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Luke 2:48
ESV And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”
NIV When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, 'Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.'
NASB When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and His mother said to Him, 'Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!'
CSB When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
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.'
KJV And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

What does Luke 2:48 mean?

Jesus has been found after a brief search by Joseph and Mary. When the family left Jerusalem after a yearly Passover visit, they assumed Jesus was with others in their travelling group. After a day's travel out and back, the married couple located Jesus in the temple. There, He was impressing everyone with the depth of His wisdom (Luke 2:41–47).

Translations such as the NIV, ESV, NLT, and CSB use the term "parents" here to refer to Joseph and Mary. Strictly speaking, the original Greek only contains the word for "they saw." In context, this is correct. Adoptive parents are still parents, so the fact that Jesus is Joseph's adopted stepson (Matthew 1:20–21) is no reason to dispute the use of this word.

The same logic applies to Mary's use of the word "father" in reference to Joseph. Scholars debate whether Mary had explicitly told Jesus about the circumstances of His birth at this time. His own comment about the temple being "[His] Father's house" suggests awareness (Luke 2:49). Regardless of who knew what and when, Joseph was most certainly Jesus' adoptive father. There would have been no reason for Mary to use any other title.

Scripture doesn't explain exactly how Jesus came to be separated from His family, leading to a multiple-day search including two days of travel (Luke 2:44–46). Mary's comment blames Jesus for their distress. Jesus, for His part, seems to think His presence at the temple was obvious. A subtext to His reply is something like "where else did you think I would be?" (Luke 2:49). Whether this satisfies Mary, or not (Luke 2:50), she continues to pay careful attention to these events (Luke 2:51).
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