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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 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
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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 it_became after three days, they_found him in the temple, sitting in the_midst of_the teachers, both hearing from_them and asking them.
OET (OET-RV) It was only after three days that they found him in the temple, sitting with the religious teachers there—sometimes listening to them, and sometimes asking them questions.
In this section, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem. This may have been Jesus’ first time to go there for Passover. While Jesus was in Jerusalem, he went to the Temple and discussed religious matters with Jewish religious leaders.
When Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem to return to Nazareth, they traveled with a group of people. They did not realize that Jesus had stayed in Jerusalem and was not traveling with them. This may have happened because of the way Jews normally walked in smaller groups when they traveled together. The women and small children walked ahead since they traveled more slowly. A boy normally traveled with his mother. But when he became a man, perhaps as early as twelve years old, he traveled with his father. So, as they returned from Jerusalem, Mary probably thought that Jesus was with Joseph, and Joseph may have thought that he was with Mary. Joseph and Mary traveled for a whole day before they realized that Jesus was not with them. The events in this section show three things:
Joseph and Mary did not know where Jesus was;
they did not know exactly what he was telling them when they found him;
by the age of twelve (or before), Jesus was aware that he was God’s Son.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Mary and Joseph Find Jesus With the Teachers in the Temple Courtyard (GW)
Jesus when he was twelve years old
Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts,
On the third day, they(dual) found Jesus in the temple courtyard,
They(dual) searched for him, and on the third day after they had left Jerusalem, they(dual) found him in a courtyard of the temple.
Finally, after three days: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as after three days probably indicates that Joseph and Mary found Jesus on the third day after they left Jerusalem. The first day was the day that they left Jerusalem to go toward Nazareth. On the second day they went back to Jerusalem, and on the third day they found Jesus.
If you want to make this clear in your translation you could say:
On the third day after they left Jerusalem
Most commentators do not think that this phrase means that they searched for him in Jerusalem for three days.
temple courts: The Greek word that the BSB translates here as temple courts is literally “temple” (as in most English versions). The temple was in Jerusalem and was the most important place where Jews worshiped God. It consisted of the main building and the walls and courtyards that surrounded it. Here “temple” refers specifically to one of the temple courtyards.
Some English versions (BSB, NIV, NET) have made this clear by translating “temple” as temple courts. You may want to do this also if your word or phrase for “temple” would make readers think that Joseph and Mary found Jesus inside the temple building.
This word also occurs in 2:27a. See the note on 2:27a for examples of how to translate this. See temple, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.
sitting among the teachers,
sitting with the teachers.
He was sitting with the Jewish religious teachers.
among: The word among indicates that Jesus was with a group of teachers. It does not imply that he was one of the teachers. The word among can be translated as “with,” “next to,” “in front of,” or “in the middle of.” Translate it in a natural way in your language for this context.
teachers: The teachers were teachers of the Jewish religion. They were probably some of the best-known religious teachers in Israel.
listening to them and asking them questions.
He was listening to them and asking them questions.
listening to them and asking them questions: Jesus was respectful toward these teachers. He behaved like a student.
Note 1 topic: writing-newevent
καὶ ἐγένετο
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο μετά ἡμέρας τρεῖς εὗρον αὐτόν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καθεζόμενον ἐν μέσῳ τῶν διδασκάλων καί ἀκούοντα αὐτῶν καί ἐπερωτῶντα αὐτούς)
Luke uses this phrase to introduce a new event in the story. Use a word, phrase, or other method in your language that is natural for introducing a new event.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ
in the temple
Since only priests could enter the temple building, this implicitly means the temple courtyard. Luke is using the word for the entire building to refer to one part of it. Alternate translation: [in the temple courtyard]
ἐν μέσῳ τῶν διδασκάλων
in in ˓the˒_midst ˱of˲_the teachers
Alternate translation: [among the teachers] or [surrounded by the teachers]
τῶν διδασκάλων
˱of˲_the teachers
Alternate translation: [the religious teachers] or [the experts in the Jewish law] or [those who taught people about God]
2:46 The three days probably included one day traveling from Jerusalem, one day traveling back, and one day searching.
• in the Temple: He was in the Temple compound, not the sanctuary.
• listening to them and asking questions: Jesus was in the role of a student. In rabbinic instruction, a teacher responded to a student’s question with a series of counter-questions. Jesus’ insightful questions and answers amazed the teachers.
OET (OET-LV) And it_became after three days, they_found him in the temple, sitting in the_midst of_the teachers, both hearing from_them and asking them.
OET (OET-RV) It was only after three days that they found him in the temple, sitting with the religious teachers there—sometimes listening to them, and sometimes asking them questions.
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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