2:42

twelve years old: The age of twelve was an important time in a Jewish boy’s life.

they: The pronoun they grammatically refers to Joseph and Mary, but it is clear from the story that Jesus went with them.

To make this clear, you can say:

they went up…⌊and he went with them⌋
-or-

⌊he and⌋ his parents

went up according to the custom of the Feast: The verb went up indicates that they were traveling to a place that was higher in elevation. The city of Jerusalem, where the Feast was held, was located on a hill.

In some languages, it is important to say whether people are traveling to a place that is higher or lower in elevation. However, in other languages, this may be unusual or confusing. If it is confusing in your language, here are other ways to translate the action:

traveled to Jerusalem
-or-
went to the feast

according to the custom of the Feast: At that time in Israel’s history, it was the custom for all Jewish men to go to Jerusalem every year for the Passover Festival. The wives often accompanied their husbands.

the Feast: The phrase the Feast refers back to the Feast of the Passover in 2:41. Many English versions do not capitalize the word “Feast” here, and you may follow the rules of capitalization that you normally use. Some versions use a general term such as “celebration” here or leave the phrase implied.

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