¹ tn Grk “And the angel said to her.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The pronoun αὐτῇ (auth, “to her”) has not been included in the translation since it is redundant in contemporary English.

² sn The phrase will overshadow is a reference to God’s glorious presence at work (Exod 40:34-35; Ps 91:4).

³ tn Or “the one born holy will be called the Son of God.” The wording of this phrase depends on whether the adjective is a predicate adjective, as in the text, or is an adjective modifying the participle serving as the subject. The absence of an article with the adjective speaks for a predicate position. Other less appealing options supply a verb for “holy”; thus “the one who is born will be holy”; or argue that both “holy” and “Son of God” are predicates, so “The one who is born will be called holy, the Son of God.”

⁴ tc A few mss (C* Θ Ë¹ 33 pc) add “by you” here. This looks like a scribal addition to bring symmetry to the first three clauses of the angel’s message (note the second person pronoun in the previous two clauses), and is too poorly supported to be seriously considered as authentic.

⁵ tn Or “Therefore the holy child to be born will be called the Son of God.” There are two ways to understand the Greek phrase τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον (to gennwmenon {agion) here. First, τὸ γεννώμενον could be considered a substantival participle with ἅγιον as an adjective in the second predicate position, thus making a complete sentence; this interpretation is reflected in the translation above. Second, τὸ ἅγιον could be considered a substantival adjective with γεννώμενον acting as an adjectival participle, thus making the phrase the subject of the verb κληθήσεται (klhqhsetai); this interpretation is reflected in the alternative reading. Treating the participle γεννώμενον as adjectival is a bit unnatural for the very reason that it forces one to understand ἅγιον as substantival; this introduces a new idea in the text with ἅγιον when an already new topic is being introduced with γεννώμενον. Semantically this would overload the new subject introduced at this point. For this reason the first interpretation is preferred.

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Simeon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Grk “So in the Spirit” or “So by the Spirit,” but since it refers to the Spirit’s direction the expanded translation “directed by the Spirit” is used here.

⁹ tn Grk “the temple.”

sn The temple courts is a reference to the larger temple area, not the holy place. Simeon was either in the court of the Gentiles or the court of women, since Mary was present.

¹⁰ tn Grk “to do for him according to the custom of the law.” See Luke 2:22-24.

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹² tn Grk “behold.”

¹³ tn Grk “this one”; the referent (the child) is supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ sn The phrase the falling and rising of many emphasizes that Jesus will bring division in the nation, as some will be judged (falling) and others blessed (rising) because of how they respond to him. The language is like Isa 8:14-15 and conceptually like Isa 28:13-16. Here is the first hint that Jesus’ coming will be accompanied with some difficulties.

¹⁵ tn Grk “and for a sign of contradiction.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “at that very hour.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “And coming up.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The participle ἐπιστᾶσα (epistasa) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁸ tn The imperfect ἐλάλει (elalei) here looks at a process of declaration, not a single moment. She clearly was led by God to address men and women about the hope Jesus was. The testimony of Luke 1—2 to Jesus has involved all types of people.

¹⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the child) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁰ tc A few mss (1216 pc) read ᾿Ισραήλ (Israhl, “Israel”) or ἐν τῷ ᾿Ισραήλ (en tw Israhl, “in Israel”), but this reading does not have enough ms support to be considered authentic. More substantial is the reading ἐν ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ (en Ierousalhm, “in Jerusalem”; found in A D L Θ Ψ 0130 ˹³ 33 Ï), though the preposition was almost surely added to clarify (and perhaps alter) the meaning of the original. The simple ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ, without preposition, is found in א B W Ξ 1 565* lat co.

map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

²¹ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²² tn Grk “when they”; the referent (his parents) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

²³ tn Grk “And his.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁴ tn The Greek word here is τέκνον (teknon) rather than υἱός (Juios, “son”).

²⁵ tn Or “Child, why did you do this to us?”

²⁶ tn Or “your father and I have been terribly worried looking for you.”

²⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁸ tn Grk “and John,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

²⁹ tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

³⁰ sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.

³¹ tn Grk “among you all, this one is great.” The absence of a comparative term here makes the point that comparison should not be done.

³² tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.

³³ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.