2:43a

When those days were over and they were returning home: This part of the verse indicates that after the Passover celebration ended, Joseph and Mary started traveling home.

they: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they refers to Joseph and Mary, the parents of Jesus. Some versions, such as the New International Version, say “his parents” here and “they” in 2:43c instead of “his parents.”

2:43b

In Greek, no conjunction connects this clause to 2:43a. This verse tells about an event that is unexpected or surprising. In some languages, it may be natural to use a conjunction to indicate that, as the Berean Standard Bible does by saying “but.” For example:

43a…they started home to Nazareth, 43bbut Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.

The event in 2:43c is also surprising. In some languages, it may be natural to have a conjunction there too. For example:

43a…they started home to Nazareth, 43bbut Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. 43cHowever, they were unaware of it.

Connect the clauses in a natural way in your language.

the boy Jesus: In some languages it may be difficult or unnatural to say the boy Jesus. If that is true in your language, here are other ways to translate it:

young Jesus
-or-
their son Jesus
-or-
Jesus

2:43c

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as but is a common conjunction that is often translated as “and” in English. Some English versions begin a new sentence here and do not translate this conjunction. However, since it introduces an unexpected event, some English versions indicate that by saying “but.” Connect this clause to the context in a natural way in your language. See the note on the connection in 2:43b.

His parents were unaware He had stayed: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as His parents were unaware is literally “his parents did not know.” Joseph and Mary did not know that Jesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem. Another way to translate this is:

His parents did not know it (English Standard Version)

His parents:
As noted at 2:43a, the Greek says his parents here. Some translations, such as the New International Version, mention the parents in 2:43a and say “they” here. Refer to Joseph and Mary here in a natural way in your language.

General Comment on 2:43a–c

In some languages, it will be more natural to reorder the clauses of 2:43a–c. Some examples are:

43aWhen the feast was over, Jesus’ parents returned home. 43cThey did not realize that 43bJesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem.
-or-

43aWhen the feast was over, Jesus’ parents left Jerusalem and started to return home. 43cThey did not realize that 43bJesus had stayed in Jerusalem.

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.