What Does Luke 2:18 Mean in the King James?
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The “things” that spread wonder are ῥήματα (rhēmata, utterances), the same spoken words Mary holds in the next verse.
THE MEANING
The shepherds’ report reaches you through human voices, and its words open into wonder before you know what to make of them. The astonishment spreads through all who hear, as a spoken message becomes a shared encounter.
THE ROOT
ῥήματα
rhēmata
GROWS FROM
ῥέω
rheō
to speak, say, or utter
“things which were told” in this verse is rhēmata. English makes the message sound like a bundle of “things,” but Greek names them as ῥήματα (rhēmata, utterances): speech that can be received and carried. The same ῥήματα (rhēmata, utterances) appear in Luke 2:19, where Mary keeps them; one spoken message becomes both shared astonishment and inward holding.
ALSO GROWS
rhēma: a word, saying, or utterance
ῥῆμα
This is the singular form behind the “things” the shepherds speak and the listeners hear.
rhētōr: a speaker or public orator
ῥήτωρ
The word for speaker shares this family of speech; here, the shepherds’ spoken witness carries the message outward.
ἐθαύμασαν
ethaúmasan
GROWS FROM
θαῦμα
thauma
a marvel, something that evokes wonder
“wondered” in this verse is ethaúmasan. The Greek word marks the hearers’ response as wonder stirred by what they have heard. It lets the moment remain open: the report has landed, and astonishment is already real before the verse offers any further explanation.
ALSO GROWS
thaumazō: to wonder or marvel
θαυμάζω
This is the verb behind “wondered,” naming the hearers’ response to the report.
thaumastós: marvelous or wonderful
θαυμαστός
This related word describes what evokes wonder, linking the hearers’ response to the report’s astonishing character.
THE PATTERN
When testimony exceeds familiar expectation, hearing or seeing can open into wonder before explanation.
Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans?THE THREAD
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.The “things” that astonish the listeners are the same ῥήματα (rhēmata, utterances) Mary keeps. Her response shows what happens to the spoken words after they land: wonder becomes sustained inward attention.
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