Luke 2:34

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And Simeon gave them his blessing and said to Mary, his mother, See, this child will be the cause of the downfall and the lifting up of great numbers of people in Israel, and he will be a sign against which hard words will be said;

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτοὺς Συμεών, καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Μαριὰμ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, Ἰδού, οὗτος κεῖται εἰς πτῶσιν καὶ ἀνάστασιν πολλῶν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ· καὶ εἰς σημεῖον ἀντιλεγόμενον·

Transliteration

And eulogēsen them Symeōn, and eipen pros Mariam the mētera of him, Idou, this one keitai for ptōsin and anastasin of many in the Israēl; and for sēmeion antilegomenon;

Grammar Details

• *eulogēsen*: aorist indicative active, 3rd singular - he blessed
• *Symeōn*: nominative, masculine - Simeon [proper name]
• *eipen*: aorist indicative active, 3rd singular - he said
• *pros*: preposition + accusative - to/toward
• *Mariam*: accusative, feminine - Mary [proper name]
• *mētera*: accusative, feminine, singular - mother
• *Idou*: aorist imperative middle, 2nd singular - behold/look
• *keitai*: present indicative middle/passive, 3rd singular - is appointed/destined/set
• *ptōsin*: accusative, feminine, singular - falling/downfall
• *anastasin*: accusative, feminine, singular - rising/resurrection
• *Israēl*: dative, masculine - in Israel
• *sēmeion*: accusative, neuter, singular - sign/signal
• *antilegomenon*: present participle passive, accusative, neuter, singular - being opposed/contradicted

Word Meanings

• *eulogēsen*: blessed/praised/spoke well of
• *pros*: to/toward/with
• *mētera*: mother/matriarch
• *keitai*: is appointed/is set/is destined/is laid
• *ptōsin*: falling/downfall/ruin
• *anastasin*: rising up/resurrection/recovery
• *sēmeion*: sign/signal/marker
• *antilegomenon*: spoken against/contradicted/opposed

Referenced Verses

• 1 Cor 1:23 : 23 But we give the good news of Christ on the cross, a hard thing to the Jews, and a foolish thing to the Gentiles;
• 1 Pet 2:7-8 : 7 And the value is for you who have faith; but it is said for those without faith, The very stone which the builders put on one side, was made the chief stone of the building; 8 And, A stone of falling, a rock of trouble; the word is the cause of their fall, because they go against it, and this was the purpose of God.
• Matt 21:44 : 44 Any man falling on this stone will be broken, but he on whom it comes down will be crushed to dust.
• Acts 9:1-9 : 1 But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 And made a request for letters from him to the Synagogues of Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there, men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him; 4 And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? 5 And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking: 6 But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. 7 And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one. 8 And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink. 10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord. 11 And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer; 12 And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see. 13 But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name. 15 But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name: 16 For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me. 17 And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit. 18 And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism; 19 And when he had taken food his strength came back. And for some days he kept with the disciples who were in Damascus. 20 And straight away, in the Synagogues, he was preaching Jesus as the Son of God.
• Hos 14:9 : 9 As for Ephraim, what has he to do with false gods any longer? I have given an answer and I will keep watch over him; I am like a branching fir-tree, from me comes your fruit.
• Acts 28:22 : 22 But we have a desire to give hearing to your opinion: for as to this form of religion, we have knowledge that in all places it is attacked.
• Rom 9:32 : 32 Why? Because they were not searching for it by faith, but by works. They came up against the stone which was in the way;
• Matt 11:19 : 19 The Son of man has come feasting, and they say, See, a lover of food and wine, a friend of tax-farmers and sinners! And wisdom is judged to be right by her works.
• Matt 12:46 : 46 While he was still talking to the people, his mother and his brothers came, desiring to have talk with him.
• Acts 13:45 : 45 But when the Jews saw such a great number of people, they were full of envy and said evil words against Paul's preaching.
• Acts 17:6 : 6 And when they were not able to get them, they took Jason and some of the brothers by force before the rulers of the town, crying, These men, who have made trouble all over the world have now come here;
• Acts 24:5 : 5 For this man, in our opinion, is a cause of trouble, a maker of attacks on the government among Jews through all the empire, and a chief mover in the society of the Nazarenes:
• 1 Pet 4:14 : 14 If men say evil things of you because of the name of Christ, happy are you; for the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you.
• 2 Cor 2:15-16 : 15 For we are a sweet perfume of Christ to God in those who are getting salvation and in those who are going to destruction; 16 To the one it is a perfume of death to death; to the other a perfume of life to life. And who is enough for such things?
• Heb 7:1 : 1 For this Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, who gave Abraham his blessing, meeting him when he came back after putting the kings to death,
• Heb 7:7 : 7 But there is no doubt that the less gets his blessing from the greater.
• Heb 12:1-3 : 1 For this reason, as we are circled by so great a cloud of witnesses, putting off every weight, and the sin into which we come so readily, let us keep on running in the way which is marked out for us, 2 Having our eyes fixed on Jesus, the guide and end of our faith, who went through the pains of the cross, not caring for the shame, because of the joy which was before him, and who has now taken his place at the right hand of God's seat of power. 3 Give thought to him who has undergone so much of the hate of sinners against himself, so that you may not be tired and feeble of purpose.
• Matt 26:65-67 : 65 Then the high priest, violently parting his robes, said, He has said evil against God: what more need have we of witnesses? for now his words against God have come to your ears: 66 What is your opinion? They made answer and said, It is right for him to be put to death. 67 Then they put shame on him, and were cruel to him: and some gave him blows, saying,
• Matt 27:40-45 : 40 You who would give the Temple to destruction and put it up again in three days, get yourself free: if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41 In the same way, the chief priests, making sport of him, with the scribes and those in authority, said, 42 A saviour of others, he has no salvation for himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will have faith in him. 43 He put his faith in God; let God be his saviour now, if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God. 44 And the thieves who were on the crosses said evil words to him. 45 Now from the sixth hour it was dark over all the land till the ninth hour.
• Matt 27:63 : 63 Saying, Sir, we have in mind how that false man said, while he was still living, After three days I will come again from the dead.
• John 3:20 : 20 The light is hated by everyone whose acts are evil and he does not come to the light for fear that his acts will be seen.
• John 5:18 : 18 For this cause the Jews had an even greater desire to put Jesus to death, because not only did he not keep the Sabbath but he said God was his Father, so making himself equal with God.
• John 8:48-52 : 48 The Jews said to him in answer, Are we not right in saying that you are of Samaria and have an evil spirit? 49 And this was the answer of Jesus: I have not an evil spirit; but I give honour to my Father and you do not give honour to me. 50 I, however, am not in search of glory for myself: there is One who is searching for it and he is judge. 51 Truly I say to you, If a man keeps my word he will never see death. 52 The Jews said to him, Now we are certain that you have an evil spirit. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and you say, If a man keeps my word he will never see death.
• John 9:24-29 : 24 So they sent a second time for the man who had been blind and they said to him, Give glory to God: it is clear to us that this man is a sinner. 25 He said in answer, I have no knowledge if he is a sinner or not, but one thing I am certain about; I was blind, and now I see. 26 Then they said to him, What did he do to you? how did he give you the use of your eyes? 27 His answer was: I have said it before, but your ears were shut: why would you have me say it again? is it your desire to become his disciples? 28 And they were angry with him and said, You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We are certain that God gave his word to Moses: but as for this man, we have no knowledge where he comes from.
• Acts 2:36-41 : 36 For this reason, let all Israel be certain that this Jesus, whom you put to death on the cross, God has made Lord and Christ. 37 Now when these words came to their ears their hearts were troubled, and they said to Peter and the other Apostles, Brothers, what are we to do? 38 And Peter said, Let your hearts be changed, every one of you, and have baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will have the Holy Spirit given to you. 39 For the word of God is for you and for your children and for all those who are far off, even all those who may be marked out by the Lord our God. 40 And with more such words he gave his witness, offering them salvation and saying, Come out from this evil generation. 41 Then those who gave hearing to his words had baptism: and about three thousand souls were joined to them that day.
• Acts 3:15-19 : 15 And put to death the Lord of life; whom God gave back from the dead; of which fact we are witnesses. 16 And his name, through faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and have knowledge of: yes, the faith which is through him has made him well, before you all. 17 And now, my brothers, I am conscious that you did this, as did your rulers, without knowledge. 18 But the things which God had made clear before, by the mouth of all the prophets, that the Christ would have to undergo, he has put into effect in this way. 19 So then, let your hearts be changed and be turned to God, so that your sins may be completely taken away, and times of blessing may come from the Lord;
• Acts 4:26 : 26 The kings of the earth were lifted up, the rulers came together, against the Lord, and against his Christ:
• Acts 6:7 : 7 And the word of God was increasing in power; and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem became very great, and a great number of priests were in agreement with the faith.
• Gen 14:19 : 19 And blessing him, said, May the blessing of the Most High God, maker of heaven and earth, be on Abram:
• Gen 47:7 : 7 Then Joseph made his father Jacob come before Pharaoh, and Jacob gave him his blessing.
• Exod 39:43 : 43 Then Moses, when he saw all their work and saw that they had done everything as the Lord had said, gave them his blessing.
• Lev 9:22-23 : 22 And Aaron, lifting up his hands to the people, gave them a blessing; and he came down from offering the sin-offering, and the burned offering, and the peace-offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of meeting, and came out and gave the people a blessing, and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people.
• Ps 22:6-8 : 6 But I am a worm and not a man; cursed by men, and looked down on by the people. 7 I am laughed at by all those who see me: pushing out their lips and shaking their heads they say, 8 He put his faith in the Lord; let the Lord be his saviour now: let the Lord be his saviour, because he had delight in him.
• Ps 69:9-9 : 9 I am on fire with passion for your house; and the hard things which are said about you have come on me. 10 My bitter weeping, and my going without food, were turned to my shame. 11 When I put on the clothing of grief, they said evil of me. 12 I am a cause of wonder to those in authority; a song to those who are given to strong drink.
• Isa 8:14-15 : 14 And he will be for a holy place: but for a stone of falling and a rock of trouble to the two houses of Israel, and to the men of Jerusalem, for a net in which they may be taken. 15 And numbers of them, falling on the stone, will be broken, and will be taken in the net.
• Isa 8:18 : 18 See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of armies, whose resting-place is in Mount Zion.