New International Version
Luke 1:15
15for 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.
Context of Luke 1:15
13But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 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. 16He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- he shall beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
- in the sight ofἐνώπιονenōpion · beforeG1799
- the Lordὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- shall drinkπίνωpinō piō poō · to drinkG4095
- neitherοὐou · noG3756
- wineοἶνοςoinos · wineG3631
- strong drinkσίκεραsikera · alcoholic drinkG4608
- he shall be filledπλήθω, πίμπλημιplēthō · to fillG4130
- withπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- the Holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
- evenἔτιeti · stillG2089
- fromἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- mother’sμήτηρmētēr · motherG3384
- wombκοιλίαkoilia · belly/womb/stomachG2836
- ·μήmē · notG3361
Cross-references for Luke 1:15
- Luke 7:28I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
- Genesis 12:2“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
- Genesis 48:19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”
- Joshua 3:7And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.
- Joshua 4:14That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.
- 1 Chronicles 17:8I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth.
- 1 Chronicles 29:12Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
- Matthew 11:9Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
- John 5:35John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
- Luke 7:33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
- Numbers 6:2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite,
- Judges 13:4Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean.
- Matthew 11:18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
- Zechariah 9:15and the Lord Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
- Acts 2:4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
- Ephesians 5:18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries