New Living Translation
Luke 1:15
15for 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.
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, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 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. 16And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
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, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”
- Genesis 12:2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
- Genesis 48:19But his father refused. “I know, my son; I know,” he replied. “Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”
- Joshua 3:7The Lord told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses.
- Joshua 4:14That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.
- 1 Chronicles 17:8I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth!
- 1 Chronicles 29:12Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
- Matthew 11:9Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet.
- John 5:35John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message.
- Luke 7:33For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’
- Numbers 6:2“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way,
- Judges 13:4So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food.
- Matthew 11:18For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’
- Zechariah 9:15The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect his people, and they will defeat their enemies by hurling great stones. They will shout in battle as though drunk with wine. They will be filled with blood like a bowl, drenched with blood like the corners of the altar.
- Acts 2:4And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
- Ephesians 5:18Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy 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
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