Luke 2

The Census and the Birth of Jesus

¹ Now it came to pass in those days [that a] decree went out from Caesar Augustus for all the inhabited-world¹ to be registered². ² This first registration³ came [about] when Quirinius⁴ [was] governing Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own city. ⁴ So Joseph also went up from Galilee from the city Nazareth to Judea to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and clan of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary the [one] betrothed to him, the [one] being pregnant. ⁶ Now it came to pass while they were there, the days of her bearing were fulfilled. ⁷ And she bore her first born son, and wrapped him in [swaddling-]cloths, and laid him in [a] manger, for there was not place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds' Visit

⁸ And shepherds in this same region were dwelling outdoors and watching during [the] watches of the night over their sheep. ⁹ And [an] angel of the Lord stood before them, and glory of the Lord shone round [about] them, and they feared [with] great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them: Be not fearing, for behold I proclaim to you great joy, which is to all people, ¹¹ that there has been born to you this day [a] savior that is Christ [the] Lord, in the city of David. ¹² And this [is a] sign to you, you will find the child wrapped in [swaddling-]cloths and lying in [a] manger. ¹³ And suddenly there came to pass with the angel [a] multitude of the armies of heaven praising God and saying:

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest
and on earth⁵ peace among men of good will⁶.

¹⁵ And it came to pass when the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds were saying to each other: Let us indeed go to Bethlehem and see this word that has come to pass that the Lord has made known to us. ¹⁶ And they came, having hastened, and found Mariam and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw, they made known concerning the word having been spoken to them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard marveled concerning what was spoken by the shepherds to them. ¹⁹ But Maria treasured up all these words, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all concerning which they heard and saw, just as it had been spoken to them.

²¹ And then the eight days were fulfilled⁷ to circumcise him, and his name was called Jesus, what [he] was named by the angel before his being conceived in the belly.

Jesus's Presentation at the Temple

²² And when were filled the days of their cleansing⁸ according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present [him] to the Lord, ²³ just as it is written in the law of [the] Lord that⁹

Every male opening [a woman's] motherhood¹⁰ will be called¹¹ holy for the Lord.

²⁴ and to give sacrifice according to what was said in the law of [the] Lord¹²,

[A] pair of doves or two young pigeons.

The Prophecy of Simeon

²⁵ And behold there was in Jerusalem [a] man by name Simeon, and this man [was] just and devout, expecting¹³ the comfort of Israel, and [the] Holy Spirit was upon him; ²⁶ and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit [that he would] not see death before he instead see the Christ of [the] Lord. ²⁷ And he came in the spirit into the temple, and when the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to do to him according to the custom of the law concerning him, ²⁸ he himself also received him in his arms and praised¹⁴ God and said:

²⁹ Now do you release¹⁵ your slave, Lord¹⁶ (),
According to your word, in peace
³⁰ Because mine eyes have seen my salvation
³¹ Which you prepared before the face of all peoples,
³² [A] light for revelation to the nations
And [the] glory of your people Israel.

³³ And his father and mother were marveling upon what was spoken concerning him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed¹⁴ them and said to Mariam his mother: Behold: this [one] is appointed to the fall and rise of many in Israel, and [to be a] sign [by] being opposed¹⁷, ³⁵ —and [of you], [a] sword will pierce your psyche-life¹⁸ —in order that [the] thoughts¹⁹ of many hearts be revealed.

The Testimony of Anna

³⁶ And Anna was [a] prophetess, daughter [of] Phanouel, of the tribe of Aser, She was advanced in many days, having zoe-lived²⁰ with [her] husband seven years from her virginity²¹, ³⁷ And she [is a] widow until eighty-four years [old], who was not [ever] leaving the temple, serving day and night with fastings and entreaties. ³⁸ And having stood by in this same hour she was thanking God and was speaking concerning him to all awaiting²² [the] redemption of Jerusalem²³.

³⁹ And when they completed everything according to the law of [the] Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own city Nazareth.

⁴⁰ So the child was growing and becoming strong ²⁴, being filled with wisdom, and [the] grace of God was upon him.

Jesus in the Temple

⁴¹ And his parents were proceeding every year to Jerusalem to the festival of the Passover. ⁴² And when twelve years came to pass, they having gone up [there] according to the custom of the festival, ⁴³ and having completed the days, as they were returning, the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and his parents knew it not. ⁴⁴ But having thought him to be in their group of travelers they came [a] day's way²⁵, and [then] sought him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ And not having found him, they returned to Jerusalem seeking him. ⁴⁶ And it came to pass after three days they found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers and hearing them and questioning them; ⁴⁷ and all hearing him were amazed upon his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ And seeing him they were astonished, and his mother said to him: Child, why have you done to us thusly? Behold your father and I being tormented were seeking you. ⁴⁹ And he said to them: Why were you seeking me? Do you not know that in the [things] of my father I must be?^{26 50} And they did not understand the word that he spoke to them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was being subordinate²⁷ to them. And his mother was keeping all these words in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus was progressing in wisdom and stature and favor with God and men.

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¹that is, the Roman Empire

²`to be registered' was also the first step in being taxed.

³or `census'. Noun form of `to be registered' in vs. 1.

⁴Gk: KURENIOS

⁵GE "GAY" (γη) "earth", "land" (remember that they didn't understand about the Earth being a planet floating in space yet), sometimes "ground" or "dirt".

⁶"among men of good will" ℵBD few; "goodwill among men" K most. The problem here is that the text sources differ in a single letter at the word EUDOKIA (ευδoκια, nominative) or EUDOKIAS (ευδoκιας , genitive). Bruce Metzger concludes, in his The Text of the New Testament, p. 230,

"Luke 2:14, therefore, involves a twofold strophe ('glory ... peace') and not a threefold strophe ('glory...peace...good will', all in the nominative). The sense is that the birth of the Messiah, the Lord (vs. 11) is the occasion for the ascription of glory to God in the highest heaven and the enjoyment of peace on earth among men of God's good will, i.e. those persons on whom his favour rests, chosen to be the recipients of the gift of his Messiah."

Also, compare Matt.10:34, where Jesus says He did not come to bring peace on earth to [all] mankind.

⁷that is, eight days had passed

⁸or `purification'

⁹Ex.13:2

¹⁰that is, the womb

¹¹or `set apart'

¹²Lev.12:2,6

¹³or "receiving"

¹⁴EULOGEO (ευλoγεω) 1) to say something commendatory, speak well of, praise, extol; 2) to ask for bestowal of special favor, esp. of calling down God's gracious power. As opposed to MAKARIOS `blessed'-the state of the gods-as in Matt.5:3ff. Perhaps EULOGEO is more like the act of invoking a blessing, where MAKARIOS is the state of being that exists when that blessing comes to pass.

¹⁵or modal: `you may release'

¹⁶DESPOTES "DES-poh-tays" (δεσπoτης ) `Lord': owner and absolute master of slaves. Whereas DESPOTES emphasizes ownership and complete right of disposal, KURIOS (also translated `Lord') emphasizes power—having it, having the right to wield it. Only slaves have a DESPOTES; even free persons may have a KURIOS. DESPOTES occurs in Luke.2:29, Acts.4:24, 1Tim.6:1, 1Tim.6:2, 2Time.2:21, Tit.2:9, 1Pet.2:18, 2Pet.2:1, Jude.1:4, Rev.6:10. "Lord" in every other case is KURIOS (κυριoς )

¹⁷or `rejected', `spoken against'

¹⁸from PSYCHE (ψυχη): an individual manifestation of life/consciousness. Animals have PSYCHEs as well as humans. Contrast ZOE (ζωη)—Life 'collectively', interdependent, interconnected.

¹⁹or "reasonings"

²⁰from ZOE "ZOH-ay" (ζωη)—Life 'collectively', interdependent, interconnected. Although it means 'life' in the conventional sense (for example: Matt.9:18, Matt.27:63, Luke.2:36, Acts.25:24, Rom.7:2, 2Cor.1:8, 1Thes.4:17, 1Tim.5:10, Rev.19:20), Jesus uses ZOE exclusively of 'life eternal' (with the possible exceptions of Luke.15:13, Luke.16:25). The other N.T. writers use ZOE in both senses—temporal and eternal, generally clear from the context. The Father is the 'zoe-living God' (see Matt.16:16). The Septuagint (LXX) in Gen.2:7 has "...[God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of zoe-life, and the man became a zoe-living psyche-life" (and see 1Cor.15:45); and Gen.3:20 (LXX) "And Adam called his wife's name ZOE, because she was the mother of all zoe-living." Contrast PSYCHE (ψυχη): an individual manifestation of life/consciousness. See John.12:25 where both ZOE and PSYCHE occur. Greek also has the word BIOS (βιoς ) for 'life' in the sense of biological processes.

²¹that is, seven years since her virginity-they were married seven years.

²²or "receiving"

²³`in Jerusalem' ADK; `of Israel' few; `of Jerusalem' ℵBW;

²⁴insert "in spirit" K most; txt: ℵBD few

²⁵or `journey'

²⁶This verse involves an idiom, and elipsis, meaning something like `I must be in my Father's [house]' or `I must be about my Father's [business]'. It probably refers to the necessity of Jesus being involved in instruction about God. A widely held view takes this as a reference to the temple as the Father's house, thus his parents should have known where to find him.

²⁷or `obedient'