And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

And when they saw him, they were astonished; and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing.

And seeing him, they wondered. And his mother said to him: Son, why hast thou done so to us? behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

And when they saw him they were amazed: and his mother said to him, Child, why hast thou dealt thus with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee distressed.

And, having seen him, they were amazed, and his mother said unto him, 'Child, why didst thou thus to us? lo, thy father and I, sorrowing, were seeking thee.'

When they saw Him, they were smitten with amazement, and His mother said to Him, "My child, why have you behaved thus to us? Your father and I have been searching for you in anguish."

And when they saw him they were surprised, and his mother said to him, Son, why have you done this to us? see, your father and I have been looking for you with sorrow.

And upon seeing him, they wondered. And his mother said to him: "Son, why have you acted this way toward us? Behold, your father and I were seeking you in sorrow."

His parents were amazed when they saw him, and his mother said to him, "My child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been searching for you in great distress."

And his mother said to him Those who think that the holy virgin spake in this manner, for the purpose of showing her authority, are, in my opinion, mistaken. It is even possible, that it was not till they were apart, and the witnesses had withdrawn, that she began to expostulate with her son, after they had left the assembly. However that may be, this complaint was not the result of ambition, but was the expression of grief, which had lasted three days. [1] Yet the manner of her complaint, as if she had received an injury, shows how ready we are by nature to defend our own rights, even without paying regard to God. The holy virgin would a thousand times [2] rather have died, than deliberately preferred herself to God: but, in the indulgence of a mother's grief, she falls into it through inadvertency. And undoubtedly this example warns us, how jealous we ought to be of all the affections of the flesh, and what care we ought to exercise, lest, by being too tenacious of our rights, and following our own desires, we defraud God of his honor.

Footnotes

1 - "Mais l'ennuy et la fascherie qu'elle avoit eue trois jours durant l'a fait ainsi parler." -- "But the uneasiness and distress, which she had had for three days, made her speak in this manner."

2 - "Centies;" -- "mille fois."

Why hast thou thus dealt with us? - Why hast thou given us all this trouble and anxiety, in going so far and returning with so much solicitude?
Thy father - Joseph was not the "real" father of Jesus, but he was "legally" so; and as the secret of his birth was not commonly known, he was called his father. Mary, in accordance with that usage, also called him so.
Sorrowing - Anxious, lest in the multitude he might not be found, or lest some accident might have happened to him.

Why hast thou thus dealt with us? - It certainly was not his fault, but theirs. Men are very apt to lay on others the blame of their own misconduct.

(8) And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
(8) All duties which we owe to men, even though they are not to be neglected, so are they (according to the position in life which God has set us) not to be preferred before the glory of God.

And when they saw him they were amazed,.... That is, when Joseph and Mary saw him amidst the doctors, they were astonished that he was admitted among them, and had in such esteem by them:
and his mother said unto him; she being his own, and only parent, and not Joseph; and therefore he said nothing, but left it to her; who upon sight of him, at least as soon as she had a proper opportunity after he had left the doctors, began to chide, or rather to expostulate with him after this manner:
son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? which was said with great tenderness of affection, and in much mildness; and may be a pattern to parents, who should not provoke their children to anger, but deal gently and tenderly with them:
behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing; with great grief, anxiety, and solicitude, fearing lest some evil had befallen him. Mary calls Joseph his father, though she knew he was not, in a proper sense; but because he was supposed to be so, and was his father by the law of marriage; and especially, she might call him so because of his paternal care of him in his education, and bringing him up: for it is a maxim with the Jews (e), that "not he that begets, but he that brings up, is the father.
(e) Shemot Rabba, sect. 46. fol. 143. 1.