said.

We should think of Luke 2:14 as saying, "Peace on earth, toward men of good will." The context for that is simply Jesus birth, death and resurrection. Peace on earth is only for those whom Jesus has saved. It isn't intended for anyone else. In fact, anyone who is not soft will get the opposite of peace on earth!