Luke 2 · Verse 50

Luke 2:50

And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
Luke 2:50, King James Version

Luke 2:50 in other translations

BSBBut they did not understand the statement He was making to them.
WEBThey didn’t understand the saying which he spoke to them.
ASVAnd they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
YLTand they did not understand the saying that he spake to them,
DARBYAnd they understood not the thing that he said to them.
BBEAnd his words seemed strange to them.
WebsterAnd they understood not the saying which he spoke to them.

What does Luke 2:50 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 2:50-51
50-51. understood not--probably He had never expressly said as much, and so confounded them, though it was but the true interpretation of many things which they had seen and heard from Him at home. (See on Joh 14:4.) But lest it should be thought that now He threw off the filial yoke, and became His own Master henceforth, and theirs too, it is purposely added, "And He went down with them, and was subject unto them." The marvel of this condescension lies in its coming after such a scene, and such an assertion of His higher Sonship; and the words are evidently meant to convey this. "From this time we have no more mention of Joseph. The next we hear is of his "mother and brethren" (Joh 2:12); whence it is inferred, that between this time and the commencement of our Lord's public life, Joseph died" [Alford], having now served the double end of being the protector of our Lord's Virgin--mother, and affording Himself the opportunity of presenting a matchless pattern of subjection to both parents.

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

Barnes' Notes
Verse 50. They understood not, &c. It is remarkable that they did not understand Jesus in this, but it shows how slow persons are to believe. Even his parents, after all that had taken place, did not seem to comprehend that he was to be the Saviour of men, or if they did, they understood it in a very imperfect manner.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 2:41-52

It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves where, and when, and how they lost them, and…

Read the full comment on Luke 2:41-52 →

Luke 2:50 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
αὐτοὶautoithey themselvesG846
οὐounotG3756
συνῆκανsunēkanunderstoodG4920
τὸtotheG3588
ῥῆμαrhēmadeclarationG4487
ὃhothatG3739
ἐλάλησενelalēsenHe spokeG2980
αὐτοῖς.autoisto them.G846

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

Cross references for Luke 2:50

  • Luke 18:34

    And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

  • Mark 9:32

    But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

  • Luke 9:45

    But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9:45; 18:34

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

Context

  • Luke 2:49

    And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?

  • Luke 2:50

    And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

  • Luke 2:51

    And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

Read all of Luke 2

Luke 2:50 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Mas ellos no entendieron las palabras que les habló.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ils ne comprirent pas la parole qu’il leur disait.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und sie verstanden das Wort nicht, das er zu ihnen redete.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et ipsi non intellexerunt verbum quod locutus est ad eos.