New American Standard Bible 1995
Luke 1:15
15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will 1drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit 2while yet in 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 to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. 14You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
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
- For he will be greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
- in the sightἐνώπιονenōpion · beforeG1799
- of the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
- drinkπίνωpinō piō poō · to drinkG4095
- noοὐou · noG3756
- noμήmē · notG3361
- wineοἶνοςoinos · wineG3631
- orκαίkai · andG2532
- liquorσίκεραsikera · alcoholic drinkG4608
- with the Holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
- Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- while yetἔτιeti · stillG2089
- in his mother’sμήτηρmētēr · motherG3384
- wombκοιλίαkoilia · belly/womb/stomachG2836
Cross-references for Luke 1:15
- Luke 7:28I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
- Genesis 12:2And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;
- Genesis 48:19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
- Joshua 3:7Now the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you.
- Joshua 4:14On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life.
- 1 Chronicles 17:8I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a name like the name of the great ones who are in the earth.
- 1 Chronicles 29:12Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.
- Matthew 11:9But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.
- John 5:35He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
- Luke 7:33For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
- Numbers 6:2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the Lord,
- Judges 13:4Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.
- Matthew 11:18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
- Zechariah 9:15The Lord of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink and be boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched 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 was giving them utterance.
- Ephesians 5:18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, 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
Notes
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
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries