Luke 2:10-11

2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, ¹  for I proclaim to you good news ²  that brings great joy to all the people: 2:11 Today ³  your Savior is born in the city ⁴  of David. ⁵  He is Christ ⁶  the Lord.

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.

[2:10]  ¹ tn Grk “behold.”

[2:10]  ² tn Grk “I evangelize to you great joy.”

[2:11]  ³ sn The Greek word for today (σήμερον, shmeron) occurs eleven times in the Gospel of Luke (2:11; 4:21; 5:26; 12:28; 13:32-33; 19:5, 9; 22:34, 61; 23:43) and nine times in Acts. Its use, especially in passages such as 2:11, 4:21, 5:26; 19:5, 9, signifies the dawning of the era of messianic salvation and the fulfillment of the plan of God. Not only does it underscore the idea of present fulfillment in Jesus’ ministry, but it also indicates salvific fulfillment present in the church (cf. Acts 1:6; 3:18; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:412; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 873).

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Or “town.” See the note on “city” in v. 4.

[2:11]  ⁵ tn This is another indication of a royal, messianic connection.

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[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.