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:
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,
- BSB 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,
- 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 shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
- Isa 16:5And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
- 2 Sam 7:11–13And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
- Luke 1:35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
- Ps 132:11The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
- Heb 1:2–8Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
- Mark 5:7And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
- Matt 28:18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
- Rev 3:7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
- Luke 1:76And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
- Eph 1:20–23Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
- Phil 2:9–11Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
- Acts 2:30Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
- 2 Sam 7:16And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
- Rom 1:4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
- John 5:21–29For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
- Jer 33:15–17In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
- Jer 23:5–6Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
- Matt 1:1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
- John 12:34The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
- Acts 16:17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
- Mark 14:61But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
- Acts 2:36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
- John 6:69And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
- Ezek 34:23–24And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
- Ezek 37:24–25And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
- Ezek 17:22–24Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:
- Matt 3:11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
- Acts 7:48Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
- John 3:35–36The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
- Amos 9:11–12In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
- Luke 6:35But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
- Luke 3:16John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
- Luke 1:15For 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.
- Matt 12:42The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
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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
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