Exegesis:
nun ‘now’ (adverb of time), i.e. now that the divine promise that he should see the Messiah before dying had been fulfilled.
apolueis ton doulon sou, despota ‘thou releasest thy servant, O master,’ implying that the condition for his release has been fulfilled. This, of course, does not mean that Simeon is to die immediately.
apoluō ‘to set free,’ ‘to dismiss.’ Here the verb is used metaphorically and the metaphor is that of the manumission of a slave. This metaphor, however, has lost its original force and been changed into that of the release from a task. Simeon’s life had been devoted to the expectation of the Messianic salvation, and now that this expectation had been fulfilled, this task had come to an end. This implies that Simeon’s release from life is drawing near.
doulos ‘slave,’ ‘servant.’
despotēs ‘master,’ ‘lord,’ in the Septuagint often used of God (cf. also Acts 4.24; Rev. 6.10).
kata to rēma sou ‘according to thy word,’ referring back to v. 26.
en eirēnē ‘in peace,’ going with apolueis. In the Old Testament eirēnē, when used in connexion with dying, qualifies it as a natural death (Jer. 34.5, in LXX 41.5) or as the end of a long life of happiness (Gen. 15.15). Here the ‘peace’ in which Simeon will die is due to the fact that his life’s expectation had been fulfilled (cf. v. 26 and v. 30). Basic to this usage of eirēnē, or rather of the Hebrew shalom, of which it is the Greek translation in the Septuagint, is the meaning of ‘well being and harmony with God and with man.’
Translation:
Lord. Some versions use ‘master,’ ‘boss,’ i.e. the normal opposite of ‘slave/servant.’ Such a word, however, may be unacceptable as form of address to God; hence, ‘Lord,’ in Revised Standard Version and several other versions, cf. on 1.6, sub (a) and (c).
Lettest thou depart, or, ‘you can release (from his task),’ or, ‘you can give his leave/discharge to’ (cf. Bahasa Indonesia KB, Balinese; New English Bible); or, choosing expressions more clearly suggesting a euphemism for death, ‘cause-to-leave’ (Tboli; when speaking of a person who has just died, the Tboli always say ‘he’s left now’), ‘let return’ (Bahasa Indonesia, Malay, using a verb that may suggest the phrase ‘return to Allah’s mercy’), ‘allow to go away’ (Leyden, choosing a verb that can mean also ‘pass away’). If it is impossible to find a term that covers both shades of meaning, the meaning ‘release from a task’ should be given priority.
Thy servant, or, to indicate that the reference is to the speaker, ‘me, your servant’ (Balinese, Kituba, Tboli), ‘this your servant’ (Bahasa Indonesia KB). For servant, when used in connexion with God, see on 1.54.
In peace here refers to a state of mind, not to outward circumstances. Since it has a rather emphatic position in the sentence it is sometimes better rendered by something like ‘now that I can leave in (or, having) peace,’ ‘now that my mind is set at peace.’
According to thy word, or, ‘as you said to me’ (Ekari), “as you promised” (An American Translation); or, ‘this is what you promised,’ cf. also ‘already fulfilled your former promise’ (Tboli).
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.