For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

LUKE 2:30KJV
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Luke 2:30 (KJV)

What does Luke 2:30 mean?

Luke 2:30 records Simeon telling God that he has seen the salvation God has provided. Simeon is speaking as he holds the infant Jesus, recognizing in the child the help God had promised.

“For” gives the reason Simeon can speak of departing in peace in the preceding verse. The phrase “mine eyes have seen” makes his words personal: Simeon is describing what he has witnessed, not merely something he has heard about.

The Greek behind Luke 2:30

  • “salvation” — σωτήριον (sōtērion): The word carries the sense of a means of rescue or deliverance. Here Simeon uses it for what God has made visible in the child he is holding.

Why Luke 2:30 matters

  • Simeon connects the child with God’s action, not his own achievement. He addresses God and calls what he has seen “thy salvation.”
  • The rescue Simeon names has a wide reach. In the following verses, he says God has prepared it “before the face of all people” and calls it a light for the Gentiles, meaning people who are not Jews, as well as glory for Israel.

Where else these words appear

“salvation” Greek G4992 · used in 5 verses

  • Luke 3:6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
  • Acts 28:28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
  • Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

“eyes” Greek G3788 · used in 86 verses

  • Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
  • Luke 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
  • Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.