The Fallible Study Bible

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Luke2:25–35

The Prophecy of Simeon

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Luke 2:25–35 — The Prophecy of Simeon. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

25

Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai idou ēn anthrōpos en Ierousalēm hō onoma Symeōn kai houtos ho anthrōpos dikaios kai eulabēs prosdechomenos paraklēsin tou Israēl kai Hagion Pneuma ēn ep’ auton

Word by word26 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiNowG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἰδοὺidou. . .G2400
√ ἰδού — used as imperative lo!VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
ἰδού: lo, behold (aorist imperative) A parsed imperative used as a pointer, not a command; Luke plants it here and again at v. 34, framing the whole episode between two summonses to look.
ἦνēnthere wasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἄνθρωποςanthrōposa manG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ἸερουσαλὴμIerousalēmJerusalemG2419
√ Ἱερουσαλήμ — Hierusalem (iNounDative Feminine Singular
ᾧhōG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounDative Masculine Singular
ὄνομαonomanamedG3686
√ ὄνομα — a "name" (literally or figuratively) (authority, character)NounNominative Neuter Singular
ΣυμεώνSymeōnSimeonG4826
√ Συμεών — Symeon (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οὗτοςhoutosG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἄνθρωποςanthrōpos[who]G444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounNominative Masculine Singular
δίκαιοςdikaios[was] righteousG1342
√ δίκαιος — equitable (in character or act)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
δίκαιος: equitable in character or act JFB: "upright in his moral character." Barnes glosses it "righteous before God and man; approved by God as a righteous man, and discharging faithfully his duty to man." Luke pairs it with εὐλαβής so that the horizontal and the vertical are both named before a word is said about revelation: this man's credential is obedience, not office.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εὐλαβήςeulabēsdevoutG2126
√ εὐλαβής — taking well (carefully), iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
εὐλαβής: taking well, carefully, circumspect A rare word (4 verses in all), and every one of its other occurrences is Luke's own (Acts 2:5; 8:2; 22:12), always of Jewish scrupulousness. Poole presses the point that Simeon is most probably "some ordinary, plain man": the Spirit's first New Testament resting place in the temple is on a layman, not a rabbi.
προσδεχόμενοςprosdechomenosHe was waiting forG4327
√ προσδέχομαι — to admit (to intercourse, hospitality, credence, or (figuratively) endurance)VerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
προσδέχομαι: to admit, receive, welcome, endure Present middle participle: the waiting is durative and self-involved. Poole reads it as the same character Luke gives Joseph of Arimathea, who "waited for the kingdom of God" (Luke 23:51). The verb will be answered in v. 28 by ἐδέξατο, its plain cognate: the man who kept receiving the promise finally receives the Child.
παράκλησινparaklēsin[the] consolationG3874
√ παράκλησις — imploration, hortation, solaceNounAccusative Feminine Singular
παράκλησις: imploration, hortation, solace Cambridge records that "May I see the consolation of Israel!" was a common Jewish formula and that a prayer for the Advent of the Messiah was in daily use; Barnes adds that men swore by it. The phrase is Isaiah's comfort (Isaiah 40:1) turned into a person, so that Simeon is not waiting for an era but for someone he can hold.
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἸσραήλIsraēlof IsraelG2474
√ Ἰσραήλ — Israel (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἍγιονHagion[the] HolyG40
√ ἅγιος — sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated)AdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
ΠνεῦμαPneumaSpiritG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounNominative Neuter Singular
πνεῦμα: a current of air, breath, spirit Luke names the Spirit three times in three verses (25, 26, 27): resting, oracling, leading. JFB puts the historical weight on it: the Spirit is "returning to the Church" after a long silence. Ellicott hedges the other way, taking ἦν ἐπ' αὐτόν of "a special moment of inspiration, rather than a continuous guidance"; the imperfect ἦν will bear either reading, and we do not settle it.
ἦνēnwasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἐπ’ep’uponG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
αὐτόνautonhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
26

The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai tou tou Hagiou Pneumatos ēn kechrēmatismenon autō hypo mē idein thanaton prin ē an idē ton Kyriou Christon

Word by word19 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Singular
τοῦtouTheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Singular
ἉγίουHagiouHolyG40
√ ἅγιος — sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated)AdjectiveGenitive Neuter Singular
ΠνεύματοςPneumatosSpiritG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounGenitive Neuter Singular
ἦνēnhadG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
κεχρηματισμένονkechrēmatismenonrevealedG5537
√ χρηματίζω — to utter an oracle (compare the original sense of G5530 (χράομαι)), iVerbPerfect Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Neuter Singular
χρηματίζω: to utter an oracle, to be divinely instructed Perfect passive participle, a rare verb (9 verses). It is the word for a communication transacted from God's side, and Luke uses the periphrastic ἦν κεχρηματισμένον to make it a standing state rather than an event: Simeon lives inside an oracle. Gill is careful to say by what means it did not come, "not in a dream, as the wise men were warned, nor by an angel, as Joseph, nor by a voice from heaven."
αὐτῷautōto himG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ὑπὸhypoG5259
√ ὑπό — under, iPreposition
μὴmē[that he would] notG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ἰδεῖνideinseeG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Infinitive Active
ὁράω: to see, to attend to Aorist infinitive. The oracle is framed negatively, and the negation is the mercy: God does not promise Simeon that he will not die, only the order in which the two sights will come.
θάνατονthanatondeathG2288
√ θάνατος — (properly, an adjective used as a noun) death (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
θάνατος: death The first thing named in Simeon's oracle is his own death, before ever the Christ is named. Luke sets the infancy narrative's brightest song inside a promise about dying, which is why v. 29 can ask for dismissal without a shadow on it.
πρὶνprinbeforeG4250
√ πρίν — prior, soonerAdverb
ἢē. . .G2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
ἂνan. . .G302
√ ἄν — (what-, where-, wither-, who-)soeverParticle
ἴδῃidēhe had seenG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
ὁράω: to see (aorist subjunctive) The subjunctive with πρὶν ἢ ἄν leaves the timing open: the seeing is certain, the hour is not. Gill distinguishes the bodily sight promised here from the sight of faith Simeon already had, "for he had seen him with an eye of faith already, and in the promise, as Abraham had."
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ΚυρίουKyriouLord’sG2962
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ΧριστὸνChristonChristG5547
√ Χριστός — anointed, iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
Χριστός: anointed The title, not yet a surname. Genitive Κυρίου before it makes the anointing God's act, which is Gill's point from Psalm 2:2, and which Luke will cash out in the Nunc Dimittis: the salvation is God's, prepared by God, and the eyes that see it are only borrowed for the purpose.
27

Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what was customary under the Law,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai en tō Pneumati ēlthen eis to hieron kai en tō tous goneis eisagagein to paidion Iēsoun tou autous poiēsai peri autou kata to eithismenon tou nomou

Word by word27 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐνen[Led by]G1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῷtōtheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Singular
ΠνεύματιPneumatiSpiritG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounDative Neuter Singular
πνεῦμα: breath, wind, spirit The third Spirit clause in three verses, and the one that moves Simeon's feet. Gill is careful about the mode: Simeon was not transported, as Ezekiel was (Ezekiel 8:3), but "suggested to, and moved upon, and influenced and directed." Maclaren notes the density: "in the course of three consecutive verses, the operation of that divine Spirit upon him is noted."
ἦλθενēlthenhe wentG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ἱερόνhierontemple [courts]G2411
√ ἱερόν — a sacred place, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
ἱερόν: a sacred place, the temple precinct Not the sanctuary building (ναός) but the temple complex; Barnes places the scene "into that part of the temple where the public worship was chiefly performed, into the court of the women." The point of the geography is that Simeon and Mary could both be standing there at once.
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐνenvvvG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῷtōwhenG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Singular
τοὺςtoustheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
γονεῖςgoneisparentsG1118
√ γονεύς — a parentNounAccusative Masculine Plural
γονεύς: a parent Luke's word here, at v. 33 in the best manuscripts, and at v. 48, is the household's own word; see the apparatus on the v. 33 variant.
εἰσαγαγεῖνeisagageinbrought inG1521
√ εἰσάγω — to introduce (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
παιδίονpaidionchildG3813
√ παιδίον — a childling (of either sex), iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
παιδίον: a little child The diminutive is what makes vv. 28 to 32 what they are: everything Simeon says about light for the nations and glory for Israel, he says over an infant small enough to be lifted.
ἸησοῦνIēsounJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Singular
αὐτοὺςautousvvvG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ποιῆσαιpoiēsaito doG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
περὶperiforG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
αὐτοῦautouHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
κατὰkatavvvG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
τὸtovvvG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
εἰθισμένονeithismenonwhat was customaryG1480
√ ἐθίζω — to accustom, iVerbPerfect Participle Middle or PassiveAccusative Neuter Singular
ἐθίζω: to accustom (perfect passive participle) The Law is named by its worn groove, τὸ εἰθισμένον, the done thing. Gill glosses the errand precisely: "to present him to the Lord, and to pay the redemption money for him." The redemption price is paid for the Redeemer.
τοῦtouunder theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
νόμουnomouLawG3551
√ νόμος — law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), genitive case (regulation), specially, (of Moses (including the volume)NounGenitive Masculine Singular
νόμος: law, prescriptive usage Genitive: the custom belongs to the Law. Luke rings νόμος five times in this chapter's presentation scene; here it is the frame inside which the fulfilment of the Law is carried in arms.
28

Simeon took Him in his arms and blessed God, saying:

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai autos edexato auto eis tas ankalas kai eulogēsen ton Theon kai eipen

Word by word13 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
αὐτὸςautos[Simeon]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἐδέξατοedexatotookG1209
√ δέχομαι — to receive (in various applications, literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
δέχομαι: to receive, accept, welcome Aorist middle indicative. This is the hinge of the unit: the whole waiting of v. 25 resolves into one completed act. Gill reads the timing as the Spirit's third stroke, after the oracle and the impulse: it "made known unto him that that child ... was the Messiah."
αὐτὸautoHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Neuter 3rd Person Singular
εἰςeisinG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὰςtas[his]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Plural
ἀγκάλαςankalasarmsG43
√ ἀγκάλη — an arm (as curved)NounAccusative Feminine Plural
ἀγκάλη: the curved arm A word used nowhere else in the New Testament. Everything the Nunc Dimittis claims for the nations is claimed from inside this small physical fact.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εὐλόγησενeulogēsenblessedG2127
√ εὐλογέω — to speak well of, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εὐλογέω: to speak well of, to bless The doxology precedes the prophecy. Henry's summary of the posture is hard to improve: the world looks poor "to one that has Christ in his arms, and salvation in his view."
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ΘεὸνTheonGodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounAccusative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἶπενeipensayingG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἔπω: to say A colourless verb doing the work of a stage direction; what follows it is the Nunc Dimittis.
29

“Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Nyn Despota kata sou to rhēma apolyeis sou ton doulon en eirēnē

Word by word12 · parsed
ΝῦνNynG3568
√ νῦν — "now" (as adverb of date, a transition or emphasis)Adverb
νῦν: now The first word of the song, and the whole weight of it. Maclaren catches the emphasis: "Lord! Now, now! after all these years of waiting."
ΔέσποταDespotaSovereign LordG1203
√ δεσπότης — an absolute ruler ("despot")NounVocative Masculine Singular
δεσπότης: an absolute ruler Vocative, and rare of God (10 verses; Acts 4:24; 2 Peter 2:1; Jude 4; Revelation 6:10 are the only other instances Ellicott finds). Gill hears both the humiliation and the honour: "though it expresses humiliation, and a sense of distance and unworthiness, yet to be a servant of the most high God, is a very high and honourable character."
κατὰkataasG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
σουsouYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ῥῆμάrhēmahave promisedG4487
√ ῥῆμα — an utterance (individually, collectively or specially),NounAccusative Neuter Singular
ῥῆμα: an utterance Not λόγος but the spoken thing, the particular oracle of v. 26. The Nunc Dimittis is built as a legal discharge: master, slave, the terms of the word, the release.
ἀπολύειςapolyeisYou now dismissG630
√ ἀπολύω — to free fully, iVerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ἀπολύω: to free fully, release, dismiss Present active indicative, second person: the act is happening as he speaks. Poole: the word "signifies to absolve, and forgive ... to dismiss, and to deliver as from bondage and misery," and he adds the discipline that keeps the request from being despair: "Simeon owns God to be the Lord of his life, who had the power of it, and could alone dismiss him." Benson says the same thing more sharply: Simeon "would not depart of himself, knowing that man cannot lawfully desert his station till God, who placed him therein, calls him off."
σουsouYourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
δοῦλόνdoulonservantG1401
√ δοῦλος — a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntaryNounAccusative Masculine Singular
δοῦλος: a slave Paired with δεσπότης, this is the vocabulary of ownership, not employment. Ellicott's image of the slave on the watch-tower, set free "by the rising of the Sun," and Pulpit's citation of Godet's sentinel are two readings of the same servile picture.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
εἰρήνῃeirēnēpeaceG1515
√ εἰρήνη — peace (literally or figuratively)NounDative Feminine Singular
εἰρήνη: peace Cambridge supplies the Jewish idiom exactly: "On leaving a dying person the Jews said, 'Go in peace' (Be shalôm), Genesis 15:15. Otherwise they said, 'Go to peace' (Le shalôm)." The dying formula is the one Simeon uses of himself.
30

For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

hoti mou hoi ophthalmoi eidon sou to sōtērion

Word by word8 · parsed
ὅτιhotiForG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
μουmoumyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ὀφθαλμοίophthalmoieyesG3788
√ ὀφθαλμός — the eye (literally or figuratively)NounNominative Masculine Plural
ὀφθαλμός: the eye The organ, not the metaphor. Everything Simeon is about to claim for all peoples rests on the testimony of one old man's two eyes.
εἶδονeidonhave seenG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ὁράω: to see (aorist indicative) Third person plural with "eyes" as subject. JFB weighs what the eyes actually took in: "This estimate of an object of sight, an unconscious, helpless babe, was pure faith." Sight and faith are not rivals here; the sight is ordinary and the estimate is revelation.
σουsouYourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
σωτήριόνsōtērionsalvationG4992
√ σωτήριον — defender or (by implication) defenceAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Singular
σωτήριον: that which saves, a defence A rare neuter (5 verses: here, Luke 3:6, Acts 28:28, Ephesians 6:17, Titus 2:11). Ellicott traces its choice to the Septuagint of Isaiah 52:10, the verse Luke will quote outright at Luke 3:6. Benson explains the figure: Simeon puts "the abstract for the concrete, or the effect for the cause," naming the Messiah God's salvation as God is called our defence and our hope. The Child is not the bringer of the thing; He is the thing.
31

which You have prepared in the sight of all people,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

ho hētoimasas kata prosōpon pantōn tōn laōn

Word by word7 · parsed
ὃhowhichG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
ἡτοίμασαςhētoimasasYou have preparedG2090
√ ἑτοιμάζω — to prepareVerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ἑτοιμάζω: to prepare, make ready Aorist: the readying is complete. Set beside the present ἀπολύεις of v. 29, the tenses tell the story: God's work finished, the servant's release now under way.
κατὰkatainG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
πρόσωπονprosōponthe sightG4383
√ πρόσωπον — the front (as being towards view), iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
πρόσωπον: the face, the front toward view The idiom κατὰ πρόσωπον is Septuagintal; Poole gathers the prophetic background for the universal display, citing Isaiah 52:10, "all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God," and Psalm 98:2.
πάντωνpantōnof allG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
λαῶνlaōnpeopleG2992
√ λαός — a people (in generalNounGenitive Masculine Plural
λαός: a people Genitive plural after πάντων. Luke lets the word do double duty inside two verses: plural λαῶν for the nations here, singular λαοῦ for Israel in v. 32, so that Israel is one people among the peoples and still God's own. Pulpit notes how far ahead of its hearers this was: the full admission of the Gentiles was "perhaps the hardest lesson the apostles and first teachers of the faith had to master."
32

a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

phōs eis apokalypsin ethnōn kai doxan sou laou Israēl

Word by word9 · parsed
φῶςphōsa lightG5457
√ φῶς — compare G5316 (φαίνω), G5346 (φημί))NounAccusative Neuter Singular
φῶς: light Accusative in apposition to σωτήριον, so "light" is a name for the Child, not a description of His effect. Gill collects the Old Testament title, "'Light' is one of the names of the Messiah in the Old Testament," and Barnes sets the image working: "As the darkness rolls away when the sun arises, so ignorance and error flee away when Jesus gives light to the mind."
εἰςeisforG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ἀποκάλυψινapokalypsinrevelationG602
√ ἀποκάλυψις — disclosureNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἀποκάλυψις: disclosure, unveiling The noun Luke will not use again in this Gospel, and the exact counterweight to v. 35's verb ἀποκαλυφθῶσιν: the same uncovering that gives the nations light lays bare the reasonings of hearts. One act of exposure, two results.
ἐθνῶνethnōnto [the] GentilesG1484
√ ἔθνος — a race (as of the same habit), iNounGenitive Neuter Plural
ἔθνος: a race, a nation Cambridge marks the boldness of the line: "A memorable prophecy, considering that even the Apostles found it hard to grasp the full admission of the Gentiles." The wording is Isaiah's (42:6; 49:6), and it is put in the mouth of a scrupulous Jew in the temple court.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
δόξανdoxanfor gloryG1391
√ δόξα — glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literal or figurative, objective or subjective)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
δόξα: glory, that which is apparent Benson reads the glory both nationally and spiritually, honour to the nation from which Messiah sprang and eternal glory to "those who were Israelites indeed." JFB restricts it: Israel is glorified "in the believing portion of it." Both are readings of a genitive the text leaves open.
σουsouto YourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
λαοῦlaoupeopleG2992
√ λαός — a people (in generalNounGenitive Masculine Singular
λαός: a people Singular, with σου: Israel is not dissolved into the nations by the previous verse. Gill notes that even in the widened mission the apostles "were all Jews," carrying the word from Zion outward.
ἸσραήλIsraēlIsraelG2474
√ Ἰσραήλ — Israel (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
33

The Child’s father and mother were amazed at what was spoken about Him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai autou ho patēr kai hē mētēr ēn thaumazontes epi tois laloumenois peri autou

Word by word14 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
αὐτοῦautou[The Child’s]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
πατὴρpatērfatherG3962
√ πατήρ — a "father" (literally or figuratively, near or more remote)NounNominative Masculine Singular
πατήρ: a father, near or remote Luke's household usage, matching γονεῖς at v. 27 and "thy father and I" at v. 48. Geneva's gloss at v. 27 explains the convention: "he says parents because that is what most of the people then thought." See the apparatus for the variant here.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἡhēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
μήτηρmētērmotherG3384
√ μήτηρ — a "mother" (literally or figuratively, immediate or remote)NounNominative Feminine Singular
ἦνēnwereG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
θαυμάζοντεςthaumazontesamazedG2296
√ θαυμάζω — to wonderVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
θαυμάζω: to wonder The commentators divide on the object of the wonder. Gill and Pulpit locate it not in the content but in the informant: they marvelled "that a stranger to them and the child ... should have such a revelation made to him." Poole is more searching, and ends by doubting whether Mary or the disciples held a settled faith in the eternal sonship before the resurrection (Romans 1:4), while granting that "Christ is to be admired of them that believe."
ἐπὶepiatG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τοῖςtoiswhatG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Plural
λαλουμένοιςlaloumenoiswas spokenG2980
√ λαλέω — to talk, iVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveDative Neuter Plural
λαλέω: to talk, to utter Present passive participle: the speaking is still in progress as they wonder, and one verse later Simeon speaks again, and the second speech is the sword.
περὶperiaboutG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
αὐτοῦautouHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
34

Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai Symeōn eulogēsen autous kai eipen pros autou tēn mētera Mariam Idou houtos keitai eis anastasin kai ptōsin pollōn en tō Israēl kai eis sēmeion antilegomenon

Word by word26 · parsed
καὶkaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ΣυμεὼνSymeōnSimeonG4826
√ Συμεών — Symeon (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
εὐλόγησενeulogēsenblessedG2127
√ εὐλογέω — to speak well of, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εὐλογέω: to speak well of, to bless The same verb as v. 28, with a different object: there God, here the parents. Pulpit notices what is missing: Simeon does not bless the Child. Poole sorts out how a lesser may bless at all, distinguishing a prophetic blessing (as Jacob blessed his sons) and a precatory one from the priestly blessing of Numbers 6, and rules out the priestly sense here.
αὐτοὺςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἶπενeipensaidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
μητέραmēteramotherG3384
√ μήτηρ — a "mother" (literally or figuratively, immediate or remote)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
ΜαριὰμMariamMaryG3137
√ Μαρία — Maria or Mariam (iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
Μαριάμ: Mary The address is to her alone. Pulpit: "The words which follow are expressly stated to have been addressed only to Mary. Simeon knew that she was related, but not Joseph, to the Babe in his arms."
ἸδοὺIdouBeholdG2400
√ ἰδού — used as imperative lo!VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
οὗτοςhoutosthis [Child]G3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
κεῖταιkeitaiis appointedG2749
√ κεῖμαι — to lie outstretched (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
κεῖμαι: to lie outstretched A present middle or passive of position, not of decree; the theology is drawn out of it rather than read off it. Poole compares the same verb at Philippians 1:17 and 1 Thessalonians 3:3 to argue for divine appointment, while granting freely that "men's unbelief, and malice, and opposition to Christ" is the proximate cause of any soul's fall.
εἰςeis[to cause]G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ἀνάστασινanastasin[the] riseG386
√ ἀνάστασις — a standing up again, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἀνάστασις: a standing up again The New Testament's ordinary word for resurrection, standing here for the raising of many in Israel, and standing first in the pair. Cambridge allows that in some cases, Peter and the dying robber, "they who fell afterwards rose"; Barnes and Geneva insist the two groups are distinct; JFB suggests one group falling before Pentecost and rising after it. The noun itself settles none of this.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πτῶσινptōsinfallG4431
√ πτῶσις — a crash, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
πτῶσις: a crash, a fall A rare noun, found in only two verses of the New Testament; the other is the ruin of the house on sand, "and great was its fall" (Matthew 7:27). Barnes reads it as "misery, suffering, disappointment, or ruin," and applies it both to individuals and to the nation.
πολλῶνpollōnof manyG4183
√ πολύς — (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) manyAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἸσραὴλIsraēlIsraelG2474
√ Ἰσραήλ — Israel (iNounDative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἰςeis[to be]G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
σημεῖονsēmeiona signG4592
√ σημεῖον — an indication, especially ceremonially or supernaturallyNounAccusative Neuter Singular
σημεῖον: an indication, a sign Ellicott: "The child Immanuel was to be Himself a sign, even as Isaiah and his children were (Isaiah 8:18), but the sign was not to win acceptance." Geneva's gloss turns the sign into a target: "a mark, which all men will strive earnestly to hit."
ἀντιλεγόμενονantilegomenonthat will be spoken againstG483
√ ἀντιλέγω — to dispute, refuseVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveAccusative Neuter Singular
ἀντιλέγω: to dispute, contradict, refuse Present participle. Cambridge documents the fulfilment from Acts 28:22 and from the names the Talmud uses instead of the name of Jesus; Pulpit from Tacitus, Suetonius and Pliny; Ellicott connects it to the "contradiction" of sinners in Hebrews 12:3 and the gainsaying people of Isaiah 65:2.
35

so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your soul as well.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

hopōs dialogismoi ek pollōn kardiōn an apokalyphthōsin kai rhomphaia dieleusetai sou autēs tēn psychēn de

Word by word15 · parsed
ὅπωςhopōsso thatG3704
√ ὅπως — what(-ever) how, iConjunction
διαλογισμοίdialogismoi[the] thoughtsG1261
√ διαλογισμός — discussion, iNounNominative Masculine Plural
διαλογισμός: discussion, inward reasoning Cambridge sends the reader to the word's other uses for its colour (Luke 5:22; Matthew 15:19; Romans 1:21) and for worked examples to the arguing of the Jews in John 9:16. The plural nominative is the subject of the passive verb: the reasonings themselves are what gets stripped bare.
ἐκekofG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
πολλῶνpollōnmanyG4183
√ πολύς — (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) manyAdjectiveGenitive Feminine Plural
καρδιῶνkardiōnheartsG2588
√ καρδία — the heart, iNounGenitive Feminine Plural
ἂνan. . .G302
√ ἄν — (what-, where-, wither-, who-)soeverParticle
ἀποκαλυφθῶσινapokalyphthōsinwill be revealedG601
√ ἀποκαλύπτω — to take off the cover, iVerbAorist Subjunctive Passive3rd Person Plural
ἀποκαλύπτω: to take off the cover Aorist passive subjunctive under ὅπως ἄν: purpose, not merely result. Gill draws the consequence honestly in both directions, naming those exposed as hollow (Scribes and Pharisees, the crowds with worldly expectations, Judas) and those exposed as genuine (the disciples, Joseph of Arimathea), and adds that persecutions and heresies still serve the same end (1 Corinthians 11:19). Henry puts it in one line: Christ "is still the touchstone of men's characters."
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ῥομφαίαrhomphaiaa swordG4501
√ ῥομφαία — a sabre, iNounNominative Feminine Singular
ῥομφαία: a great sabre The commentators do not agree what it means. Ellicott, Pulpit and Cambridge read accumulating grief ending at the cross (John 19:26); Benson, the reproaches aimed at her Son rebounding on her; Gill offers slander (Psalm 57:4), then sorrow, then reports the martyrdom tradition from Epiphanius while noting "the Scripture is silent"; JFB adds "dreadful alternations of faith and unbelief"; Pulpit passes on Bleek's suggestion, by way of Godet, that the sword is Mary's own doubt. We report the spread and settle none of it.
διελεύσεταιdieleusetaiwill pierceG1330
√ διέρχομαι — to traverse (literally)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
διέρχομαι: to traverse, pass through Future middle indicative, and the verb is one of passage rather than of wounding: the sword goes through. There is no hedging particle on it anywhere in the clause.
σοῦsouyourG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
αὐτῆςautēs. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular
αὐτός: self (intensive) With σοῦ, "of your very own self." Grammatically small, pastorally the whole point: the prophecy of national falling and rising arrives at one named woman.
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ψυχὴνpsychēnsoulG5590
√ ψυχή — breath, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ψυχή: breath, soul, life Not καρδία, the word used two clauses earlier of the many hearts that will be laid open. Mary's ψυχή is pierced; their καρδίαι are uncovered. Whatever the sword is, Luke has not made her one of the exposed.
δὲdeas wellG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. A layman, a rare word, and a Spirit that has come back — vv. 25 to 27

Luke introduces Simeon with no office at all. He is ἄνθρωπος, a man, said twice; Cambridge turns that very plainness into an argument against the old identification with Rabban Shimeon son of Hillel, since such a figure "would hardly have been spoken of so slightly." Ellicott, Barnes, Gill, Poole and Pulpit all canvass the identification and all decline it, Poole most bluntly, preferring with Calvin and Brentius "some ordinary, plain man." What Luke gives instead of a title is two adjectives and a participle: δίκαιος, upright toward men and God, and εὐλαβής, a rare word (4 verses) that Ellicott says "expresses the cautious, scrupulous side of the religious life," and which outside this verse is Luke's alone (Acts 2:5; 8:2; 22:12). Then προσδεχόμενος, a present participle of a verb meaning to admit or welcome: not waiting as killing time but waiting as holding a door open. JFB reads the Spirit clause historically, the Spirit "returning to the Church" after a long absence; Ellicott reads it minimally, "a special moment of inspiration, rather than a continuous guidance." ⚙ We do not adjudicate: the imperfect ἦν will carry either. What the three verses do establish beyond argument is density. Maclaren counts it: "in the course of three consecutive verses, the operation of that divine Spirit upon him is noted," oracle, indwelling, and impulse. And the impulse is gentle. Gill insists Simeon was not carried as Ezekiel was, only "suggested to, and moved upon, and influenced and directed." He walks to the temple on his own feet and arrives at the right minute.

ii. The slave discharged: manumission language over an infant — vv. 28 to 30

The verb of v. 28, ἐδέξατο, is the bare cognate of the participle in v. 25: the awaiting man receives. ἀγκάλας is the crooked arm, a word found nowhere else in the New Testament, and Cambridge records that the church later called him Theodokos, the receiver of God. JFB refuses to let the gesture pass as sentiment, hearing in it David's "all my salvation and all my desire." Then the song, and its vocabulary is legal. Δέσποτα is rare of God (10 verses); Ellicott notes it is used "almost always of the relation of a master and the slave who is such by inheritance or purchase," and JFB that it was "selected here with peculiar propriety." δοῦλόν is a slave, and ἀπολύεις is a present indicative of loosing away, so Cambridge renders the whole line "Now art Thou setting free Thy slave, O Master." Barnes catches the mood: indicative, not imperative, so the song reports a discharge rather than begging one. Ellicott supplies the picture of a slave on the watch-tower released by sunrise, and Pulpit passes on Godet's version of the same, the sentinel who sees the beacon and asks to come down. Poole adds the discipline that keeps this from being a death wish: the release is God's to give, and the servant does not leave his post. The ground is stated in v. 30 with a causal ὅτι and a rare neuter, σωτήριον (5 verses), which Ellicott distinguishes from abstract σωτηρία as "that which brings or works out salvation," and which Benson explains as the abstract put for the concrete, as God is called our defence and our hope. JFB weighs what the eyes actually took in and calls the estimate "pure faith."

iii. All the peoples, and one people still — vv. 31 to 33

The plural is the whole point. λαῶν is peoples, not persons: Ellicott, "Literally, of all peoples," and JFB, "all the peoples, mankind at large." Then v. 32 splits the plural into its two halves with two nouns in apposition to the neuter salvation, φῶς and δόξαν. Cambridge and Barnes both trace the wording to Isaiah, and Cambridge marks how far ahead of its hearers the line was: "A memorable prophecy, considering that even the Apostles found it hard to grasp the full admission of the Gentiles." Pulpit says the same of the schools of the day. Gill records the opposite Jewish expectation from his sources, that the Messiah's day would be "darkness, and not light" to the nations, and then says simply that Simeon's word "has proved true." ⚙ The one lexical stroke English cannot print: ἀποκάλυψιν, unveiling, which Ellicott ties to the veil spread over all nations in Isaiah 25:7, is the same root that returns in v. 35 as ἀποκαλυφθῶσιν, when what is unveiled is not the nations' ignorance but the reasonings of hearts. One uncovering, two very different exposures. The parents' reaction in v. 33 is neither doubt nor comprehension: Poole quotes Brentius, "They did not admire because they did not believe, but because they believed therefore they marvelled," while Gill and Pulpit locate the surprise elsewhere, in the fact that a stranger knew. Poole then confesses, with unusual candour for a commentator, that he doubts whether Mary or the disciples held a settled faith in the Son of God before the resurrection.

iv. The stone, the sign, and the sword — vv. 34 to 35

Simeon blesses the parents and not the Child; Pulpit notices the restraint, and Poole sorts out how a lesser may bless at all, distinguishing a prophetic or a precatory blessing from the priestly one of Numbers 6. Then the second Ἰδού of the unit, answering v. 25. κεῖται is "lies" (Cambridge: "Literally, lies"), and Cambridge draws the metaphor out: a stone over which men either stumble or on which they are built. Ellicott and Benson and Barnes and Poole and Gill all send the reader to the same place, Isaiah 8:14 with Isaiah 28:16, and Benson records that Paul "has joined in one citation" the two passages (Romans 9:32 to 33; compare 1 Peter 2:8). The commentators divide on whether the same people fall and rise: Barnes says no, "It denotes that many would be ruined by his coming, and that many 'others' would be made happy"; Geneva says no more sharply, reprobate and elect; JFB says perhaps yes, a temporary fall and a rising after Pentecost; Cambridge allows both, naming Peter and the dying robber as men who fell and then rose. ⚙ We note only what the lexicon fixes: the noun for rising is ἀνάστασιν (G386), the New Testament's ordinary word for resurrection, and Luke has put it in an infancy narrative. σημεῖον ἀντιλεγόμενον is a present participle, so Ellicott and Cambridge both prefer "is spoken against" over "shall be": the contradiction is not merely future. Cambridge documents it with Acts 28:22 and with the names used of Jesus in the Talmud, and Pulpit with the Roman historians. On the sword the sources genuinely differ, and we report the difference rather than resolve it (see the thread and apparatus below).

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested by Scripture. Read the unit by its verbs of seeing. An oracle promises that one man's eyes will not close on death before they open on the Anointed (v. 26, ἰδεῖν and ἴδῃ). The eyes do open (v. 30, εἶδον), and what they see is small enough to lie in the crook of an arm. And then Simeon, still holding the infant, says that this seeing is not private: the thing he has seen is set out facing all the peoples (v. 31, κατὰ πρόσωπον), an unveiling for the nations (v. 32, ἀποκάλυψιν). The song therefore does not end in the temple. It ends in v. 35 with the same root turned inward, ἀποκαλυφθῶσιν: the light that uncovers the nations also uncovers what men were actually thinking. That is why the Child is a sign spoken against and not simply a sign. A light no one can look at without being seen is not a comfort that leaves the looker where he stood. So the two halves of Simeon's speech are one thing, and nothing needs to be smoothed between them: the consolation of Israel (v. 25) is the stone men trip on (v. 34), and the same arms that welcome the salvation of God are told, in the next breath, that a broadsword is coming. We would press no further than the text allows. Luke does not say the sword is Mary's grief, nor her doubt, nor her martyrdom; the commentators supply all three and contradict each other doing it. What Luke says is that a sword will pass through her soul, and that the purpose clause governing the whole utterance is exposure. Whoever will not have the falling has not yet met the rising, because both are named of the same stone by the same old man on the same morning.

A light that uncovers the nations will also uncover you: this is our own fallible line of synthesis, not a verse of Scripture.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

"The consolation of Israel": a prayer taken from Isaiah structural / thematic: confirmed

Simeon is awaiting (προσδεχόμενος) the παράκλησις of Israel, and the phrase is not his coinage. Cambridge records that "May I see the consolation of Israel!" was a common Jewish formula and a daily prayer for the Advent of the Messiah, and sends the reader to Isaiah 40:1, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God." Poole makes the wider observation that the prophets habitually comforted Israel against bad tidings with the promise of Messiah's coming, citing Isaiah 66:13, Jeremiah 31:13 and Zechariah 1:17. Barnes adds that men swore by "the consolation of Israel." ⚙ Isaiah 49:13 and 52:9 are the two places where that comfort is announced as accomplished, and they stand immediately beside the two verses (49:6 and 52:10) that Simeon's song will draw on in vv. 30 to 32, which is why we list them here rather than only 40:1.

Isaiah 40:1 · Isaiah 49:13 · Isaiah 52:9

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so no shared Strong's number can be computed and the Verifier offered no basis for this pair; the link is the shared motif of Israel's promised comfort, recorded by Cambridge (Isaiah 40:1) and Poole (Isaiah 66:13, Jeremiah 31:13, Zechariah 1:17). Never tiered verbal.

"A light for the nations": the Nunc Dimittis is quarried out of Isaiah structural / thematic: confirmed

Cambridge quotes the source for v. 32 outright: "I will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles," Isaiah 42:6 and Isaiah 49:6, and for v. 31 "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God," Isaiah 52:10. Barnes lists the same background (Isaiah 49; Isaiah 9:6 to 7; Psalm 98:3; Malachi 4:2), Gill points to Isaiah 42:6 for the light, and Ellicott traces the rare neuter σωτήριον to the Septuagint of Isaiah 52:10, the verse Luke will quote at Luke 3:6. Poole adds Isaiah 11:10 and Isaiah 60:1 to 3. ⚙ Of these Isaiah 49:6 is the closest to a quotation: light, nations, and salvation stand together there as they stand together here, and Simeon's second half, glory for Israel, answers Isaiah's first half in the same verse.

Isaiah 42:6 · Isaiah 49:6 · Isaiah 52:10 · Isaiah 46:13

basis: The wording of v. 32 is Isaiah's (49:6 with 42:6), and Isaiah 52:10 with 46:13 stands behind v. 31 and the σωτήριον of v. 30, as Cambridge, Barnes, Gill, Poole and Ellicott all record; Ellicott specifies the Septuagint of Isaiah 52:10. The tier is structural and not verbal only because the pair is cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew) and no shared Strong's lexeme can be computed, not because the borrowing is in doubt.

σωτήριον: the rare neuter that carries Luke's Gentile mission verbal / quotation: confirmed

The word Simeon uses for what his eyes have seen is not σωτηρία but the neuter σωτήριον, and it is rare: five verses in the whole New Testament. Two of the others are Luke's own and both point outward, Luke 3:6 ("all flesh shall see the salvation of God") and Acts 28:28, the last words of Acts, where Paul tells the Roman Jews that this salvation has been sent to the nations, τοῖς ἔθνεσιν. Titus 2:11 gives it the same universal reach. ⚙ Read together, the rare word tracks one argument across Luke's two volumes, from a temple court to a rented house in Rome, and Simeon states its conclusion before the argument begins.

Luke 3:6 · Acts 28:28 · Titus 2:11

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4992 σωτήριον (in 5 vv), a rare word, with Luke 3:6, Acts 28:28 and Titus 2:11; Acts 28:28 also shares G1484 ἔθνος (in 151 vv). Greek to Greek throughout. The link is lexical, not a citation of one text by another.

εὐλαβής: Luke's word for the scrupulous Jew, kept for four men verbal / quotation: confirmed

εὐλαβής occurs in four verses of the New Testament and every one of them is Luke's: Simeon here, the devout Jews out of every nation at Pentecost (Acts 2:5), the devout men who buried Stephen (Acts 8:2), and Ananias of Damascus, "devout according to the law" (Acts 22:12). Ellicott records the pattern: the word "is therefore used always in the New Testament of Jewish devoutness." ⚙ The company is instructive. Each of the four is a scrupulous keeper of the Law standing at the exact seam where the gospel goes past the Law: the temple presentation, Pentecost, the first martyr's grave, and the baptism of Saul.

Acts 2:5 · Acts 8:2 · Acts 22:12

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G2126 εὐλαβής (in 4 vv), rare, with Acts 2:5, Acts 8:2 and Acts 22:12 (Acts 2:5 also shares G2419 Ἱερουσαλήμ, in 73 vv; Acts 22:12 also G3551 νόμος, in 154 vv). Greek to Greek; a shared authorial vocabulary, not a quotation.

πτῶσις: the great fall, used twice in the New Testament verbal / quotation: confirmed

The noun Simeon uses for the fall, πτῶσις, "a crash," appears in only two verses in the New Testament. The other is the end of the Sermon on the Mount: the house on sand falls, "and great was its fall." ⚙ Two buildings, one word. In Matthew the ruin turns on what a man did with the words of Jesus; here it turns on what a man does with Jesus Himself, who in Simeon's mouth is the stone that is laid (κεῖται). The parallel is lexical and thematic, and neither text cites the other.

Matthew 7:27

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4431 πτῶσις (in 2 vv), the rarest possible shared word, Greek to Greek. Verbal in the strict lexical sense only; we make no claim that either passage quotes the other.

The stone of stumbling: Isaiah 8 and Isaiah 28 joined by Paul structural / thematic: confirmed

Every commentator in the brief sends v. 34 to the same place. Ellicott: "The words start from the thought of Isaiah 8:14 to 15. The Christ is seen by Simeon as the stone on which some fall and are bruised, while others plant their feet upon it and rise." Benson names both texts and the apostolic joining of them: "Simeon here alludes to Isaiah 8:14 and Isaiah 28:16, which passages Paul has joined in one citation" (Romans 9:32 to 33). Barnes, Poole, Gill and Cambridge all cite the same chain, with 1 Peter 2:8 and 1 Corinthians 1:23. Cambridge adds the other half of the metaphor, "a precious cornerstone" (1 Peter 2:7 to 8; Acts 4:11). Gill records that the Talmud itself applies Isaiah 8:14 to the failing of the two houses of Israel.

Isaiah 8:14 · Isaiah 28:16 · Romans 9:32 · 1 Peter 2:8

basis: The refs mix Old and New Testament, so no verbal tier is possible and no shared Strong's lexeme can be computed across Hebrew and Greek; the recorded basis is the stone motif and the apostolic citation chain named by Ellicott, Benson, Barnes, Poole, Gill and Cambridge. Simeon alludes; he does not quote.

Jacob at Goshen: "now let me die, since I have seen thy face" typological

Poole makes the comparison directly: Simeon's request "is a speech much like Jacob's, Genesis 46:30, when he had seen Joseph, whom he thought lost, but spoken here upon a much more weighty consideration." In both a very old man, having seen with his eyes the one he had been promised, asks for nothing further from life. ⚙ The figural step beyond Poole is ours: Jacob's dismissal is granted over the face of a son who was counted dead and is alive, and who is the family's preservation among the nations; Simeon's is granted over a Child whose being counted dead and alive again is the salvation of the peoples. We mark that reading as ours, and note that Poole records only the likeness of speech.

Genesis 46:30 · Genesis 15:15

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so no shared lexeme basis exists and the Verifier offered none. Poole records the parallel of speech at Genesis 46:30 and notes that ἀπολύω is the Septuagint's word for a good man's death at Genesis 15:15 and Numbers 20:29; Cambridge adds the Jewish farewell formula of Genesis 15:15. The figural reading of Joseph's face is ours and is novel in this brief, not an attested ancient type.

The sword: rhomphaia, and a disagreement we do not settle flagged: verify source

ῥομφαία is not the short Roman sword. Ellicott: "the large barbaric sword used by the Thracians, as distinguished from the shorter weapon of Roman soldiers," occurring elsewhere in the New Testament only in Revelation (1:16; 2:12). Cambridge says the same and adds that the Septuagint uses it at Zechariah 13:7, "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd." What the sword is, the sources will not agree on. Ellicott and Pulpit and Cambridge read it as Mary's accumulating grief, ending at the cross (John 19:26). Benson reads it as the calumnies and sufferings of her Son rebounding on her. Gill offers first the sword of slander against her, on Psalm 57:4, then the sorrows, then reports that "some think this refers to martyrdom ... of which the Scripture is silent." JFB adds "dreadful alternations of faith and unbelief," and Pulpit passes on Bleek's version by way of Godet, that the sword is her own doubt about His mission. ⚙ Luke supplies no proof text and no gloss. We record the disagreement and decline to settle it.

Zechariah 13:7 · Revelation 1:16

basis: The Verifier returned no candidate for either pair, so neither rests on a computed shared-lexeme basis. Revelation 1:16 is a Greek to Greek link on G4501 ῥομφαία reported by Ellicott and Cambridge but not confirmed here; Zechariah 13:7 is a Septuagint claim made by Cambridge that we cannot check against the Hebrew with Greek Strong's numbers. The referent of the sword is itself disputed among the sources. Flagged on both counts.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The Lord's Anointed, carried through His own Law ancient/widely-held

The oracle names its object as τὸν Κυρίου Χριστόν, the Lord's Anointed, and Barnes insists the title be heard as a title: "The word 'Christ' means 'anointed,' and it would have been better to use that word here." Gill traces the exact phrase to Psalm 2:2 and shows that the Targum on Isaiah 4:2 and 28:5 speaks in the same way of "the Messiah of Jehovah," who shall be "for a crown of joy ... to the rest of his people", which is Simeon's own "glory of thy people Israel" in other words. Ellicott: the word "retains all the fulness of its meaning, the Messiah, the Anointed of Jehovah." ⚙ Note where the Anointed is when He is recognised: being carried through the customary rite of the Law (v. 27), the redemption price being paid for the Redeemer. Luke gives the Law's own machinery the honour of delivering Him to the man who had been waiting. Paul's summary of that, born of a woman and born under the law (Galatians 4:4), is the doctrine of which this temple errand is the narrative.

Psalm 2:2 · Luke 2:27 · Galatians 4:4

Light for the nations, glory for Israel: one Child, both halves ancient/widely-held

Simeon puts φῶς and δόξαν in apposition to the salvation he is holding, so the Child is not the means of light but the light. Gill collects the Old Testament title, "'Light' is one of the names of the Messiah," and reaches Isaiah 42:6; Cambridge adds Isaiah 49:6 and 52:10; Barnes lays out the darkness the nations sat in and says the sun rising is the whole figure. Ellicott's contribution is sharper than a devotional one: ἀποκάλυψιν is the withdrawal of the veil "spread over all nations" in Isaiah 25:7. ⚙ The two halves are not two programmes. The same neuter relative pronoun governs both, and the singular λαοῦ of Israel sits inside the plural λαῶν of v. 31 without being dissolved by it. The apostolic mission in Acts, which Luke wrote next, is this verse worked out in order: to the Jew first, and to the nations, by Jews. At Acts 13:47 Paul turns to the Gentiles by quoting the very text Simeon had sung over the cradle, Isaiah 49:6, which is as close as Luke comes to showing his own hand.

Isaiah 42:6 · Isaiah 49:6 · Isaiah 25:7 · Acts 13:47

A sign spoken against: the cross named over the cradle ancient/widely-held

Simeon's second word is not a second subject. The Child who is light is σημεῖον ἀντιλεγόμενον, and the participle is present: Ellicott and Cambridge both correct "shall be spoken against" to "is spoken against." Ellicott traces the sign back to Isaiah 7:14 and 8:18, where the child Immanuel and the prophet's children are themselves signs, and forward to the contradiction of sinners in Hebrews 12:3 and the gainsaying people of Isaiah 65:2. Cambridge documents the fulfilment from Acts 28:22 and from the Talmudic circumlocutions for the name of Jesus; Pulpit from Tacitus, Suetonius and Pliny. Cambridge also records the theological point in its sharpest form: "To holy men like Zacharias and Simeon God had revealed that the Glory of the Messiah was to be perfected by suffering (Hebrews 2:10)." ⚙ Forty days old, and the first prophecy spoken over Him in the temple is of rejection and a sword.

Isaiah 8:18 · Acts 28:22 · Hebrews 12:3 · Hebrews 2:10

ἀνάστασις in an infancy narrative novel

⚙ This reading is ours and we mark it novel: no commentator in this brief makes it. The noun Simeon uses for the rising of many in Israel is ἀνάστασιν (G386), whose root sense the lexicon gives as "a standing up again," and which is the ordinary New Testament word for resurrection. Translators render it "rise" here because the context is the pairing with πτῶσις, and that is defensible. But Luke had other words for standing up, and this is the word he kept. Set beside κεῖται, "lies," in the same clause, and beside the sword of v. 35, the sentence reads: this one is laid, for a falling and a standing-up-again of many. We do not claim Simeon foresaw Easter in the word. We claim that Luke, writing after it, chose to record the promise of Israel's rising in the vocabulary his readers would meet again at an empty tomb, and that the ordering of the pair in Greek, ἀνάστασιν before πτῶσιν, puts the rising first.

Luke 24:46 · Romans 6:5

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text. At v. 33 the reading behind "The Child's father and mother" is contested. Ellicott: "The better MSS. give, His father and his mother. The present reading has apparently been substituted for this through feelings of reverence." Cambridge is blunter: "The undoubted reading is 'His father'", citing Sinaiticus, B, D and L. Gill reports the opposite, that "all the ancient copies read only 'Joseph'", with the Syriac, Arabic and Persic. BSB's "The Child's father" follows the former. We record the division and take no side; either way Luke uses γονεῖς of both parents at v. 27 and v. 48.

Who Simeon was. Every identification is guesswork and the sources say so. Ellicott, Barnes, Gill, Cambridge and Pulpit all discuss Rabban Shimeon son of Hillel and each finds the identification precarious; Gill closes his long survey with "it must be left uncertain and undetermined." Poole prefers an obscure layman. Ellicott's alternative, an aged Essene who rebuked Archelaus, is his own conjecture. The name was common. Nothing in our synthesis depends on any of it.

Legends. Simeon's famous age of 113 comes from the apocryphal Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, and the story of his stumbling at Isaiah 7:14 from Nicephorus (c. 1450); the Child shining like a pillar of light comes from the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy. Cambridge and Pulpit both report these, and Pulpit disowns them: "These legendary 'Gospels' are totally devoid of all authority." They are not evidence and we have used none of them.

The sword. The sources disagree about its meaning (grief, calumny, doubt, martyrdom) and the brief supplies no proof text. We have flagged the Zechariah 13:7 and Revelation 1:16 links accordingly: the Verifier computed no basis for either, and Cambridge's Septuagint claim at Zechariah 13:7 cannot be checked with Greek Strong's numbers.

Rabbinic and patristic citations. Gill's Talmudic and Targumic references, his unnamed rabbinic saying about darkness to the nations, and his reference to Epiphanius on Mary's martyrdom are reproduced as his and are unverified here. So are Poole's Brentius quotation and Pulpit's citations of Godet and Bleek.

Sources. Scripture text BSB (CC0). Interlinear, parses and Strong's numbers from the Berean interlinear as supplied in the brief. Commentary is public domain and quoted verbatim by anchor. The entries for Gill (vv. 25, 32, 34), Poole (vv. 29, 34) and Maclaren (v. 29) are capped in the brief and were not read in full; nothing here depends on their unread portions. Cross-reference bases are the Verifier's computed shared lexemes where a Greek to Greek pair exists; every Old Testament link in this unit is cross-Testament and therefore carries no lexeme basis and no verbal tier.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)