Paragraph 2:22–24

There are two main events in this paragraph:

(a) Mary was purified after she gave birth to Jesus (2:22a and 2:24). In 2:22a this event was introduced. In 2:24 Luke gave details about the sacrifice for Mary’s purification.

(b) Jesus was presented to the Lord (2:22b–23).

Notice that the purification of Mary is mentioned in 2:22a and also in 2:24. The presentation of Jesus (2:22b–23) separates the two places where Mary’s purification is mentioned. In some languages, it may be clearer to reorder these verses. For example:

22aWhen Mary and Joseph’s days of purification ended according to the Law of Moses, 22bthey went to Jerusalem. 24aThey went there to offer the sacrifice of 24btwo doves or two young pigeons. 24aThis was to obey what the Law of the Lord says. 22bThey also went to Jerusalem with Jesus to present him to the Lord, 23abecause the Law of the Lord also says, 23b“Whenever a mother’s first child is a son, he must be set apart to be holy to the Lord.”

2:22a

And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete: The Law that God gave to the Israelites through Moses said that when a Jewish woman gave birth to a baby, she became “unclean.” In order to become ritually “clean” (or pure) again after giving birth to a baby boy, she had to do two things:

(a) wait for a period of forty days after the birth;

(b) offer a sacrifice.

The period of forty days was called “the time of her purification.” At the end of that time, she was required to offer a sacrifice, and then she was clean again.

Some other ways to translate this are:

After the days required by Moses’ Teachings to make a mother clean had passed (God’s Word)
-or-
When the necessary days had passed in order for a mother to become clean again, as the Law of Moses teaches

the time of purification:
The Greek text speaks literally of “their” purification. (The Berean Standard Bible does not translate this pronoun.) The term “their” probably refers to Joseph and Mary. Some English versions make this explicit. For example:

The time…for Joseph and Mary to perform the ceremony of purification (Good News Translation)

The Law that God gave to the Israelites through Moses did not require Joseph to be purified. But because purification was a family matter, he was included. In some cultures, it may be more natural to say only that the mother needed to become pure or clean. If that is true in your language, you can say:

The waiting period for ⌊Mary⌋ to become pure again ended

purification: The word purification refers to becoming ritually pure or clean according to religious customs.

Law of Moses: The Law of Moses is the law that God gave to the Israelites through Moses.

2:22b

Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem for two reasons. The first reason is here in 2:22b. They went to present Jesus to the Lord. The second reason is in 2:24a.

to Jerusalem: Joseph and Mary took Jesus to God’s temple, which was located in the city of Jerusalem. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

to the temple in Jerusalem (Contemporary English Version)

to present Him to the Lord: In this context, the phrase to present Him to the Lord indicates that they took Jesus to the priest to acknowledge that Jesus belonged to God. This action is explained further in 2:23a and 2:23b. You may want to consider how to translate “consecrated” in 2:23b at the same time as you think about how to translate present Him to the Lord. See also Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.

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