Luke 2:34 (ASV)

Passage

and Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this [child] is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which is spoken against;

Nearby Context

Luke 2:32 A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of thy people Israel.

Luke 2:33 And his father and his mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning him;

Luke 2:34 and Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this [child] is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which is spoken against;

Luke 2:35 yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul; that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.

Luke 2:36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "simeon", "blessed", "said", "mary", "mother", "behold", "child", and "falling". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "simeon" and "blessed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 33's "And his father and his mother were..." into verse 35's "yea and a sword shall pierce through...", so "simeon" and "blessed" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "simeon" and "blessed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.