Luke 2:49

2:49 But he replied, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Luke 2:52

2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.


tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.

tn Grk “he said to them.”

tn Grk “Why is it that you were looking for me?”

tn Or “I must be about my Father’s business” (so KJV, NKJV); Grk “in the [things] of my Father,” with an ellipsis. This verse involves an idiom that probably refers to the necessity of Jesus being involved in the instruction about God, given what he is doing. The most widely held view today takes this as a reference to the temple as the Father’s house. Jesus is saying that his parents should have known where he was.

tn Or “kept increasing.” The imperfect tense suggests something of a progressive force to the verb.