Exegesis:
nomisantes de … ēlthon ‘but, supposing … they went’; de ‘but’ contrasts ouk egnōsan ‘they did not know’ (v. 43) with nomisantes ‘supposing…,’ the clause which is dependent upon nomisantes (i.e. auton einai en tē sunodia ‘him to be in the company’) motivates their going.
nomizō (also 3.23) ‘to believe,’ ‘to suppose.’
en tē sunodia ‘in the company of travellers.’
sunodia ‘group of people travelling together.’
hēmeras hodon ‘a day’s journey’; the accusative hodon ‘way,’ hence ‘journey,’ is of extent. Jewish sources differ considerably as to the length of a day’s journey, ranging from 15 to 40 miles (cf. Strack-Billerbeck II, 149) but it is safe to assume that a caravan of pilgrims would not do more than 15-20 miles a day.
kai anezētoun auton ‘and they were looking for him.’ The imperfect tense of anezētoun is best understood as a durative or iterative imperfect: Joseph and Mary supposed Jesus to be somewhere among the company of travellers and were, therefore, looking for him during that day’s journey among their relatives and friends.
anazēteō ‘to look for,’ especially of looking for human beings, with an implication of difficulty and thoroughness.
en tois suggeneusin kai tois gnōstois ‘among the relatives and acquaintances’; without a possessive pronoun or its equivalent, which is to be supplied from the context. For suggenēs cf. on 1.36.
gnōstos (also 23.49) ‘known,’ hence, when used of persons, ‘acquaintance,’ ‘friend.’
(V. 45) kai mē heurontes hupestrepsan ‘and not having found him, they returned.’ Here the aorist participle heurontes indicates an event preceding the event referred to by the main verb hupestrepsan ‘they returned.’
anazētountes auton ‘looking for him,’ indicating an event which is simultaneous with the event referred to by the main verb hupestrepsan ‘they returned.’
Translation:
Supposing him to be … they went … Rendering the participle by a co-ordinate or subordinate clause one may say something like, ‘They supposed that he was…; so/therefore/consequently they went…,’ or, ‘They went…, since they supposed that….’ To suppose implies that the author does not vouch for the opinion concerned, or even knows it to have been wrong, as brought out by Tae,’ which uses a verb basically meaning ‘to substitute,’ ‘to mistake a person for another,’ then, ‘to suppose wrongly.’ If one has to make explicit the implied direct discourse, one may say e.g. ‘thinking, “Certainly he is (or, we will find him) in…” .’
The company, or, ‘group of those who-were travelling same road with them’ (Kituba), ‘people on-the-same-journey’ (Balinese), ‘people that walk in-the-same-group’ (Tae’); Medumba, using the same compound pronoun as in 1.58, has ‘people who they-plus-they came.’
They went a day’s journey, or, ‘as much as one day they went’ (Tboli), ‘they did one day on the road’ (Kituba), ‘they travelled one-day’s-measure’ (Batak Toba).
And they sought him, or, expressing simultaneity, ‘and in the meanwhile they sought him (or, looked for him, or, tried to find him).’
Kinsfolk, see on 1.58.
Acquaintances usually refers to relationships which are somewhat less intimate than friendship. It can often be rendered by a derivation of, or a phrase built on, ‘to know,’ cf. ‘group of people who know each other’ (Thai), ‘people whom they-plus-they know’ (Medumba). Elsewhere the closest natural equivalent is a more generic term, covering both intimate and casual relationships, e.g. in Kituba, Batak Toba.
(V. 45) When they did not find him explains what follows; hence, “They did not find him, so they went back…” (Good News Translation).
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.