Luke 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Birth of Jesus
2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus[a](A) that the whole empire[b] should be registered. 2 This first registration took place while[c] Quirinius was governing Syria.(B) 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.
4 And Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David,(C) 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him[d] and was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the lodging place.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord(D) stood before[e] them,(E) and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.[f] 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid,(F) for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:[g] 11 Today a Savior,(G) who is Messiah(H) the Lord,(I) was born for you in the city of David. 12 This will be the sign for you:(J) You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”
13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things[j] in her heart(N) and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God(O) for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told.
The Circumcision and Presentation of Jesus
21 When the eight days were completed for His circumcision,(P) He was named Jesus(Q)—the name given by the angel before He was conceived.[k] 22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished,(R) they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male[l] will be dedicated[m] to the Lord(S)[n]) 24 and to offer a sacrifice (according to what is stated in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons(T)[o]).
Simeon’s Prophetic Praise
25 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout,(U) looking forward to Israel’s consolation,[p](V) and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit(W) that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah.(X) 27 Guided by the Spirit, he entered[q] the temple complex. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for Him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took Him up in his arms, praised God, and said:
29 Now, Master,
You can dismiss Your slave in peace,
as You promised.
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation.(Y)
31 You have prepared it
in the presence of all peoples—
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles[r](Z)
and glory to Your people Israel.(AA)
33 His father and mother[s] were amazed at what was being said about Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and told His mother Mary: “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel(AB) and to be a sign that will be opposed[t]— 35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts[u] of many hearts may be revealed.”
Anna’s Testimony
36 There was also a prophetess,(AC) Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.(AD) She was well along in years,[v] having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,[w](AE) 37 and was a widow for 84 years.[x] She did not leave the temple complex, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers.(AF) 38 At that very moment,[y] she came up and began to thank God and to speak about Him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.[z](AG)
The Family’s Return to Nazareth
39 When they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.(AH) 40 The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on Him.(AI)
In His Father’s House
41 Every year His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.(AJ) 42 When He was 12 years old, they went up according to the custom of the festival.(AK) 43 After those days were over,(AL) as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents[aa] did not know it. 44 Assuming He was in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. 46 After three days, they found Him in the temple complex sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all those who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. 48 When His parents saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him,(AM) “Son, why have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”(AN)
49 “Why were you searching for Me?” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”[ab] 50 But they did not understand what He said to them.(AO)
In Favor with God and with People
51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart.(AP) 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.(AQ)
Footnotes
- Luke 2:1 Emperor who ruled the Roman Empire 27 b.c.–a.d. 14; also known as Octavian, he established the peaceful era known as the Pax Romana; Caesar was a title of Roman emperors.
- Luke 2:1 Or the whole inhabited world
- Luke 2:2 Or This registration was the first while, or This registration was before
- Luke 2:5 Other mss read was his engaged wife
- Luke 2:9 Or Lord appeared to
- Luke 2:9 Lit they feared a great fear
- Luke 2:10 Or the whole nation
- Luke 2:14 Other mss read earth good will to people
- Luke 2:14 Or earth to men of good will
- Luke 2:19 Lit these words
- Luke 2:21 Or conceived in the womb
- Luke 2:23 Lit “Every male that opens a womb
- Luke 2:23 Lit be called holy
- Luke 2:23 Ex 13:2,12
- Luke 2:24 Lv 5:11; 12:8
- Luke 2:25 The coming of the Messiah with His salvation for the nation; Is 40:1; 61:2; Lk 2:26,30
- Luke 2:27 Lit And in the Spirit, he came into
- Luke 2:32 Or the nations
- Luke 2:33 Other mss read But Joseph and His mother
- Luke 2:34 Or spoken against
- Luke 2:35 Or schemes
- Luke 2:36 Lit in many days
- Luke 2:36 Lit years from her virginity
- Luke 2:37 Or she was a widow until the age of 84
- Luke 2:38 Lit very hour
- Luke 2:38 Other mss read in Jerusalem
- Luke 2:43 Other mss read but Joseph and His mother
- Luke 2:49 Or be involved in My Father’s interests (or things), or be among My Father’s people
Luke 2
The Message
The Birth of Jesus
2 1-5 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
An Event for Everyone
8-12 There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the shepherds talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the shepherds were impressed.
19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The shepherds returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!
Blessings
21 When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.
22-24 Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God’s Law: “Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God,” and also to sacrifice the “pair of doves or two young pigeons” prescribed in God’s Law.
25-32 In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:
God, you can now release your servant;
release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
and of glory for your people Israel.
33-35 Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,
This child marks both the failure and
the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
as God reveals who they really are.
36-38 Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.
39-40 When they finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth. There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit. And the grace of God was on him.
They Found Him in the Temple
41-45 Every year Jesus’ parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up as they always did for the Feast. When it was over and they left for home, the child Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn’t know it. Thinking he was somewhere in the company of pilgrims, they journeyed for a whole day and then began looking for him among relatives and neighbors. When they didn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for him.
46-48 The next day they found him in the Temple seated among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. The teachers were all quite taken with him, impressed with the sharpness of his answers. But his parents were not impressed; they were upset and hurt.
His mother said, “Young man, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been half out of our minds looking for you.”
49-50 He said, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?” But they had no idea what he was talking about.
51-52 So he went back to Nazareth with them, and lived obediently with them. His mother held these things dearly, deep within herself. And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson