Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him,
Parallel Translations
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Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him,
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And his father and mother mervelled at those thinges which were spoke of him.
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And Ioseph and his mother marueiled at those things, which were spoken touching him.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Luke 2:33 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who dwells in Mount Zion.
- Luke 1:65-66 Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea. All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him.
- Luke 2:48 When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those…
33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
Ver. 33. Marvelled at those things] Saints, the more they see into the mystery of Christ, the more are they transported with admiration. But most of all at the last day, 2Th 1:10.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Brentius notes on this text, Non admirantur quia non…
Brentius notes on this text, Non admirantur quia non credunt, sed quia credunt ideo admirantur, They did not admire because they did not believe, but because they believed therefore they marvelled. They had revelations what Christ was; the angel had appeared to Joseph, to Mary, to Zacharias, and Elisabeth; the wise men had come from the east (if, as some think, they came so soon); yet they marvelled; they did not contemn and mock at these things, but certainly neither did they fully understand them, but in the general believed the Divine revelation. I do doubt whether, before Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power, by his resurrection from the dead, Rom 1:4, either Mary or Christ’s own disciples did steadily and firmly believe, that Christ was the eternal Son of God; though it was clear that before that time they believed him to be sent of God, and a great Prophet, nay, the promised Messias, the Christ of God, and generally believed that what was spoken of the Messias and the Christ belonged to him, but whether they did rightly understand that the Messiah was to be God man I cannot tell. John Baptist seemeth clearest in the case. Peter also made a famous confession of it, but many things we read of Peter afterward which speak even Peter’s faith in the case rather the embryo of faith than a fixed and perfect faith. But I impose nothing here on my reader, let him judge as he seeth reason; supposing a fixed firm faith in this case, yet they might marvel, for Christ is to be admired of them that believe.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Simeon blessed them,.... Pronounced them blessed persons, on…
And Simeon blessed them,.... Pronounced them blessed persons, on account of their relation to Christ as man; and more especially, because of their interest in him, as the, Saviour and Redeemer of them; and wished them all happiness and prosperity inward and outward, temporal, spiritual, and eternal; and so the Arabic version renders it, confining it to Joseph and Mary; "and Simeon blessed them both"; though this blessing of his may take in also the young child Jesus; whom he might pronounce blessed, as Elizabeth before had done, Luk 1:42 since he was the promised seed, in whom all nations of the earth should be blessed; and to whom, and to whose undertakings, interest, and kingdom, he might wish all prosperous success. The Persic version reads, "old Simeon: and said unto Mary his mother": he directed his discourse to her, because she was the only real parent of this child he had in his arms, and had said so much of, and was about to say more; and because part of what follows, personally concerned her:
behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel. The word "child", is not in the original text; where it is only, "this is set, &c." Simeon seeming to be, as it were, at a loss, what name to call this great and illustrious person by, and therefore it is left to be supplied. The Persic version supplies it thus, behold, "this Holy One is set, &c." The sense is, that this child, who is the stone of Israel, is set, or put, or lies, both as a stone of stumbling, and rock of offence, for many of the Jews to stumble at, and fail and perish; and as a precious corner and foundation stone, for the erection and elevation of others of them, to the highest honour and dignity, that shall believe on him: for these words are not to be understood of the same, but of different persons among the Jews; though it may be true, that some, who first stumbled at him, might be raised up again, and brought to believe in him; and that many, who for his sake, and the Gospel, fell under great disgrace and reproach, and into great afflictions and persecutions, were raised up to the enjoyment of great comfort and honour: but they are not the same persons that Christ is set for the fall of, that he is set for the rising of; nor the same he is set for the rising of, he is set for the fall of; the one designs the elect of God among the Jews, who became true believers in Christ; and the other, the reprobate, who died in impenitence and unbelief: the words, so far as they concern Christ, "being set for the fall of many of the Jews"; have a manifest reference to Isa 8:14 where the Messiah is spoken of as a stone, and as a stone of stumbling, and rock of offence; at which, many of the Jews should stumble, and fail, and be broken. And so the text is applied in the Talmud (m), where it is said, that "the son of David will not come, until both houses of the fathers, fail out of Israel; and they are these, the head of the captivity in Babylon, and the prince in the land of Israel; as it is said, Isa 8:14 "he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and rock of offence", to both the houses of Israel.
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Accordingly the Jews did stumble at his birth, parentage, and education; at the meanness of his person, and the obscurity of his kingdom; at the company he kept, and the audience that attended him; at his doctrine and miracles, and at his sufferings and death: they fell, through their unbelief and rejection of him, as the Messiah; and not only from their outward privileges, civil, and religious; the Gospel was taken away from them, the national covenant between God and them was broken, and they ceased to be his people, their temple and city were destroyed, and wrath came upon their nation to the uttermost; but they also fell into everlasting perdition, dying in their sins, through their disbelief of Jesus as the Messiah: this indeed was not the case of all of them; there was a seed, a remnant, according to the election of grace but it was the case of many, and of the far greater part but then this same stone that was laid in Zion, was also
set for the rising again of many of them; meaning not for their resurrection in a literal sense, though this is a truth: for as all God's elect, whether Jews or Gentiles, rose in him representatively, when he rose from the dead; so many of them rose personally after his resurrection, and all of them, at the last day, will rise again, in consequence of their union to him: and indeed, all the wicked will be raised again, by virtue of his power; but not this, but their resurrection in a spiritual sense, is here meant; and it supposes the persons raised to have been in a low estate, as all God's elect by nature are: they are in a hopeless and helpless condition in themselves: they are in a state of thraldom and bondage, to sin, Satan, and the law; they are filled with diseases, nauseous, mortal, and incurable; they are clothed in rags, and are beggars on the dunghill; they are deep in debt, and have nothing to pay; and are dead in trespasses and sins. Christ is now provided and appointed, for the raising them up out of their low estate, and he does do it; he is the resurrection and the life unto them; he raises from the death of sin, to a life of grace and holiness from him, to a life of faith on him, and communion with him here, and to eternal life hereafter: he pays all their debts clothes them with his righteousness, heals all their diseases, redeems them from the slavery of sin, the captivity of Satan, and the bondage and curse of the law; brings them into a hopeful and comfortable condition; raises them to the possession of a large estate, an eternal inheritance; and gives them both a right unto it, and ineptness for it; sets them among princes, makes them kings, places them on a throne of glory, yea, on his own throne, and sets a crown of righteousness, life, and glory, on their heads; and will cause them to reign with him, first on earth, for a thousand years, and then in heaven to all eternity: and this was to be the case of many in Israel, though not of all; for all did not obey the Gospel, some did, three thousand under one sermon; and more will in the latter day, when all Israel shall be saved. This privilege of rising again, in this sense, by Christ, though it is here spoken of with respect to many of the Jews, yet not to the exclusion of the Gentiles; for this honour have all the saints, be they of what nation they will. Now when Christ is said to be "set" for these different things, the meaning is, that he was foreappointed, preordained, and set forth in God's counsel, purposes, and decrees, as a stone at which some should stumble, through their own wickedness and unbelief, and fall and perish, and be eternally lost; and as a foundation stone for others, to build their faith and hope upon, which should be given them, and so rise up to everlasting life; and that he was set forth in the prophecies of the Old Testament, as in that here referred to, for the same ends; and that he was now exhibited in human nature with the same views, and should be held forth in the everlasting Gospel, for the like purposes; and which eventually is the savour of life unto life to some, and the savour of death unto death to others: to all this, a behold is prefixed, as expressing what is wonderful and surprising, and not to be accounted for, but to be resolved into the secret and sovereign will of God: it is added, that he is also set
for a sign which shall be spoken against: referring to Isa 8:18. Christ is the sign of God's everlasting love to his people, the great proof, evidence, and demonstration of it; and in this respect, is spoken against by many: and he is set up in the Gospel, as an ensign of the people to look at, and gather to, for comfort, peace, righteousness, salvation, and eternal life; but is by many contradicted, opposed, and treated with contempt and abhorrence; so that he appears rather to be set as a mark and butt to shoot at: he was spoken against by the Scribes and Pharisees, and the greater part of the people of the Jews, and contradicted, as the Messiah, because of his mean appearance among them; his proper deity was denied, his divine sonship was gainsayed; he was contemned in all his offices, kingly, priestly, and prophetic; his works of mercy, both to the bodies and souls of men, his miracles, and the whole series of his life and actions, were traduced as sinful and criminal: this was the contradiction of sinners against himself, which he endured, Heb 12:3 and for which he was set and appointed; and still the contradiction continues, and will, as long as the Gospel is preached,
(m) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 33. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which…
Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken - For they did not thoroughly understand them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 33. Joseph and his mother marvelled] For they…
Verse 33. Joseph and his mother marvelled] For they did not as yet fully know the counsels of God, relative to the salvation which Christ was to procure; nor the way in which the purchase was to be made: but to this Simeon refers in the following verses.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain In the Greek, Joseph and the mother of Jesus.…
In the Greek, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. (Bible de Vence)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 33. Joseph] The undoubted reading is “His father,” א,…
33. Joseph] The undoubted reading is “His father,” א, B, D, L, &c.
of him] Rather, about Him.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (33) And Joseph and his mother.—The better MSS. give,…
(33) And Joseph and his mother.—The better MSS. give, His father and his mother. The present reading has apparently been substituted for this through feelings of reverence, but it has quite sufficient authority in Luk_2:27; Luk_2:48.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Joseph and his mother marvelled. It was not…
And Joseph and his mother marvelled. It was not so much that Simeon foretold new things respecting the Child Jesus that they marvelled; their surprise was rather that a stranger, evidently of position and learning, should possess so deep an insight into the lofty destinies of an unknown Infant, brought by evidently poor parents into the temple court. Was their secret then known to others whom they suspected not?
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 33. Marvelled. That Simeon should know the child.
33. Marvelled. That Simeon should know the child.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Simeon blesses Joseph and Mary:
Simeon blesses Joseph and Mary:
v. 33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
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v. 34. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary, His mother, Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against,
v. 35 (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Whereas in the story of the shepherds only Mary is mentioned as having taken careful note of the words concerning her Son, both parents are here represented as marveling over the words of Simeon, which revealed the full significance of this Child for the world. Joseph, the foster-father, usually remains in the background. The words which Simeon here spoke filled them both with joyful wonder. They were gradually beginning to have an idea as to the meaning of all the prophecies concerning the Babe in their arms. Simeon now spoke a blessing upon them both and addressed himself to Mary in a significant prophecy. his Child is set up, is established, by the will of God, for a double purpose. In the first place, He serves for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel, the true Israel, the members of God’s kingdom. The natural pride and self-righteousness of every man, which is characteristic of man’s inherited depravity, must fall and be removed entirely, before the resurrection in the faith in Jesus the Savior can take place. In the second place, He serves for a sign which will be opposed, spoken against. Many people, in fact, the majority, refuse to be humbled on account of this Savior, even though the assurance of succeeding glory is held out to them in the faith in Him. They harden their hearts against Him and are thus condemned through their own fault, 2Co 2:15-16; 2Co 4:3-4. But in spite of all that He is a sign before the whole world, just as the serpent in the wilderness was a sign to all the people, even to those that refused to look at it until it was too late. In this manner, the thoughts of men’s hearts are revealed. Many a leading Jew, whose reputation attested his perfect goodness, could not stand the test of this touchstone, Jesus the Christ, and rejected his own salvation. Incidentally, this state of affairs would prove a severe trial for Mary. Her mother’s heart would feel the hatred directed against her Son most keenly. It would often be like a double-edged sword penetrating her soul, as when she was witness of the crucifixion with its attendant tortures.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 what was said about him
what was said about him
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the things that Simeon said about him" (See: Active or Passive)
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said to Mary his mother
"said to the child's mother, Mary." Make sure it does not sound like Mary is the mother of Simeon.
Behold
Simeon used this expression to tell Mary that what he is about to say is extremely important to her.
this child is appointed for the downfall and rising up of many people in Israel
The words "downfall" and "rising up" express turning away from God and drawing closer to God. AT: "this child will cause many people in Israel to fall away from God or to rise closer to God" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)
for a sign that is rejected
"for a message from God that many people will resist"
a sword will pierce your own soul
This metaphor describes the deep sadness that Mary would feel. AT: "your sadness will be painful, as though a sword pierced your heart" (See: Metaphor)
the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed
Here "hearts" is a metonym for people's inner beings. This can be stated in active form. AT: "he may reveal the thoughts of many people" or "he may reveal what many people secretly think" (See: Metonymy and Active or Passive)
translationWords
amazed
bless
sign
sword
soul
heart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.