Lukas 2:13-22

2:13 Suddenly ¹  a vast, heavenly army ²  appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

2:14 “Glory ³  to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among people ⁴  with whom he is pleased!” ⁵ 

2:15 When ⁶  the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem ⁷  and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord ⁸  has made known to us.” 2:16 So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. ⁹  2:17 When ¹⁰  they saw him, ¹¹  they related what they had been told ¹²  about this child, 2:18 and all who heard it were astonished ¹³  at what the shepherds said. 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean. ¹⁴  2:20 So ¹⁵  the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising ¹⁶  God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told. ¹⁷ 

2:21 At ¹⁸  the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel ¹⁹  before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus’ Presentation at the Temple

2:22 Now ²⁰  when the time came for their ²¹  purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary ²²  brought Jesus ²³  up to Jerusalem ²⁴  to present him to the Lord

[2:13]  ¹ tn Grk “And suddenly.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:13]  ² tn Grk “a multitude of the armies of heaven.”

[2:14]  ³ sn Glory here refers to giving honor to God.

[2:14]  ⁴ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") referring to both males and females.

[2:14]  ⁵ tc Most witnesses (א² B² L Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï sy bo) have ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία (en anqrwpoi" eudokia, “good will among people”) instead of ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκίας (en anqrwpoi" eudokia", “among people with whom he is pleased”), a reading attested by א* A B* D W pc (sa). Most of the Itala witnesses and some other versional witnesses reflect a Greek text which has the genitive εὐδοκίας but drops the preposition ἐν. Not only is the genitive reading better attested, but it is more difficult than the nominative. “The meaning seems to be, not that divine peace can be bestowed only where human good will is already present, but that at the birth of the Saviour God’s peace rests on those whom he has chosen in accord with his good pleasure” (TCGNT 111).

[2:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:15]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:15]  ⁸ sn Note how although angels delivered the message, it was the Lord whose message is made known, coming through them.

[2:16]  ⁹ tn Or “a feeding trough.”

[2:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:17]  ¹¹ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[2:17]  ¹² tn Grk “the word which had been spoken to them.”

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “marveled.” It is a hard word to translate with one term in this context. There is a mixture of amazement and pondering at work in considering the surprising events here. See Luke 1:21, 63; 2:33.

[2:19]  ¹⁴ tn The term συμβάλλουσα (sumballousa) suggests more than remembering. She is trying to put things together here (Josephus, Ant. 2.5.3 [2.72]). The words “what they might mean” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[2:20]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the topic.

[2:20]  ¹⁶ sn The mention of glorifying and praising God is the second note of praise in this section; see Luke 2:13-14.

[2:20]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “just as [it] had been spoken to them.” This has been simplified in the English translation by making the prepositional phrase (“to them”) the subject of the passive verb.

[2:20]  sn The closing remark just as they had been told notes a major theme of Luke 1-2 as he sought to reassure Theophilus: God does what he says he will do.

[2:21]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And when eight days were completed.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:21]  ¹⁹ sn Jesus’ parents obeyed the angel as Zechariah and Elizabeth had (1:57-66). These events are taking place very much under God’s direction.

[2:22]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:22]  ²¹ tc The translation follows most mss, including early and important ones ({א A B L}). Some copyists, aware that the purification law applied to women only, produced mss ({76 it^pt vg} [though the Latin word eius could be either masculine or feminine]) that read “her purification.” But the extant evidence for an unambiguous “her” is shut up to one late minuscule ({codex 76}) and a couple of patristic citations of dubious worth ({Pseudo-Athanasius} whose date is unknown, and the {Catenae in euangelia Lucae et Joannis}, edited by J. A. Cramer. The Catenae is a work of collected patristic sayings whose exact source is unknown [thus, it could come from a period covering hundreds of years]). A few other witnesses (D pc lat) read “his purification.” The KJV has “her purification,” following Beza’s Greek text (essentially a revision of Erasmus’). Erasmus did not have it in any of his five editions. Most likely Beza put in the feminine form αὐτῆς (auths) because, recognizing that the eius found in several Latin mss could be read either as a masculine or a feminine, he made the contextually more satisfying choice of the feminine. Perhaps it crept into one or two late Greek witnesses via this interpretive Latin back-translation. So the evidence for the feminine singular is virtually nonexistent, while the masculine singular αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) was a clear scribal blunder. There can be no doubt that “their purification” is the authentic reading.

[2:22]  tn Or “when the days of their purification were completed.” In addition to the textual problem concerning the plural pronoun (which apparently includes Joseph in the process) there is also a question whether the term translated “purification” (καθαρισμός, kaqarismo") refers to the time period prescribed by the Mosaic law or to the offering itself which marked the end of the time period (cf. NLT, “it was time for the purification offering”).

[2:22]  sn Exegetically the plural pronoun “their” creates a problem. It was Mary’s purification that was required by law, forty days after the birth (Lev 12:2-4). However, it is possible that Joseph shared in a need to be purified by having to help with the birth or that they also dedicated the child as a first born (Exod 13:2), which would also require a sacrifice that Joseph would bring. Luke’s point is that the parents followed the law. They were pious.

[2:22]  ²² tn Grk “they”; the referents (Joseph and Mary) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.