Bible Strands
Luke 2:12
And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — An angel addresses shepherds immediately after announcing the birth of the Savior in the city of David. The declaration occurs at the moment of the event, prior to the appearance of the heavenly host.
The words — σημεῖον (sēmeion) translates literally as "sign," and ἐσπαργανωμένον (esparganōmenon) means "wrapped in cloths." These terms specify the tangible confirmation of the angel's announcement.
The thread — The demand for a visible sign traces back to Isaiah 7:11, where a sign is offered as proof of divine action. The birth of a promised child also echoes the sign in Isaiah 7:14, while the revelation of God's work parallels the theme in Isaiah 53:1.
Why it lands — The text requires direct observation to verify the angel's claim: locating a specific infant in a specific, humble setting. It asks the listener to confirm the announcement by finding the described child.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
- Isaiah 7:11 “Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”
- Psalms 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
- 2 Kings 19:29 And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
- Exodus 3:12 “I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”
- 1 Samuel 2:34 And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
- 1 Samuel 10:2 When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’
- 2 Kings 20:8 Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”