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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT ESA WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 2 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51
OET (OET-LV) And when the days of_the purification of_them according_to the law of_Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh) were_fulfilled, they_brought_ him _up to Hierousalaʸm/(Yərūshālayim) to_present to_the master,
OET (OET-RV) Then when the time of the mother’s purification was fulfilled as per Mosheh’s instructions, they took him down to Yerushalem to be dedicated to Yahweh
The events in this section happened some days after Jesus was born.
In 2:21–24, Luke mentioned three ceremonies that were done when Jewish boys were born:
the baby boy was circumcised;
the mother was ritually purified;
the baby boy was presented to God.
In 2:25–38 Luke described two other events that happened while Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were at the temple in Jerusalem. God allowed two righteous people named Simeon and Anna to see Jesus and to thank God for him. Simeon spoke a prophecy about Jesus and Mary.
In 2:39–40 Luke concluded the section. Joseph and Mary took Jesus back to their home in Nazareth, where he grew and became strong and wise. The Gospel of Matthew indicates that before they went to Nazareth, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt and stayed there for some time. Although Luke does not mention this, you should connect the clauses in 2:39 in a way that does not contradict it.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:
Jesus’ Parents Obey Moses’ Teachings (GW)
Jesus Presented at the Temple (NASB)
Some English versions begin new sections at 2:25 and at 2:36. If you decide to do this in your translation, some possible headings are:
Simeon saw Jesus and prophesied about him (2:25)
Anna thanked God for Jesus and told others about him (2:36)
Simeon’s Prophecy (2:25)
Anna’s Prophecy (2:36)
There are two main events in this paragraph:
Mary was purified after she gave birth to Jesus (2:22a and 2:24). In 2:22a this event was introduced. In 2:24 Luke gave details about the sacrifice for Mary’s purification.
Jesus was presented to the Lord (2:22b–23).
Notice that the purification of Mary is mentioned in 2:22a and also in 2:24. The presentation of Jesus (2:22b–23) separates the two places where Mary’s purification is mentioned. In some languages, it may be clearer to reorder these verses. For example:
22aWhen Mary and Joseph’s days of purification ended according to the Law of Moses, 22bthey went to Jerusalem. 24aThey went there to offer the sacrifice of 24btwo doves or two young pigeons. 24aThis was to obey what the Law of the Lord says. 22bThey also went to Jerusalem with Jesus to present him to the Lord, 23abecause the Law of the Lord also says, 23b“Whenever a mother’s first child is a son, he must be set apart to be holy to the Lord.”
And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete,
¶ The days/time that Moses’ law required for Mary and Joseph to become pure ended/passed.
¶ God’s Law that Moses wrote said that a mother must wait some days after her baby’s birth before she was purified. After they waited those days,
And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete: The Law that God gave to the Israelites through Moses said that when a Jewish woman gave birth to a baby, she became “unclean.” In order to become ritually “clean” (or pure) again after giving birth to a baby boy, she had to do two things:
wait for a period of forty days after the birth;
offer a sacrifice.
The period of forty days was called “the time of her purification.” At the end of that time, she was required to offer a sacrifice, and then she was clean again.
Some other ways to translate this are:
After the days required by Moses’ Teachings to make a mother clean had passed (GW)
When the necessary days had passed in order for a mother to become clean again, as the Law of Moses teaches
the time of purification: There is a textual variant here concerning the pronoun: (1) Most Greek texts read the “time of their purification.” For example, the RSV says, “the time came for their purification” (NIV, GNT, NJB, NET, NASB, CEV, NCV). (2) A few Greek texts read “the time of her purification.” For example, the KJV says, “the days of her purification” (GW, KJV). While the majority of Greek texts follow interpretation (1), issues of naturalness and culture may dictate that you follow interpretation (2). The Greek text speaks literally of “their” purification. (The BSB does not translate this pronoun.) The term “their” probably refers to Joseph and Mary. Some English versions make this explicit. For example:
The time…for Joseph and Mary to perform the ceremony of purification (GNT)
The Law that God gave to the Israelites through Moses did not require Joseph to be purified. But because purification was a family matter, he was included. In some cultures, it may be more natural to say only that the mother needed to become pure or clean. If that is true in your language, you can say:
The waiting period for Mary to become pure again ended
purification: The word purification refers to becoming ritually pure or clean according to religious customs.
Law of Moses: The Law of Moses is the law that God gave to the Israelites through Moses.
His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
Then Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord.
they(dual) brought Jesus to the temple in the city of Jerusalem to acknowledge that he belonged to the Lord/God.
Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem for two reasons. The first reason is here in 2:22b. They went to present Jesus to the Lord. The second reason is in 2:24a.
to Jerusalem: Joseph and Mary took Jesus to God’s temple, which was located in the city of Jerusalem. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:
to the temple in Jerusalem (CEV)
to present Him to the Lord: In this context, the phrase to present Him to the Lord indicates that they took Jesus to the priest to acknowledge that Jesus belonged to God. This action is explained further in 2:23a and 2:23b. You may want to consider how to translate “consecrated” in 2:23b at the same time as you think about how to translate present Him to the Lord. See also Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ὅτε ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸν νόμον Μωϋσέως
when ˓were˒_fulfilled the days ˱of˲_the purification ˱of˲_them (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὅτε ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ αὐτῶν κατά τόν νόμον Μωϋσέως ἀνήγαγον αὐτόν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα παραστῆσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form, and you could state who did the action. Alternate translation: [after they had waited the number of days that the law of Moses required for their purification]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ αὐτῶν
the days ˱of˲_the purification ˱of˲_them
The law of Moses said that a woman would become ceremonially clean again 33 days after her newborn son had been circumcised. After that, she could enter the temple. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [33 more days, the time that the law of Moses required for Mary to become ceremonially clean again after childbirth]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἀνήγαγον αὐτὸν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα
˱they˲_brought_up (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὅτε ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ αὐτῶν κατά τόν νόμον Μωϋσέως ἀνήγαγον αὐτόν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα παραστῆσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ)
Luke says that they brought him up to Jerusalem, even though Bethlehem is actually at a higher elevation, because that was the customary way of speaking about going to Jerusalem, since that city is up on a mountain. Alternate translation: [they took him to Jerusalem]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
παραστῆσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ
˓to˒_present ˱to˲_the Lord
Luke will explain more in the next two verses about why Mary and Joseph did this, but if it would be helpful to your readers, you could make the purpose more explicit here. Alternate translation: [so that they could bring him into the temple and perform the required ceremony acknowledging God’s claim on firstborn children who were male]
OET (OET-LV) And when the days of_the purification of_them according_to the law of_Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh) were_fulfilled, they_brought_ him _up to Hierousalaʸm/(Yərūshālayim) to_present to_the master,
OET (OET-RV) Then when the time of the mother’s purification was fulfilled as per Mosheh’s instructions, they took him down to Yerushalem to be dedicated to Yahweh
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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