complete verse (Luke 2:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 2:33:

  • Noongar: “The father and mother of Jesus were surprised to hear these things, everything Simeon said of Jesus.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “The mother and father of that child were surprised to hear the words of Simeon about their child.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The mother and father of the child wondered very much at the words of Simiyun about their child.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then the parents of this child, they were very much surprised at what Simeon said about him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Jesus’ father-and-mother (lit. plural father) were surprised at what Simeon said concerning him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jose and Maria were amazed at those things which Simeon said concerning their child.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

presentation in the temple

This is a contemporary tempera/gouache on leather painting by an unknown Ethiopian artist. Source: Sacred Art Pilgrim website .

Following is a painting by Chen Yuandu 陳緣督 (1902–1967):

Housed in the Société des Auxiliaires des Missions Collection – Whitworth University.

Image taken from Chinese Christian Posters . For more information on the “Ars Sacra Pekinensis” school of art, see this article , for other artworks of that school in TIPs, see here.

The following is a stained glass window from the Three choir windows in the Marienkirche, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, of the 14th century:

Source: Der gläserne Schatz: Die Bilderbibel der St. Marienkirche in Frankfurt (Oder), Neuer Berlin Verlag, 2005, copyright for this image: Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

See also other stained glass windows from the Marienkirche in Frankfurt.

Translation commentary on Luke 2:33

Exegesis:

kai ēn ho patēr autou kai hē mētēr thaumazontes ‘and his father and mother were astonished’; autou goes with both ho patēr and hē mētēr. ēn ‘was’ is in the singular and thaumazontes ‘astonished’ is in the plural. When the subject of a clause consists of two co-ordinate words connected by kai the verb is often in the singular when it stands before the subject; when the verb stands after the second subject it is usually in the plural. Here we have a combination of these rules. The periphrastic conjugation stresses the durative aspect of the imperfect.

epi tois laloumenois peri autou ‘at what was being said about him,’ i.e. about Jesus. Simeon’s prophecy is the first to transcend the boundaries of Israel and to stress the universal aspect of Messianic salvation.

Translation:

His father and his mother, or, ‘the child’s father and mother (or, parents).’ In several languages it is possible to say ‘the father and mother,’ in which the article, or a deictic element, virtually limits the reference to the only parents-child relationship relevant in the context. The idiomatic sequence of the two nouns is not the same in all languages; several Indonesian languages, for instance, prefer ‘mother (and) father.’ The translator should use the sequence that is normal in the receptor language.

Marvelled at, or making explicit the durative aspect, e.g. ‘stood marvelling at’ (Nieuwe Vertaling); see on “wondered at” in 1.21.

What was said, or, ‘what Simeon said,’ ‘Simeon’s words.’

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2:33

Paragraph 2:33–35

2:33

The Child’s father and mother:
The phrase The Child’s father and mother refers to Jesus’ parents, Joseph and Mary.

were amazed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as were amazed has the same root as the word translated as “amazed” in 2:18.

at what was spoken about Him: The clause at what was spoken about Him tells what Jesus’ parents were amazed about. The things that Simeon said about Jesus amazed them. This clause is passive. In some languages, it may be more natural to translate it as an active clause. For example:

at the things Simeon said about him (Good News Translation)

Him: The pronoun Him refers to the baby Jesus.

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