When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast,
Parallel translations
- KJV And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
- BSB And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the Feast.
- NKJV And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.
- NASB And when He was twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the feast;
- NLT When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual.
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
When Jesus was twelve, the family went up to Jerusalem for the feast as usual. It matters because it sets the scene for the only recorded event of His boyhood.
Overview
At age twelve, Jesus accompanies His family to the Passover according to custom. This age marked a Jewish boy's approaching entry into the religious responsibilities of adulthood. The setting prepares for the one glimpse Scripture gives into Jesus' developing self-understanding.
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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 2:42 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
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