Luke 2:32-33

2:32 a light, ¹ 

for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory ²  to your people Israel.”

2:33 So ³  the child’s ⁴  father ⁵  and mother were amazed ⁶  at what was said about him.

[2:32]  ¹ 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]  ² sn In other words, Jesus is a special cause for praise and honor (“glory”) for the nation.

[2:33]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:33]  ⁴ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the child) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:33]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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).