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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 was having_been_revealed to_him by the the holy spirit, to_ not _see death before wishfully he_may_see the chosen_one/messiah of_the_master.
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)
The Holy Spirit had revealed to him
The Holy Spirit had revealed/shown to him
God’s Spirit had made known to Simeon
that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
that he would not die before he saw the Christ/Messiah whom the Lord appointed.
that before he died, he would see the Christ/Deliverer whom God promised to send.
The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ: This part of the verse is passive, literally “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would see the Christ/MessiahWhen the Greek word that is translated as Christ is used as a title for Jesus, it has the same meaning as the Hebrew word that English versions frequently translated as “Messiah.” before he died. In some languages, it may be more natural to translate this as an active sentence, as the BSB does. For example:
The Holy Spirit…had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. (NLT)The phrase “The Holy Spirit” is the subject of the verb at the end of 2:25, and the NLT has used it also as the subject of “had revealed” in 2:26.
The form of the Greek verb here indicates that the Holy Spirit had already revealed this to Simeon at some time in the past.
he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ: In some languages it may be natural to reverse the clauses here and translate without the negative (not). For example:
he would see the Lord’s Christ before he died
see death: The phrase see death is an idiom. It means “to die,” and many English versions translate it that way. For example:
he would not die (NIV)
the Lord’s Christ: In the phrase the Lord’s Christ, the word Lord’s refers to God. The word Christ refers to the person whom God appointed and promised to send as King and Savior. So the Lord’s Christ means “God’s appointed/promised one.” See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.
For a fuller discussion of Christ, see the note at 2:11b. See also Christ in the Glossary.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-time-background
καὶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἦν αὐτῷ κεχρηματισμένον ὑπό τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Ἁγίου μή ἰδεῖν θάνατον πρίν ἄν ἴδῃ τόν Χριστόν Κυρίου)
Luke uses the word And to introduce background information that will help readers understand what happens next. Alternate translation: [Now]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἦν αὐτῷ κεχρηματισμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Ἁγίου
was ˱to˲_him ˓having_been˒_revealed (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἦν αὐτῷ κεχρηματισμένον ὑπό τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Ἁγίου μή ἰδεῖν θάνατον πρίν ἄν ἴδῃ τόν Χριστόν Κυρίου)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form. Alternate translation: [the Holy Spirit had shown him] or [the Holy Spirit had told him]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον πρὶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἦν αὐτῷ κεχρηματισμένον ὑπό τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Ἁγίου μή ἰδεῖν θάνατον πρίν ἄν ἴδῃ τόν Χριστόν Κυρίου)
To see death is an idiom that means “to die.” Alternate translation: [that he would not die before]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / litotes
μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον πρὶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἦν αὐτῷ κεχρηματισμένον ὑπό τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Ἁγίου μή ἰδεῖν θάνατον πρίν ἄν ἴδῃ τόν Χριστόν Κυρίου)
Here, Luke is using a figure of speech that expresses a positive meaning by using a negative word together with a word that is the opposite of the intended meaning. Alternate translation: [he would live until]
OET (OET-LV) And was having_been_revealed to_him by the the holy spirit, to_ not _see death before wishfully he_may_see the chosen_one/messiah of_the_master.
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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