Luke 2:17 (DBY)

Passage

and having seen [it] they made known about the country the thing which had been said to them concerning this child.

Nearby Context

Luke 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels departed from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, Let us make our way then now as far as Bethlehem, and let us see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

Luke 2:16 And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger;

Luke 2:17 and having seen [it] they made known about the country the thing which had been said to them concerning this child.

Luke 2:18 And all who heard [it] wondered at the things said to them by the shepherds.

Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things [in her mind], pondering [them] in her heart.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "having", "seen", "known", "country", "been", "said", "concerning", and "child". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "having" and "seen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And they came with haste and found..." into verse 18's "And all who heard it wondered at...", so "having" and "seen" 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 "having" and "seen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.