Nazareth

The name that is transliterated as “Nazareth” in English is translated in Hungarian Sign Language with a sign that refers to blossoming and spring: it depicts the growth of young shoots. The word Nazareth is derived from the Hebrew word netzer, which means bud, blossom, sprout, or shoot. This linguistic connection is particularly significant for Messianic prophecies, such as in the Book of Isaiah: A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch (netzer) will bear fruit (Isaiah 11:1). Thus, the sign in sign language does not only identify a city, but also visually connects Nazareth with the prophetic title of Jesus. The translation highlights that the sign in sign language is essentially a visual exegesis: with a single motion, it teaches the profound etymological connection between the name of the city and the promise of the Savior. The sign is more than just a word, a label; it is simultaneously a commentary, an interpretation. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Nazareth” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

Jesus as a Child in Nazareth

Following is a 1973 painting of the JESUS MAFA project, a response to New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings:

From Art in the Christian Tradition , a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Image retrieved March 23, 2026. Original source: librairie-emmanuel.fr.

Jesus' human vs. divine nature in modern Burmese translation

There are three different levels of speech in Burmese: common language, religious language (addressing and honoring monks, etc.), and royal language (which is not in active use anymore). Earliest Bible translations used exclusively royal and religious language (in the way Jesus is addressed by others and in the way Jesus is referred to via pronouns), which results in Jesus being divine and not human. Later editions try to make distinctions.

In the Common Language Version (publ. 2005) the human face of Jesus appears in the narrative of the angel’s message to Joseph and what Joseph did in response (Matthew 1:21-25). The angel told Joseph that Mary was going to give birth to a son, not a prince.

Likewise in Luke 2:6-7 the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is told simply using the Common language. Again in the description of the shepherds’ visit to the baby Jesus (Mark 1:21-25), in the story of Jesus’ circumcision (Luke 2:6-2:7), and in the narrative of the child Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem (Luke 2:46-51), the human face of Jesus comes to the forefront.

On the other hand, the child Jesus is clearly depicted as a royal or a divine child in the story of the wise men (Matthew 2:9-12), the story of the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14), and the return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:20-21).

(Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )

See also Mary (mother of Jesus).

complete verse (Luke 2:51)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 2:51:

  • Noongar: “So Jesus went with them to Nazareth. There, he obeyed them, doing everything they asked. Jesus’ mother kept all these things in her heart.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “After that, they went together back to Nazaret, and he definitely submitted to the commands of his mother and father. His mother stored all that had happened in her heart.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then Isa went along with his parents home to Nasaret and he did/followed what they commanded him. And all that happened was kept/stored-up by Mariyam in her liver.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now as for Jesus, he returned with them to Nazareth because he was obedient to his parents. And his mother did not forget all these things, but rather, she kept them in her thinking.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then Jesus accompanied them to go-home to Nazaret, and he obeyed all that they were telling him. As for his mother, she stored in her mind all these-things that had happened.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well only then could they accomplish their returning to Nazaret. Jesus was really obedient to them. All that which Maria was observing, she was storing well in her head.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 2:41-52)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 2:41-52:

Every year Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for Passover,
       and when Jesus was twelve, they went there as usual.
After Passover, his parents left,
       not knowing Jesus had stayed on in the city.

They thought he was traveling with friends,
       and they went a whole day before looking for him.

When they could not find Jesus with relatives or friends,
they returned to Jerusalem and for three days
       anxiously searched everywhere.

Finally, they found Jesus in the temple,
listening to the teachers, asking them questions,
       and surprising everyone by his wisdom and knowledge.

“Son, why have you done this to us?” asked his mother.
       “Your father and I’ve been frantically searching for you.”

“Why did you have to search for me?” questioned Jesus.
“Didn’t you know I’d be here in my Father’s house?”
       But they didn’t understand what he meant.

Jesus returned home to Nazareth with his parents,
       and was always obedient to them.
But his mother never stopped thinking about all of this.

As Jesus grew up, he grew wiser and stronger —
       so much so that God and people were pleased with him.

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("serve")

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, tsukae-rare-ru (仕えられる) or “serve” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Luke 2:51

Exegesis:

kai katebē met’ autōn ‘and he went down with them.’

katabainō ‘to come down,’ ‘to go down,’ here used of going away from Jerusalem (cf. 10.30, 31; Acts 24.1; 25.7), as contrasted with anabainō (cf. vv. 4 and 42), and implying going back home.

kai ēn hupotassomenos autois ‘and he was obedient to them.’ The imperfect tense is durative.

hupotassō ‘to subject,’ in the passive ‘to become subject,’ ‘to obey’; here the participle is virtually equivalent to an adjective meaning ‘obedient.’

kai hē mētēr autou dietērei panta ta rēmata ‘and his mother kept everything.’ The definite article ta here makes panta ta rēmata a summary of the events told in the preceding narrative.

diatēreō ‘to keep,’ ‘to treasure,’ synonymous with suntēreō, used in a similar phrase in v. 19.

Translation:

He (or, the boy Jesus) went down with them and came to Nazareth, or, ‘came and-arrived in N.’ (Kituba). Some versions contract the two clauses into one, e.g. “he went back with them to N.” (An American Translation). Went down. For movement to a lower, or a higher, level cf. on “went up” in 2.4. With them, or specifying the pronoun, ‘with his parents,’ ‘with the-two-of-them’ (Malay); Balinese has ‘returned together,’ leaving the persons in whose company he returned to be inferred from the context.

And was obedient to them. From the change of aspect it follows that this clause is not a mere continuance of the preceding pair of clauses; hence some versions prefer a major break and an explicit reference to the agent, cf. .’..; and he was submissive to them’ (Bible de Jérusalem). The phrase may be interpreted as the description of Jesus’ behaviour (i.e. he willingly did as he was ordered), or of the situation in which he found himself, cf. ‘was under their authority’ (cf. New English Bible). Where a rendering covering both possibilities is not available, the second one can best be chosen. — Obedient. The concept of ‘obedience’ may be described by ‘to do what a person says,’ ‘to accept orders,’ ‘to follow (in a person’s steps)’ (Malay), ‘to have an ear that listens’ (Kipsigis), ‘to hear a person’s mouth’ (Uduk). In some other languages one term covers ‘to believe’ and ‘to obey’ (Tepeuxila Cuicatec, Tzeltal), or ‘to hear/listen’ and ‘to obey’ (Bahasa Indonesia), or, ‘to listen,’ ‘to believe’ and ‘to obey’ (Thai).

Kept all these things in her heart, cf. on v. 19.

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.