Luke 2 · Verse 12

Luke 2:12

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luke 2:12, King James Version

Luke 2:12 in other translations

BSBAnd this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
WEBThis is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”
ASVAnd this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.
YLTand this is to you the sign: Ye shall find a babe wrapped up, lying in the manger.'
DARBYAnd this is the sign to you: ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and lying in a manger.
BBEAnd this is the sign to you: you will see a young child folded in linen, in the place where the cattle have their food.
WebsterAnd this shall be a sign to you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, lying in a manger.

What does Luke 2:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. a sign--"the sign." the babe--"a Babe." a manger--"the manger." The sign was to consist, it seems, solely in the overpowering contrast between the things just said of Him and the lowly condition in which they would find Him--Him whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, "ye shall find a Babe"; whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, "wrapt in swaddling bands"; the "Saviour, Christ the Lord," lying in a manger! Thus early were these amazing contrasts, which are His chosen style, held forth. (See 2Co 8:9.)

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse. 12. This shall be a sign, &c. The evidence by which you shall know the child is that you will find him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 This shall be a sign (or token) unto you - You shall find this glorious person, however strange it may appear, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a stable! It is by humility that Christ comes to reign; and this is the only way into his kingdom! Pride is the character of all the children of Adam: humility the mark of the Son of God, and of all his followers. Christ came in the way of humility to destroy that pride which is the root of evil in the souls of men. And thus, according to the old medical aphorism, "Opposites are destroyed by their opposites."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 2:8-20

Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God's good-will to men, manifested in…

Read the full comment on Luke 2:8-20 →

Luke 2:12 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532
τοῦτοtoutothis [is]G3778
ὑμῖνhuminto youG4771
τὸtotheG3588
σημεῖον·sēmeionsign:G4592
εὑρήσετεheurēseteYou will findG2147
βρέφοςbrephosa babyG1025
ἐσπαργανωμένονesparganōmenonswaddledG4683
κείμενονkeimenonlyingG2749
ἐνeninG1722
φάτνῃ.phatnēa manger.G5336

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Luke 2:12

  • Isaiah 7:14

    Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

  • Isaiah 53:1-2

    Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

  • Isaiah 7:11

    Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

  • Psalms 22:6

    But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

  • 2 Kings 19:29

    And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.

  • 2 Kings 20:8

    And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?

  • 1 Samuel 2:34

    And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

  • 1 Samuel 10:2-7

    When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Beth–el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: …

  • Exodus 3:12

    And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ex 3:12; 1Sa 10:2-7; Ps 22:6; Isa 53:1,2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Luke 2:11

    For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

  • Luke 2:12

    And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

  • Luke 2:13

    And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Read all of Luke 2

Luke 2:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y esto os será por señal: hallaréis al niño envuelto en pañales, echado en un pesebre.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ceci en est le signe pour vous, c’est que vous trouverez un petit enfant emmailloté et couché dans une crèche.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und dies sei euch das Zeichen: Ihr werdet ein Kind finden, in Windeln gewickelt und in einer Krippe liegend.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et hoc vobis signum: invenietis infantem pannis involutum, et positum in præsepio.