Luke 2:4

2:4 So ¹  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ²  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ³  of David called Bethlehem, ⁴  because he was of the house ⁵  and family line ⁶  of David.

Luke 2:25

The Prophecy of Simeon

2:25 Now ⁷  there was a man in Jerusalem ⁸  named Simeon who was righteous ⁹  and devout, looking for the restoration ¹⁰  of Israel, and the Holy Spirit ¹¹  was upon him.

[2:4]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:4]  ² sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

[2:4]  ³ tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

[2:4]  ⁴ sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

[2:4]  ⁵ sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Or “family,” “lineage.”

[2:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:25]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “This man was righteous.” The Greek text begins a new sentence here, but this was changed to a relative clause in the translation to avoid redundancy.

[2:25]  ¹⁰ tn Or “deliverance,” “consolation.”

[2:25]  ¹¹ sn Once again, by mentioning the Holy Spirit, Luke stresses the prophetic enablement of a speaker. The Spirit has fallen on both men (Zechariah, 1:67) and women (Elizabeth, 1:41) in Luke 1–2 as they share the will of the Lord.