Anna

36Anna was there too. She was a prophetess, a woman who told people what God said. Her father was Phanuel, from the family of Aser. She was very old. She had been married for seven years.

And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

NoteA prophetess is a woman who tells people what God says. Aser was one of the twelve big families of Israel. Each family came from one of twelve brothers long ago.

37Then her husband died. She stayed a widow, a woman whose husband has died, until she was eighty-four years old. She never left the temple. She served God night and day. She prayed, and she went without food to pray.

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

NoteA widow is a woman whose husband has died. The King James says "fourscore and four." A score is twenty, so that means eighty-four. Fasting means going without food for a while, to pray.

38Right then Anna came up and thanked God too. She told about the child to everyone who was waiting for God to set Jerusalem free.

And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

NoteThese people were waiting for God to help Jerusalem. Another country ruled them, and they wanted to be free.