And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
Parallel translations
- WEB When they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
- BSB When Jesus’ parents had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
- NKJV So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
- NASB And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.
- NLT When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.
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
Having fulfilled the law's requirements, the family returns to Nazareth. It matters because the holy family completes their obedience and settles into ordinary life.
Overview
Luke notes that once all the legal observances were complete, Mary and Joseph returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee. Their faithful obedience to the law is again emphasized. The Savior of the world is raised quietly in an obscure Galilean town.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Luke 2:4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
- Matt 3:15And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
- Gal 4:4–5But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
- Deut 12:32What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
- Matt 2:22–23But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
- Luke 2:51And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
- Luke 2:21–24And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
- Luke 1:6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 2:39 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.