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And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
Luke 7:16 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!”
  • BSB A sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said. “God has visited His people!”
  • NKJV Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”
  • NASB Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”
  • NLT Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.”

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

Awe seizes the crowd, and they glorify God, hailing Jesus as a great prophet and declaring that God has visited His people. The miracle prompts reverent worship and recognition.

Overview

The people's fear and praise reflect a fitting response to divine power among them. Their words echo Old Testament hopes of God visiting and redeeming His people. Though they call Jesus a prophet, the deeper truth is that in Him God Himself has come to visit and save, fulfilling the long-awaited promise of salvation.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • Matt 9:8But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
  • Jer 33:9And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
  • Luke 7:39Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
  • Luke 1:68Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
  • Luke 2:20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
  • Ps 106:4–5Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;
  • Ps 65:9Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
  • Luke 5:26And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
  • Matt 15:31Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
  • Matt 21:11And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
  • Exod 4:31And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
  • Luke 1:65And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
  • Luke 5:8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
  • John 1:21And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
  • Acts 5:11–13And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
  • John 4:19The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
  • John 7:40–41Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.
  • Luke 8:37Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
  • Gal 1:24And they glorified God in me.
  • Luke 9:19They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.
  • John 9:17They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
  • Acts 5:5And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
  • John 1:25And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
  • Acts 3:22–23For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
  • John 6:14Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
  • Matt 28:8And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
  • Luke 24:19And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
  • Acts 7:37This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
  • Luke 19:44And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

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 7:16YouTube · 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 7:16 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.