American Standard Version
Luke 1:15
15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
Luke 1:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
- New International Version (NIV)for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
- English Standard Version (ESV)for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
Context of Luke 1:15
13But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God. 17And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.
Read all of Luke 1Luke 1:15 word by word
ἔσται γὰρ μέγας ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ οἶνον καὶ σίκερα οὐ μὴ πίῃ, καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου πλησθήσεται ἔτι ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear
- beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
- Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
- drinkπίνωpinō piō poō · to drinkG4095
- wineοἶνοςoinos · wineG3631
- filledπλήθω, πίμπλημιplēthō · to fillG4130
- Holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
- Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- evenκαίkai · andG2532
- mother’sμήτηρmētēr · motherG3384
- wombκοιλίαkoilia · belly/womb/stomachG2836
Cross-references for Luke 1:15
- Luke 7:28I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none greater than John: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
- Genesis 12:2and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing:
- Genesis 48:19And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
- Joshua 3:7And Jehovah said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
- Joshua 4:14On that day Jehovah magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
- 1 Chronicles 17:8and I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast gone, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee; and I will make thee a name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth.
- 1 Chronicles 29:12Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou rulest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
- Matthew 11:9But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
- John 5:35He was the lamp that burneth and shineth; and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light.
- Luke 7:33For John the Baptist is come eating no bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a demon.
- Numbers 6:2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself unto Jehovah,
- Judges 13:4Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
- Matthew 11:18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon.
- Zechariah 9:15Jehovah of hosts will defend them; and they shall devour, and shall tread down the sling-stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, like the corners of the altar.
- Acts 2:4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
- Ephesians 5:18And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit;
Commentaries on Luke 1:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15He shall be great in the sight of the Lord - That is, before Jesus Christ, whose forerunner he shall be; or he shall be a truly great person, for so this form of speech may imply. Neither wine nor strong drink - , i.e. all fermented liquors which have the property of intoxicating, or producing drunkenness. The original word , sikera, comes from the Hebrew, שכר shakar, to inebriate. "Any inebriating liquor," says St. Jerome, (Epis. ad Nepot)." is called…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Shall be great - Shall be eminent, or distinguished as a preacher. In the sight of the Lord - Greek, “before the Lord.” That is, shall be “really” or “truly” great. God shall regard him as such. Shall drink neither wine - The kind of wine commonly used in Judea was a light wine, often not stronger than cider in this country. It was the common drink of all classes of the people. See the notes at John 2:11. The use of wine was forbidden only to the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-25Verses 5-25 The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were eminent for piety and integrity. They had no children, and it could not be expected that Elisabeth should have any in her old age. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without. All the prayers we offer up to God, are acceptable and successful only…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15He shall never take wine or strong drink: In the Old Testament, avoiding alcohol was part of the Nazirite vow (a special commitment to God; see Numbers 6:1–21). This commitment or promise to God was usually temporary (see Acts 18:18; 21:23, 26). It was a commitment for life for some people, such as: Samson (Judges 13:4–7), Samuel (compare 1 Samuel 1:11), and John the Baptist. filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb: See Luke 1:41, 44.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. great in the sight of the Lord--nearer to Him in official standing than all the prophets. (See Mt 11:10, 11.) drink neither wine nor strong drink--that is, shall be a Nazarite, or "a separated one" (Nu 6:2, &c.). As the leper was the living symbol of sin, so was the Nazarite of holiness; nothing inflaming was to cross his lips; no razor to come on his head; no ceremonial defilement to be contracted. Thus was he to be "holy to the Lord [ceremonially]…Read the comment
Topics related to Luke 1:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Luke 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries