Luke 2:28-34

2:28 Simeon ¹  took him in his arms and blessed God, saying, ² 

2:29 “Now, according to your word, ³  Sovereign Lord, ⁴  permit ⁵  your servant ⁶  to depart ⁷  in peace.

2:30 For my eyes have seen your salvation ⁸ 

2:31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: ⁹ 

2:32 a light, ¹⁰ 

for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory ¹¹  to your people Israel.”

2:33 So ¹²  the child’s ¹³  father ¹⁴  and mother were amazed ¹⁵  at what was said about him. 2:34 Then ¹⁶  Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Listen carefully: ¹⁷  This child ¹⁸  is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising ¹⁹  of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected. ²⁰ 

[2:28]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Simeon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:28]  ² tn Grk “and said.” The finite verb in Greek has been replaced with a participle in English to improve the smoothness of the translation.

[2:29]  ³ sn The phrase according to your word again emphasizes that God will perform his promise.

[2:29]  ⁴ tn The Greek word translated here by “Sovereign Lord” is δεσπότης (despoth").

[2:29]  ⁵ sn This short prophetic declaration is sometimes called the Nunc dimittis, which comes from the opening phrase of the saying in Latin, “now dismiss,” a fairly literal translation of the Greek verb ἀπολύεις (apolueis, “now release”) in this verse.

[2:29]  ⁶ tn Here the Greek word δοῦλος (doulos, “slave”) has been translated “servant” since it acts almost as an honorific term for one specially chosen and appointed to carry out the Lord’s tasks.

[2:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “now release your servant.”

[2:30]  ⁸ sn To see Jesus, the Messiah, is to see God’s salvation.

[2:31]  ⁹ sn Is the phrase all peoples a reference to Israel alone, or to both Israel and the Gentiles? The following verse makes it clear that all peoples includes Gentiles, another key Lukan emphasis (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:34-43).

[2:32]  ¹⁰ tn The syntax of this verse is disputed. Most read “light” and “glory” in parallelism, so Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and is glory to the people for Israel. Others see “light” (1:78-79) as a summary, while “revelation” and “glory” are parallel, so Jesus is light for all, but is revelation for the Gentiles and glory for Israel. Both readings make good sense and either could be correct, but Luke 1:78-79 and Acts 26:22-23 slightly favor this second option.

[2:32]  ¹¹ sn In other words, Jesus is a special cause for praise and honor (“glory”) for the nation.

[2:33]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:33]  ¹³ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the child) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:33]  ¹⁴ tc Most mss ([A] Θ [Ψ] ˹³ 33 Ï it) read “Joseph,” but in favor of the reading ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ (Jo pathr autou, “his father”) is both external (א B D L W 1 700 1241 pc sa) and internal evidence. Internally, the fact that Mary is not named at this point and that “Joseph” is an obviously motivated reading, intended to prevent confusion over the virgin conception of Christ, argues strongly for ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ as the authentic reading here. See also the tc note on “parents” in 2:43.

[2:33]  ¹⁵ tn The term refers to the amazement at what was happening as in other places in Luke 1–2 (1:63; 2:18). The participle is plural, while the finite verb used in the periphrastic construction is singular, perhaps to show a unity in the parents’ response (BDF §135.1.d: Luke 8:19).

[2:34]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[2:34]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “behold.”

[2:34]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “this one”; the referent (the child) is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:34]  ¹⁹ sn The phrase the falling and rising of many emphasizes that Jesus will bring division in the nation, as some will be judged (falling) and others blessed (rising) because of how they respond to him. The language is like Isa 8:14-15 and conceptually like Isa 28:13-16. Here is the first hint that Jesus’ coming will be accompanied with some difficulties.

[2:34]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and for a sign of contradiction.”