The Meaning of Luke 2:29 Explained

Luke 2:29

KJV: Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

YLT: 'Now Thou dost send away Thy servant, Lord, according to Thy word, in peace,

Darby: Lord, now thou lettest thy bondman go, according to thy word, in peace;

ASV: Now lettest thou thy servant depart, Lord, According to thy word, in peace;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Lord,  now  lettest thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according  to thy  word: 

What does Luke 2:29 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 2:25-39 - The Aged Simeon's Prophetic Blessing
Two aged watchers welcomed the King; but no one else, of all the crowds who went and came, guessed that the Messenger of the Covenant had suddenly come to His Temple, Malachi 3:1-3.
In the Arctic Circle in summer the visitor will behold the magnificent spectacle, on the same sky, of the hues of sunset and of dawn. Dipping only for a brief period beneath the horizon, the setting sun leaves the glorious trail of sunset, and rising, bathes the eastern clouds with the radiance of dawn. So, when Simeon embraced Christ, sunset and sunrise met. There was the glory of the age that was passing, and the glory of the new Christian age that shall ever stand at perfect noon.
Note the concentric circles of Simeon's character: a man; a man in Jerusalem-i.e., a Jew; righteous toward his fellows; devout toward God; looking; Spirit-anointed; to whom it was revealed; Christ in his arms. What more could be said? [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 2

1  Augustus taxes all the Roman empire
6  The nativity of Jesus
8  An angel relates it to the shepherds, and many sing praises to God for it
15  The shepherds glorify God
21  Jesus is circumcised
22  Mary purified
25  Simeon and Anna prophesy of Jesus,
39  who increases in wisdom,
41  questions in the temple with the teachers,
51  and is obedient to his parents

Greek Commentary for Luke 2:29

Now lettest thou [νυν απολυεις]
Present active indicative, Thou art letting. The Nunc Dimittis, adoration and praise. It is full of rapture and vivid intensity (Plummer) like the best of the Psalms. The verb απολυω — apoluō was common for the manumission of slaves and Simeon here calls himself “thy slave (δουλον σου — doulon sou), Lord (Δεσποτα — Despota our despot).” See 2 Peter 2:1. [source]
Lettest thou thy servant depart [ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου]
Lit., thou dost release. The word is often used of manumitting or setting free on payment of ransom; and as Simeon uses the word for bond-servant, it is evident that his death is conceived by him under the figure of enfranchisement from service. Godet's “release of a sentinel from duty” is fanciful. [source]
O Lord [δέσποτα]
See on 2 Peter 2:1. [source]
In peace []
Rev. properly puts this in its emphatic position at the end of the sentence. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 2:29

Luke 21:28 Redemption [ἀπολύτρωσις]
See on lettest depart, Luke 2:29. [source]
Luke 1:13 John [Ιωανην]
The word means that God is gracious. The mention of the name should have helped Zacharias to believe. The message of the angel (Luke 1:13-17) takes on a metrical form when turned into Hebrew (Ragg) and it is a prose poem in Greek and English like Luke 1:30-33, Luke 1:35-37, Luke 1:42-45, Luke 1:46-55, Luke 1:68-70; Luke 2:10-12, Luke 2:14, Luke 2:29-32, Luke 2:34-35. Certainly Luke has preserved the earliest Christian hymns in their oldest sources. He is the first critic of the sources of the Gospels and a scholarly one. [source]
Acts 4:24 O Lord [Δεσποτα]
Our word despot. Old word for relation of master to slaves or household servants (1 Timothy 6:1; 2 Timothy 2:21; Titus 2:9; 1 Peter 2:18). Simeon thus addressed God (Luke 2:29). So in 2 Peter 2:1; Judges 1:4; Revelation 6:10. See “slaves” in Acts 4:29. [source]
1 Peter 2:18 Be in subjection [υποτασσομενοι]
Present middle participle of υποτασσω — hupotassō common late compound to subject oneself to one (Luke 2:51). Either the participle is here used as an imperative (so in 1 Peter 3:1, 1 Peter 3:7) as in Romans 12:16., or the imperative εστε — este has to be supplied (Robertson, Grammar, p. 945).To your masters (τοις δεσποταις — tois despotais). Dative case of δεσποτης — despotēs old word for absolute owner in contrast with δουλος — doulos It is used also of God (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24, Acts 4:29) and of Christ (2 Peter 2:1; Judges 1:4). Κυριος — Kurios has a wider meaning and not necessarily suggesting absolute power.To the good and gentle Dative case also with the article with class. For επιεικης — epieikēs see note on James 3:17. There were slave-owners (masters) like this as there are housekeepers and employers of workmen today. This is no argument for slavery, but only a sidelight on a condition bad enough at its best.To the froward (τοις σκολιοις — tois skoliois). “To the crooked.” Old word, also in Luke 3:5; Acts 2:40; Philemon 2:15. Unfortunately there were slave-holders as there are employers today, like this group. The test of obedience comes precisely toward this group. [source]
1 Peter 2:18 To your masters [τοις δεσποταις]
Dative case of δεσποτης — despotēs old word for absolute owner in contrast with δουλος — doulos It is used also of God (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24, Acts 4:29) and of Christ (2 Peter 2:1; Judges 1:4). Κυριος — Kurios has a wider meaning and not necessarily suggesting absolute power. [source]
2 Peter 2:1 The Lord [δεσπότην]
In most cases in the New Testament the word is rendered master, the Rev. changing lord to master in every case but two - Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; and in both instances putting master in margin, and reserving lord for the rendering of κύριος . In three of these instances the word is used in direct address to God; and it may be asked why the Rev. changes Lord to Master in the text of Revelation 6:10, and retains Lord in Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24. In five out of the ten occurrences of the word in the New Testament it means master of the household. Originally, it indicates absolute, unrestricted authority, so that the Greeks refused the title to any but the gods. In the New Testament δεσπότης and κύριος are used interchangeably of God, and of masters of servants. [source]
Revelation 6:10 O Master [ο δεσποτης]
Nominative articular form, but used as vocative On δεσποτης — despotēs (correlative of δουλος — doulos) see Luke 2:29. Here (alone in the Apocalypse) it is applied to God as in Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24, but to Christ in Judges 1:4; 2 Peter 2:1.The holy and true (ο αγιος και αλητινος — ho hagios kai alēthinos). See Revelation 3:7 for these attributes of God.Avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth This same idiom in Revelation 19:2 and see it also in Luke 18:7., “a passage which goes far to answer many questions in theodicy” (Swete). We find εκδικεω — ekdikeō late compound, used with εκ — ek as here in Deuteronomy 18:19; 1 Samuel 24:13, but with απο — apo in Luke 18:3. For επι της γης — epi tēs gēs (upon the earth) see Revelation 3:10. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 2:29 mean?

Now You dismiss the servant of You Lord according to the word in peace
Νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου Δέσποτα κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά ἐν εἰρήνῃ

Νῦν  Now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: νῦν  
Sense: at this time, the present, now.
ἀπολύεις  You  dismiss 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἀπολύω  
Sense: to set free.
δοῦλόν  servant 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: δοῦλοσ1 
Sense: a slave, bondman, man of servile condition.
σου  of  You 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
Δέσποτα  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: δεσπότης  
Sense: a master, Lord.
κατὰ  according  to 
Parse: Preposition
Root: κατά 
Sense: down from, through out.
ῥῆμά  word 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: ῥῆμα  
Sense: that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word.
εἰρήνῃ  peace 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: εἰρήνη  
Sense: a state of national tranquillity.