The 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB The 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.
- KJV And 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.
- NKJV And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
- NASB The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.
- NLT The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
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
The Holy Spirit will overshadow Mary, so her child will be holy, the Son of God. The conception is a divine miracle.
Overview
Gabriel explains that the Spirit's power, not human means, will bring about the conception, so the child will be holy and rightly called the Son of God. This affirms both Jesus' true humanity and his divine origin. The virgin birth lies at the foundation of who Christ is.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 24
- Matt 1:18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
- John 1:49“Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
- Matt 1:20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
- John 1:34I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
- Luke 1:31–32Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
- 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.
- Heb 4:15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.
- Matt 26:63–64But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
- Acts 8:36As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”
- Mark 1:24“What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
- Matt 27:54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
- Luke 1:27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
- Gal 2:20I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
- Job 25:4How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure?
- John 20:31But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
- Mark 1:1This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
- Ps 2:7I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.
- Heb 7:26–28Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
- Job 14:4Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!
- Matt 14:33Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!”
- Matt 4:3The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
- Eph 2:3All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.
- Job 15:16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
- Ps 51:5Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
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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.
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Original language
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