Discovery BoxLuke 2:26-27 
Context2:26 It 1 had been revealed 2 to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die 3 before 4 he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 5 2:27 So 6 Simeon, 7 directed by the Spirit, 8 came into the temple courts, 9 and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary according to the law, 10
1 tn Grk “And it.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 tn The use of the passive suggests a revelation by God, and in the OT the corresponding Hebrew term represented here by κεχρηματισμένον (kecrhmatismenon) indicated some form of direct revelation from God (Jer 25:30; 33:2; Job 40:8).
3 tn Grk “would not see death” (an idiom for dying).
4 tn On the grammar of this temporal clause, see BDF §§383.3; 395.
5 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
sn The revelation to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ is yet another example of a promise fulfilled in Luke 1-2. Also, see the note on Christ in 2:11.
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.
