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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.
Luke 1:32 · New Living Translation
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:
  • 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;

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 to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  • Isa 16:5A throne will be established in loving kindness. One will sit on it in truth, in the tent of David, judging, seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.
  • 2 Sam 7:11–13and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. I will cause you to rest from all your enemies. Moreover Yahweh tells you that Yahweh will make you a house.
  • Luke 1:35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
  • Ps 132:11Yahweh has sworn to David in truth. He will not turn from it: “I will set the fruit of your body on your throne.
  • Heb 1:2–8has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.
  • Mark 5:7and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don’t torment me.”
  • Matt 28:18Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
  • Rev 3:7“To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:
  • Luke 1:76And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
  • Eph 1:20–23which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
  • Phil 2:9–11Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the 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 body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
  • 2 Sam 7:16Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you. Your throne will be established forever.”’”
  • Rom 1:4who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
  • John 5:21–29For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires.
  • Jer 33:15–17“In those days, and at that time, I will cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he will execute justice and righteousness in the land.
  • Jer 23:5–6“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
  • Matt 1:1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
  • John 12:34The multitude answered him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”
  • Acts 16:17Following Paul and us, she cried out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!”
  • Mark 14:61But he stayed quiet, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
  • Acts 2:36“Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
  • John 6:69We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
  • Ezek 34:23–24I 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 37:24–25My servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them.
  • Ezek 17:22–24“Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘I will also take some of the lofty top of the cedar, and will plant it. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
  • Matt 3:11I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
  • Acts 7:48However, the Most High doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says,
  • John 3:35–36The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.
  • Amos 9:11–12In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen, and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old;
  • Luke 6:35But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.
  • Luke 3:16John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire,
  • Luke 1:15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
  • Matt 12:42The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone 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.