I happened to be flipping through the pages of Luke’s Gospel in my brand-new Bible in the New Living Translation. I came upon chapter 2:49. Here the boy Jesus responds to his frantic parents who had been searching for Him for several days when they realised He wasn’t with the band of extended family and friends making the return trip home to Nazareth. (Mary and Joseph had not realised that Jesus had been left behind in Jerusalem after the Passover Festival). They eventually found Him in the temple in conversation with the religious teachers and rabbis who were amazed at His insights. Here is how it all occurred.
Luke 2:48-49 (NLT)
His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” His mother said to Him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.” 49 “But why did you need to search?” He asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in My Father’s house?”
The last phrase of this particular verse (v.49) is pretty much universally translated as the NLT renders it here, as you can see from the list below.
New International Version
“Why were you searching for Me?” He asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?”
English Standard Version
And He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?”
Berean Standard Bible
“Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
New American Standard Bible
And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
Amplified Bible
And He answered, “Why did you have to look for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
Christian Standard Bible
“Why were you searching for Me? ” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for Me to be in My Father’s house?”
American Standard Version
And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? knew ye not that I must be in my Father's house?
Contemporary English Version
Jesus answered, "Why did you have to look for Me? Didn't you know that I would be in My Father's house?"
GOD'S WORD® Translation
Jesus said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you realize that I had to be in My Father's house?"
Good News Translation
He answered them, "Why did you have to look for me? Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?"
International Standard Version
He asked them, "Why were you looking for Me? Didn't you know that I had to be in My Father's house?"
NET Bible
But He replied, "Why were you looking for Me? Didn't you know that I must be in My Father's house?"
There are plenty more translations that say the exact same thing: “in My Father’s house”. There are two or three translations that disagree, and they happen to be correct. The New King James translation, for example says, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” This is the correct translation of Jesus’ words. The original Greek text does not contain the word “house” (oikos) at all. It literally says, “knew you not that it behoves Me to be engaged in My Father’s business, [or “things”, or “affairs”]. How so many translators came to insert the word house remains a mystery. But it isn’t correct as the text itself proves. We need to be careful not to overlay our personal agenda onto the Scriptures. Without going into some great argument about who got what wrong, I just want to make this point. One small error, or change to a text can completely misconstrue the original meaning and intent. It is clear, from the rest of Luke’s gospel, that the mission of Jesus on behalf of the Father is the key theme of His gospel narrative – the priority was mission, not sitting in a church (temple). One small misinterpretation can skew the whole text in a new direction – we can veer off on some tangent and end up far from where we need to be. It’s the same in life. One small deviation from the path of righteousness can send us on to a final destination far from where we should be. We need to maintain careful faithfulness.
We need a good deal of exactitude when reading the scriptures, too. Exactitude means the quality of being very accurate, correct, and careful down to every detail – because details are important. This does not mean we should lose confidence over these kinds of translational inaccuracies – I am enjoying the NLT. Most modern, mainstream translations are pretty good, especially the NLT, NET Bible, ESV and NIV translations. But what I would advise, for those who want to go a bit deeper into the Word - which is more than just reading and listening to the Word - is to avail yourselves of the many excellent resources for studying the Bible in more depth, and meditating on it. Ones I would highly recommend are You Version, ESword and Bible Study (an app from Olive Tree). Also, compare different translations. This is a very enriching investment in your spiritual life and cannot be hurried. Make time to do this. The Bereans in the Book of Acts were highly regarded by Luke for their great care in examining the scriptures carefully …
Acts 17:11 (NIV)
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures carefully every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
May I encourage you, also, to be like the noble Bereans. Take the time and effort to read, hear, study, meditate on and memorise scripture with … exactitude. Then, apply what you’re learning. This way you really get a grip on God’s Word. And it will change you. Works for me.
Ps Milton