Translation
as it has been written in the Law of the LORD, that every male to fully opens the womb
Go to footnote numberis called holy to the LORD,
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
as it has been written in the Law of THE SUPREME RULER, that every male who opens the womb wide open like never before (i.e. every firstborn son) should be considered set apart for THE SUPREME RULER alone,
Footnotes
1: “opens the womb”
This Greek word means to “open, or to open completely,” implying that whatever is being opened has never been opened like this before. When that idea is applied to the birthing process it produces the idea of the first child, but since they specified male, then it was really the firstborn male.
2: “holy to the Lord”
This is referring to Ex. 13:2, Ex. 22:29, Ex. 34:19, Num. 3:13, and Num. 18:15-16. Originally God claimed all the firstborn offspring as His own. Later, due to an extraordinary act of obedience by the men of the tribe of Levi (Ex. chapter 32), he designated them as the specially chosen tribe from which the priests would come. From then on the Levites were standing in as substitutes for all the other firstborn sons. However, God still wanted every parent to sense that their firstborn should be dedicated to a life of service to God as a special tool set apart for His use, even if it wasn’t service done in the temple. As a reminder of that very thing God required that each firstborn male be “redeemed,” or “purchased” for a price of 5 shekels. This payment was a statement on the part of the parents saying, “we recognize that this child should be fully dedicated to God’s service and we will raise him to be a tool set apart for God’s work.”
In the case of Jesus, this shows the reader that His parents were devout Jews and were trying to do everything right, despite being considered “sinful” by those who were critical of the way Mary got pregnant. And it was very true that this child was set apart, dedicated to God for His service alone and to do His will alone. He was