He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
Parallel translations
- WEB He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
- KJV He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
- NKJV He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
- NASB “He has filled the hungry with good things, And sent the rich away empty-handed.
- NLT He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
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
God fills the hungry with good things but sends the rich away empty. He satisfies the needy and humbles the self-sufficient.
Overview
Mary celebrates God's care for the hungry and his rejection of the self-satisfied rich. The contrast highlights grace given to those who depend on God. This anticipates Jesus' ministry to the poor and his warnings to the complacent.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Ps 107:8–9Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.
- Luke 6:21Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
- Ps 34:10Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
- Rev 7:16–17‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’
- Matt 5:6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
- Luke 6:24But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
- 1 Cor 1:26Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- John 6:35Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
- Jas 5:1–6Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
- Jas 2:5–6Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Luke 18:24–25Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
- Rev 3:17–18You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
- John 6:11–13Then Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.
- 1 Cor 4:8Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you!
- Ps 146:7He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
- Ezek 34:29And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
- Luke 16:19–25Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- Luke 18:11–14The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
- 1 Sam 2:5The well-fed hire themselves out for food, but the starving hunger no more. The barren woman gives birth to seven, but she who has many sons pines away.
- Luke 12:16–21Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 1:53 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.