And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Parallel translations
- WEB This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”
- BSB And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
- NKJV And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
- NASB And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
- NLT And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The sign is a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. It matters because God authenticates His Savior through humble, verifiable signs.
Overview
The angel gives the shepherds a sign to confirm the message: they will find the child in surprisingly humble surroundings. The manger itself becomes the mark of the Messiah, underscoring His lowliness. God meets faith with concrete confirmation, inviting the shepherds to go and see.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 7:14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
- Isa 53:1–2Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
- Isa 7:11Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
- Ps 22:6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
- 1 Sam 10:2–7When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?
- 2 Kgs 20:8And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?
- 2 Kgs 19:29And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.
- 1 Sam 2:34And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
- Exod 3:12And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 2:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.