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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 1:18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
- John 1:49Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
- Matt 1:20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
- John 1:34And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
- Luke 1:31–32And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
- Rom 1:4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
- Heb 4:15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
- Matt 26:63–64But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
- Acts 8:36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
- Mark 1:24Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
- Matt 27:54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
- Luke 1:27To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
- Gal 2:20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
- Job 25:4How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
- John 20:31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
- Mark 1:1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
- Ps 2:7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
- Heb 7:26–28For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
- Job 14:4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
- Matt 14:33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
- Matt 4:3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
- Eph 2:3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
- Job 15:16How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
- Ps 51:5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
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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 1:35 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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