Lukas 2:26-28

2:26 It ¹  had been revealed ²  to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die ³  before ⁴  he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ⁵  2:27 So ⁶  Simeon, ⁷  directed by the Spirit, ⁸  came into the temple courts, ⁹  and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary according to the law, ¹⁰  2:28 Simeon ¹¹  took him in his arms and blessed God, saying, ¹² 

[2:26]  ¹ tn Grk “And it.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:26]  ² tn The use of the passive suggests a revelation by God, and in the OT the corresponding Hebrew term represented here by κεχρηματισμένον (kecrhmatismenon) indicated some form of direct revelation from God (Jer 25:30; 33:2; Job 40:8).

[2:26]  ³ tn Grk “would not see death” (an idiom for dying).

[2:26]  ⁴ tn On the grammar of this temporal clause, see BDF §§383.3; 395.

[2:26]  ⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:26]  sn The revelation to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ is yet another example of a promise fulfilled in Luke 1-2. Also, see the note on Christ in 2:11.

[2:27]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:27]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Simeon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “So in the Spirit” or “So by the Spirit,” but since it refers to the Spirit’s direction the expanded translation “directed by the Spirit” is used here.

[2:27]  ⁹ tn Grk “the temple.”

[2:27]  sn The temple courts is a reference to the larger temple area, not the holy place. Simeon was either in the court of the Gentiles or the court of women, since Mary was present.

[2:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to do for him according to the custom of the law.” See Luke 2:22-24.

[2:28]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Simeon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:28]  ¹² tn Grk “and said.” The finite verb in Greek has been replaced with a participle in English to improve the smoothness of the translation.