Luke 2:23-25 New English Translation
23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male[a] will be set apart to the Lord”[b]), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is specified in the law of the Lord, a pair of doves[c] or two young pigeons.[d]
The Prophecy of Simeon
25 Now[e] there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was righteous[f] and devout, looking for the restoration[g] of Israel, and the Holy Spirit[h] was upon him.
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- Luke 2:23 tn Grk “every male that opens the womb” (an idiom for the firstborn male).
- Luke 2:23 sn An allusion to Exod 13:2, 12, 15.
- Luke 2:24 sn The offering of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, instead of a lamb, speaks of the humble roots of Jesus’ family—they apparently could not afford the expense of a lamb.
- Luke 2:24 sn A quotation from Lev 12:8; 5:11 (LXX).
- Luke 2:25 tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
- Luke 2:25 tn Grk “This man was righteous.” The Greek text begins a new sentence here, but this was changed to a relative clause in the translation to avoid redundancy.
- Luke 2:25 tn Or “deliverance,” “consolation.”sn The restoration of Israel refers to Simeon’s hope that the Messiah would come and deliver the nation (Isa 40:1; 49:13; 51:3; 57:18; 61:2; 2 Bar. 44:7).
- Luke 2:25 sn Once again, by mentioning the Holy Spirit, Luke stresses the prophetic enablement of a speaker. The Spirit has fallen on both men (Zechariah, 1:67) and women (Elizabeth, 1:41) in Luke 1-2 as they share the will of the Lord.
New English Translation (NET)
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