Luke 1:15

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 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, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 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. 16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Luke 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 7:28For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
• Genesis 12:2I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
• Genesis 48:19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
• Joshua 3:7And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
• Joshua 4:14On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.
• 1 Chronicles 17:8And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth.
• 1 Chronicles 29:12Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.
• Matthew 11:9But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
• John 5:35He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in 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 children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord,
• Judges 13:4Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
• 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; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, 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 do not be drunk with wine, in which 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

• Abstinence, Total
• Angel (a Spirit)
• Barrenness
• Children
• Elisabeth (Elizabeth)
• Gabriel
• Holy Spirit
• John
• Joy
• Nazarite
• Prophets
• Temple
• Vision
• Wine
• Zacharias (Zechariah)
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Holy Ghost
• strong drink
• Baptism, Christian
• Begin
• Certainty
• Conceive
• Drink, strong
• Estate
• John the Baptist
• Ministration

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