What is Jesus saying in Luke 2:49? Why did the translators all add various words to the original meaning? Why did His parents not perceive?

Question

Here is the Modern King James version of the passage:  (Please note that the added word here is "business", other versions add "affairs", "the things", etc)

"And He said to them, Why did you look for Me? Do you not know that I must be about My Father's business? And they did not understand the word which He spoke to them." (Luke 2:49-50 MKJV)The Apostolic Bible Polyglot has it as such: (please note that "the things" is added, so i've removed it here)"And he said to them, Why is it that you seek me, do you not know that among my Father it is necessary for me to be? And they did not perceive the saying which he spoke to them."(Luke 2:49-50 ABP+)One translation that doesn't seem to have added words is the Latin Vulgate (Which I've had Google Translate)... however they have omitted the "not" as in "did you not know?":"Son, what did this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you." He told them: "What did you seek? Did you know, MY FATHER MUST BE ABOUT?" They did not understand a word that he spoke to them."  Luke 2:48-50Lastly, this Finnish Translation has a very remarkable rendering:  ”And he said to them,“ Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I MUST BE HERE, COMING FROM MY FATHER?”  And they did not understand the word he spoke to them."  Thank you all for your considerations, and may Grace and Peace and Understanding abound, and may we let Our Father BE about us, and may we BE here, coming from our Father, because "as He is, so are we in this world". :) Amen

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

His parents were surprised to find Him in the temple because that is not a place where a child of that age would tend to hang out. Yeshua spent His youth studying the scriptures and so when His parents questioned Him His response aligned with His passion, the Word of God. Where else would they expect Him to be other than where the Word of God can be found?

jay · Answer

Translation is not the main issue,but rather is the Holy Spirit
at the helm of your ship ?Do you have a Love of the Truth?
Jesus Knows who are His and His sheep recognize His 
Voice and will not hear any other.
Did Mariam and Joseph know the Scriptures?They were 
Righteous.Even John the Baptist confessed that He did
not know Jesus and was not worthy to remove His 👡.
What direction is the 🌎 heading for? What kind of person
must you be not to receive strong delusions.Would it have 
anything to do with Humility?

Doug Catholic · Answer

All of this coincided with Jesus becoming an adult man, known as Bar Mitzvah, in the Jewish sense, and so, becoming officially eligible to take part in public worship, in the Temple. Knowing who Jesus was, they should logically, have expected him to "overdo" things a bit. The Latin Vulgate is the only infallible, inspired writing in your grouping. Best to work with that one (or the Douay-Rheims, which is almost a direct translation from the Vulgate) if you prefer to obsess about the Holy Scriptures.

Anonymous · Answer

He was saying ""But why did you need to search?" he asked. "Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?"

Translations differ in varying amounts because its nigh impossible to perfectly translate from one language to another. And the fact that different translations draw from different source manuscripts.

Joseph and Mary didnt yet realize the full ramifications of having the Son of God as their son. Sons were supposed to be submissive and obedient to their parents, and to depend upon them. But Jesus was THE SON OF GOD.

User · Answer

These are two of the most highly-regarded translations
(for their scholarship)
and they read essentially identically in meaning.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luk+2%3A49&version=NASB;NRSV

I doubt anyone here can object to those readings
from the standpoint of Biblical language (in this case: Koine Greek) scholarship.

keyjona · Answer

KJV is the closest we have to real bible.  Any translation after KJV leads you farther off track.

David at Your Service · Answer

The key words in the original Greek are "tois tous patros" meaning "the (things) of-the father".

Obviously a general statement like that can be interpreted in various ways.  Word-for-word literal translations will translate it as "the things of my Father" (YLT), whereas dynamic translations (meaning for meaning) will translate it as "my father's business" or "my father's affairs".

Trending News

What is Jesus saying in Luke 2:49? Why did the translators all add various words to the original meaning? Why did His parents not perceive?

7 Answers