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He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
Luke 1:32 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,
  • KJV He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
  • NKJV He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
  • NASB He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
  • NLT He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

This son will be great, called Son of the Most High, and given David's throne. He is the promised messianic King.

Overview

Gabriel declares Jesus' greatness, divine sonship, and royal inheritance of David's throne. These words fulfill God's covenant promise to David of an everlasting kingdom. Jesus is identified as the long-awaited King who will reign over God's people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 35

  • Isa 9:6–7For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  • Isa 16:5in loving devotion a throne will be established in the tent of David. A judge seeking justice and hastening righteousness will sit on it in faithfulness.
  • 2 Sam 7:11–13and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you.
  • Luke 1:35The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
  • Ps 132:11The LORD swore an oath to David, a promise He will not revoke: “One of your descendants I will place on your throne.
  • Heb 1:2–8But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.
  • Mark 5:7And he shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God not to torture me!”
  • Matt 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
  • Rev 3:7To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.
  • Luke 1:76And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,
  • Eph 1:20–23which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,
  • Phil 2:9–11Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,
  • Acts 2:30But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne.
  • 2 Sam 7:16Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”
  • Rom 1:4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
  • John 5:21–29For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
  • Jer 33:15–17In those days and at that time I will cause to sprout for David a righteous Branch, and He will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
  • Jer 23:5–6Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
  • Matt 1:1This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
  • John 12:34The crowd replied, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
  • Acts 16:17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!”
  • Mark 14:61But Jesus remained silent and made no reply. Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”
  • Acts 2:36Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”
  • John 6:69We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”
  • Ezek 34:23–24I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
  • Ezek 37:24–25My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.
  • Ezek 17:22–24This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will set it out. I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
  • Matt 3:11I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
  • Acts 7:48However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
  • John 3:35–36The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.
  • Amos 9:11–12“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
  • Luke 6:35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
  • Luke 3:16John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
  • Luke 1:15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
  • Matt 12:42The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 1:32YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 1:32 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.