Passage

Luke 1.34-35

Book: Luke · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"32. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33. and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

"34. And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God."

"36. And behold, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren. 37. For no word from God shall be void of power." (Luke 1:32-37, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"32. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, 33. and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”"

"34. Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?” 35. 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."

"36. Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37. For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”" (Luke 1:32-37, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"32. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

"34. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35. 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."

"36. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37. For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:32-37, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"32. he shall be great, and Son of the Highest he shall be called, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father, 33. and he shall reign over the house of Jacob to the ages; and of his reign there shall be no end.'"

"34. And Mary said unto the messenger, 'How shall this be, seeing a husband I do not know?' 35. And the messenger answering said to her, 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also the holy-begotten thing shall be called Son of God;"

"36. and lo, Elisabeth, thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her who was called barren; 37. because nothing shall be impossible with God.'" (Luke 1:32-37, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Luke the physician (traditionally) / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
Audience: Theophilus + Gentile Christian audience (companion to Acts)
Location: first-century Palestine (events); composition possibly Caesarea or Rome
Time period: events c. 4 BC, AD 30/33; composed c. AD 60-80

Theological reading

Key words

G1097 - ginosko, ginosko (Strong's G1097). Also appears in: Matthew 1, Mark 4.11-12, Mark 6.
G2316 - theos, theos (Strong's G2316). Also appears in: Matthew 1.23, Matthew 3.16, Matthew 5.9.
G4151 - pneuma, pneuma (Strong's G4151). Also appears in: Matthew 1.18, Matthew 1.20, Matthew 3.16.
G4314 - pros, pros (Strong's G4314). Also appears in: Matthew 3.13, Matthew 5.28, Matthew 11.28.
G5207 - huios, huios (Strong's G5207). Also appears in: Matthew 1.1, Matthew 1.20, Matthew 1.21.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.