Luke 1:15

1:15 for he will be great in the sight of ¹  the Lord. He ²  must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. ³ 

Luke 1:66

1:66 All ⁴  who heard these things ⁵  kept them in their hearts, ⁶  saying, “What then will this child be?” ⁷  For the Lord’s hand ⁸  was indeed with him.

[1:15]  ¹ tn Grk “before.”

[1:15]  ² tn Grk “and he”; because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun in the translation.

[1:15]  ³ tn Grk “even from his mother’s womb.” While this idiom may be understood to refer to the point of birth (“even from his birth”), Luke 1:41 suggests that here it should be understood to refer to a time before birth.

[1:66]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. A new sentence was begun at this point in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[1:66]  ⁵ tn Grk “heard them”; the referent (these things, from the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:66]  ⁶ tn Grk “heart.” The term “heart” (καρδία, kardia) could also be translated as “mind,” or “thoughts,” and the entire phrase be rendered as “kept them in mind,” “thought about,” or the like. But the immediate context is clearly emotive, suggesting that much more is at work than merely the mental processes of thinking or reasoning about “these things.” There is a sense of joy and excitement (see the following question, “What then will this child be?”) and even fear. Further, the use of καρδία in 1:66 suggests connections with the same term in 2:19 where deep emotion is being expressed as well. Therefore, recognizing both the dramatic nature of the immediate context and the literary connections to 2:19, the translation renders the term in 1:66 as “hearts” to capture both the cognitive and emotive aspects of the people’s response.

[1:66]  ⁷ tn Or “what manner of child will this one be?”

[1:66]  ⁸ sn The reference to the Lord’s hand indicates that the presence, direction, and favor of God was with him (Acts 7:9b).