Limitless Word
Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
Luke 2:52 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
  • KJV And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
  • BSB And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
  • NKJV And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
  • NASB And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people.

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

Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and people. It matters because it affirms His true human growth alongside His perfect life.

Overview

Luke summarizes Jesus' maturing in wisdom, physical growth, and favor before God and others. This rounds out the picture of His genuine humanity, developing as a real person. The verse closes the infancy account, presenting Jesus as fully human and wholly pleasing to God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Luke 2:40The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
  • Prov 3:3–4Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
  • 1 Sam 2:26The child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with Yahweh, and also with men.
  • Rom 14:18For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
  • Luke 1:80The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
  • Acts 7:9–10“The patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt. God was with him,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 2:52YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 2:52 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.