And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
Parallel translations
- WEB While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth.
- BSB While they were there, the time came for her Child to be born.
- NKJV So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
- NASB While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
- NLT And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.
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
While in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to give birth. It matters because the eternal Son of God enters the world at God's appointed moment.
Overview
Luke records the arrival of the time for Jesus' birth during their stay in Bethlehem. The simplicity of the statement underscores the reality of the incarnation. In the fullness of time, God's Son was born of a woman (Galatians 4:4), exactly where prophecy foretold.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ps 33:11The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
- Rev 12:1–5And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
- Mic 5:2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
- Prov 19:21There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
- Luke 1:57Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
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 2:6 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.