Luke 2:49

New English Translation

⁴⁹But^[a] he replied,^[b] “Why were you looking for me?^[c] Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”^[d]

Luke 2:49 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.
Luke 2:49 tn Grk “he said to them.”
Luke 2:49 tn Grk “Why is it that you were looking for me?”
Luke 2:49 tn Or “I must be about my Father’s business” (so KJV, NKJV); Grk “in the [things] of my Father,” with an ellipsis. This verse involves an idiom that probably refers to the necessity of Jesus being involved in the instruction about God, given what he is doing. The most widely held view today takes this as a reference to the temple as the Father’s house. Jesus is saying that his parents should have known where he was.

New English Translation (NET)