Luke 2:37 BSB — MannaFest

Luke 2:37

and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

and she had been a widow even unto fourscore and four years), who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day.

KJV

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

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Commentary

1 voice

Cyprian

Treatise IV On the Lord's Prayer (258)

Let not us, then, who are in Christ-that is, always in the lights cease from praying even during night. Thus the widow Anna, without intermission praying and watching, persevered in deserving well of God, as it is written in the I Gospel: "She departed not," it says, "from the temple, serving with fastings and prayers night and day." Let the Gentiles look to this, who! are not yet enlightened, or the Jews who have remained in darkness by having forsaken the light.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years,.... Which is not the date of her whole age, as some have thought, but of her widowhood state, as distinct from her marriage state, and the time of her virginity.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years - That is, she was about 84 years of age. It does not mean that she had been a widow for that long time. Fastings and prayers - Constant religious service. pending her time in prayer, and in all the ordinances of religion. Night and day - Continually - that is, at the usual times of public worship and in private.

J.C. Ryle

1816–1900

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)

The verses we have now read, introduce us to a servant of God whose name is nowhere else mentioned in the New Testament. The history of Anna , like that of Simeon — is related only by Luke. The wisdom of God ordained that a woman as well as a man — should testify to the fact that Messiah was born. In the mouth of two witnesses it was established that Malachi's prophecy was fulfilled — that the messenger of the covenant would suddenly come to the Temple. (Malachi 3:1.)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

19 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
αὐτὴ	autē	she	G846 →
χήρα	chēra	[was] a widow	G5503 →
ἕως	he'ōs	until	G2193 →
ἐτῶν	etōn	years	G2094 →
ὀγδοήκοντα	ogdoēkonta	eighty [and]	G3589 →
τεσσάρων	tessarōn	four	G5064 →
ἣ	hē	who	G3739 →
οὐκ	ouk	not	G3756 →
ἀφίστατο	aphistato	was departing	G868 →
τοῦ	tou	the	G3588 →
ἱεροῦ	hi'erou	temple	G2411 →
νηστείαις	nēsteiais	with fastings	G3521 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
δεήσεσιν	deēsesin	prayers	G1162 →
λατρεύουσα	latreuousa	serving	G3000 →
νύκτα	nukta	night	G3571 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἡμέραν·	hēmeran	day;	G2250 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Psalms 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
leads to
- Psalms 27:4
  One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the…
- 2 Timothy 4:18
  And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 2 Corinthians 5:1
  Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
- Psalms 36:7–10
  How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!
Through
Psalms 27:4
One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the…
leads to
- Psalms 26:8
  O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.
- Psalms 23:6
  Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
- Psalms 65:4
  Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We are filled with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple.
- Psalms 84:4
  How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah