And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
Parallel translations
- WEB All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him.
- BSB And all who heard this wondered in their hearts and asked, “What then will this child become?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
- NKJV And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.
- NASB All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
- NLT Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.
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
People pondered what this child would become, for the Lord's hand was with him. John's special destiny is recognized.
Overview
Those who heard kept these things in their hearts, wondering about the child's future. The phrase 'the hand of the Lord was with him' signals God's special favor and purpose. Their wonder points ahead to John's mission as the Messiah's forerunner.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Acts 11:21And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
- Luke 2:19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
- Luke 2:51And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
- Judg 13:24–25And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
- Luke 9:44Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
- 1 Kgs 18:46And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
- Luke 1:80And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
- Ps 119:11Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
- Ps 89:21With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.
- Luke 2:40And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
- Gen 39:2And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
- 1 Sam 2:18But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
- Gen 37:11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
- 1 Sam 16:18Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
- Ps 80:17Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
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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 1:66 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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