Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
Parallel translations
- WEB “Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace;
- BSB “Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.
- NKJV “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;
- NASB “Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, According to Your word;
- NLT “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.
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
Simeon asks God to let him depart in peace, his promise now fulfilled. It matters because seeing Christ brings settled peace, even in facing death.
Overview
In words known as the Nunc Dimittis, Simeon, calling himself God's servant, says he can now die in peace according to God's word. Having seen the Messiah, he is fully satisfied. Christ gives such assurance that even death loses its dread for those who trust in Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Rev 14:13And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
- Gen 15:15And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
- Gen 46:30And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
- Phil 1:23For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
- Luke 2:26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
- Isa 57:1–2The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
- Ps 37:37Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
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 2:29 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.