OET interlinear LUKE 2:24

2:24a

Luke 2:24a explains the second reason why Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem. They went to offer a sacrifice for purification. The first reason is in 2:22b. Then 2:23 gives background information. It may be good to begin a new sentence at 2:24. For example:

Mary and Joseph also went to… (NCV)

They also came to Jerusalem to…

and to offer the sacrifice: The phrase to offer the sacrifice refers to the sacrifice that Joseph and Mary offered in Jerusalem for Mary’s purification. They gave two birds to a priest, who then killed the birds during a ceremony.

They gave this type of sacrifice so that Mary would become clean according to their religious customs. Then she could worship God publicly with other people again.

the sacrifice: A sacrifice is something that is offered/given to God or an idol. A sacrifice is often an animal that is killed in a ceremony. Another way to say this is:

that which is given to God

specified in the Law of the Lord: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as specified is literally “according to what is said.” Joseph and Mary gave this sacrifice according to what the Lord required in his law. This means that they did what God’s law said they should do. Another way to translate this is:

The Law of the Lord also says that parents have to offer a sacrifice…. So that is what Mary and Joseph did. (CEV)

2:24b

A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons: This is a citation from Leviticus 12:8, which names two kinds of birds that can be used for the sacrifice. Both of these birds are in the same family of birds that are referred to in English as either “doves” or “pigeons.”

The first pair of birds, translated as turtledoves in the BSB, are sometimes translated more generally as “doves”2.24 According to Animals in the Bible (UBS), “Dove, Pigeon,” there are three types of turtledoves found in Israel today, two of which were probably also present in ancient times and which would have been identified as tor in Hebrew or trugōn in Greek: the true turtledove, Streptopelia turtur, and the collared dove, Streptopelia decaocto. in English versions. These turtledoves are migratory, have brownish wings and a blue-gray neck and head, and are 24–29 centimeters in length.

The Greek word for the second pair of birds, translated as pigeons in the BSB, can refer to several different species of birds. In English, these birds are sometimes called “doves” and sometimes called “pigeons.” The dove/pigeon described here is probably similar to a common pigeon today.2.24 In Animals in the Bible (UBS), “Dove, Pigeon,” it is suggested that the most common bird in the dove-pigeon family in the Middle East today is the Asiatic Rock Dove (also called the Rock Pigeon or Common Pigeon), Columba livia, and would be the most likely identification for yonah in Hebrew and peristera in Greek. Doves/pigeons are medium-sized birds (30–36 centimeters long). They are usually gray or blue-gray with more color on their necks. They are found all around the world. In the case of these doves/pigeons, unlike for turtledoves, the law required that only young ones could be used for sacrifices.

If you have more than one word that describes birds from this family, choose two different words here.

If you only have one word to describe birds of this type, you could:

• Use your common word for dove/pigeon for the first, and then describe the second as another kind of dove/pigeon. For example:

  a pair of young doves/pigeons or two doves/pigeons of another kind

  two young doves/pigeons or two other birds that are like doves/pigeons

• Describe one as domestic doves/pigeons and the other as wild doves/pigeons, even though in ancient Israel probably only domestic birds were used for sacrifice.

A pair of turtledoves: The phrase A pair of turtledoves refers to two birds that were turtledoves. It does not necessarily mean a male and a female turtledove.