Luke 2 - Lexham English Bible (LEB)

The Birth of Jesus Christ

2 Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar^[a] Augustus to register all the empire. ² (This first registration took place when^[b] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to be registered, each one to his own town. ⁴ So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, ⁵ to be registered together with Mary, who was legally promised in marriage to him and^[c] was pregnant. ⁶ And it happened that while they were there, the time came^[d] for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸ And there were shepherds in the same region, living out of doors and keeping watch, guarding over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened.^{[e] 10} And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring good news to you of great joy which will be for all the people: ¹¹ that today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. ¹² And this will be the sign for you: you will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace
among people with whom he is pleased!”^[f]

¹⁵ And it happened that when the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began to say^[g] to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has revealed to us!” ¹⁶ And they went hurrying and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ And when they^[h] saw it,^[i] they made known the statement that had been told to them about this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it^[j] were astonished concerning what had been said to them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering them^[k] in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

²¹ And when eight days were completed so that he could be circumcised,^[l] he was named Jesus, his name that he was called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple

²² And when the days of their purification were completed according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him^[m] to the Lord ²³ (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb will be called holy to the Lord”)^{[n] 24} and to offer a sacrifice according to what was stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”^[o]

The Prophecy of Simeon

²⁵ And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was^[p] Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he would see the Lord’s Christ.^{[q] 27} And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus so that they could do for him according to what was customary under the law, ²⁸ he took him in his^[r] arms and praised God and said,

²⁹ “Now dismiss your slave in peace, Lord,
according to your word.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹ that you have prepared in the presence of all the peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and mother were astonished at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed^[s]— ³⁵ and a sword will pierce your own soul also, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed!”

The Testimony of Anna

³⁶ And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher (she was advanced in years,^[t] having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,^{[u] 37} and herself as a widow up to eighty-four years)^[v] who did not depart from the temple with fastings and prayers, serving night and day. ³⁸ And at that same hour she approached and^[w] began to give thanks^[x] to God, and to speak about him to all those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹ And when they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child was growing and becoming strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.

Jesus in the Temple at Twelve Years Old

⁴¹ And his parents went every year to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the feast. ⁴³ And after^[y] the days were completed, while they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. And his parents did not know it,^{[z] 44} but believing him to be in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. And they began searching for^[aa] him among their^[ab] relatives and their^[ac] acquaintances, ⁴⁵ and when they^[ad] did not find him,^[ae] they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. ⁴⁶ And it happened that after three days they found him in the temple courts,^[af] sitting in the midst of the teachers and listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his insight and his^[ag] answers. ⁴⁸ And when they^[ah] saw him, they were astounded and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have been searching for you anxiously!” ⁴⁹ And he said to them, “Why^[ai] were you searching for me? Did you not know that it was necessary for me to be in the house^[aj] of my Father?” ⁵⁰ And they did not understand the statement that he spoke to them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was submitting to them. And his mother treasured all these things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus was advancing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and with people.

Footnotes

1. Luke 2:1 Or “the emperor”
2. Luke 2:2 Or perhaps “before”; here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was governor”)
3. Luke 2:5 Here “and” is supplied in keeping with English style
4. Luke 2:6 Literally “the days were completed”
5. Luke 2:9 Literally “they were afraid with great fear”
6. Luke 2:14 Literally “of good pleasure”
7. Luke 2:15 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
8. Luke 2:17 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
9. Luke 2:17 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
10. Luke 2:18 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
11. Luke 2:19 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
12. Luke 2:21 Literally “to circumcise him”
13. Luke 2:22 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
14. Luke 2:23 An allusion to Exod 13:2, 12, 15
15. Luke 2:24 A quotation from Lev 5:11; 12:8
16. Luke 2:25 Literally “to whom the name”
17. Luke 2:26 Or “Messiah”
18. Luke 2:28 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
19. Luke 2:34 Or “rejected”
20. Luke 2:36 Literally “with many days”
21. Luke 2:36 Literally “from her virginity”
22. Luke 2:37 Or “eighty-four years as a widow”
23. Luke 2:38 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“approached”) has been translated as a finite verb
24. Luke 2:38 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to give thanks”)
25. Luke 2:43 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“were completed”) which is understood as temporal
26. Luke 2:43 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
27. Luke 2:44 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began searching for”)
28. Luke 2:44 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
29. Luke 2:44 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
30. Luke 2:45 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“find”) which is understood as temporal
31. Luke 2:45 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
32. Luke 2:46 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
33. Luke 2:47 This is an understood repetition of “his” due to English style
34. Luke 2:48 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
35. Luke 2:49 Literally “what is it that”
36. Luke 2:49 Or “things” (= business)