Luke 2:26

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 

Ps 2:2,6; Ps 25:14; Ps 89:48; Ps 89:49; Isa 61:1; Da 9:24-26; Am 3:7; Lu 9:27; Joh 1:41; Joh 4:29; Joh 8:51; Joh 20:31; Ac 2:36; Ac 9:20; Ac 10:38; Ac 17:3; Heb 1:8,9; Heb 11:5

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.