New Testament · Gospel

Luke 1:42

The Careful Account

In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Luke 1:42 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Luke 1:42, in plain English

Elizabeth cries out joyfully, 'You are the most blessed of all women, and the child you carry is blessed!'

Why it's here

Elizabeth is the first person to bless Mary and the baby Jesus. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she sees what no one else can see yet: this child will save the world.

Who's speaking

Elizabeth blesses Mary with a Spirit-filled declaration.

Where it sits in the story

Elizabeth can't contain herself. The Holy Spirit fills her and the words pour out. She's the first person to declare what the whole world will one day know.

A Closer Look

The scholar's commentary

Elizabeth cries out with phone megale (a loud voice), pronouncing a double blessing: eulogemene su en gynaixin (blessed are you among women) and eulogemenos ho karpos tes koilias sou (blessed is the fruit of your womb).

Language and setting

The blessing formula echoes Judges 5:24 (Jael) and Judith 13:18. Elizabeth's Spirit-inspired utterance is the earliest christological confession in Luke's narrative.

Voice

Elizabeth pronounces a Spirit-inspired double blessing on Mary and her child.

Significance

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth becomes the first to proclaim the blessedness of both Mary and the child she carries. Her words become part of the church's most ancient prayer.

In context

Luke 1:40–44

40where she entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

42In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

Read all of Luke 1 — A physician writes the most detailed account of Jesus' life. Luke notices the people others overlook — the poor, the outcast, the women, the forgotten.

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