for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
Parallel Translations
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for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
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For he hath loked on the povre degre of his honde mayde. Beholde now from hence forth shall all generacions call me blessed.
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For hee hath looked on the poore degree of his seruaunt: for beholde, from henceforth shall all ages call me blessed,
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Luke 1:48 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 138:6 For though Yahweh is high, yet he looks after the lowly; but he knows the proud from afar.
- Malachi 3:12 “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble; but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world that he might put to shame the things that are strong. God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that don’t exist, that he might bring to nothing the things that exist,
- 1 Samuel 1:11 She vowed a vow, and said, “Yahweh of Armies, if you will indeed look at the affliction of your servant and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a boy, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head.”
- Psalms 136:23 who remembered us in our low estate; for his loving kindness endures forever;
- Luke 11:27 It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!”
- Luke 1:28 Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
- Genesis 30:13 Leah said, “Happy am I, for the daughters will call me happy.” She named him Asher.
- 1 Samuel 2:8 He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to make them sit with princes and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s. He has set the world on them.
- 2 Samuel 7:18-19 Then David the king went in, and sat before Yahweh; and he said, “Who am I, Lord Yahweh, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far? This was yet a small thing in your eyes, Lord Yahweh; but you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come; and this among men, Lord Yahweh!
- Psalms 113:7-8 He raises up the poor out of the dust. Lifts up the needy from the ash heap, that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
- Luke 1:42 She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
- James 2:5-6 Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?
- 2 Samuel 7:8 Now therefore tell my servant David this, ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “I took you from the sheep pen, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel.
- Isaiah 66:2 For my hand has made all these things, and so all these things came to be,” says Yahweh: “but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.
- Psalms 102:17 He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Word for word, My baseness, that is, my base…
Word for word, My baseness, that is, my base estate: so that the Virgin vaunteth not her deserts, but the grace of God.
Hath freely and graciously loved.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of…
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Ver. 48. The low estate] Vilitatem, the vile and abject condition. Contra Mariae merita, quae praedicant Papicolae. Here is no mention of merit. See Beza Annot. in loc.
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All generations shall call me blessed] How much more should we with one mind and one mouth bless God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is an honour that he much standeth upon, Rom 15:6.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Our translators have here rightly translated ταπεινωσιν,
Our translators have here rightly translated ταπεινωσιν,
low estate. Mary doubtless doth not here commend her own humility, (as some papists would have it), but magnifies God for that he had respect to her who was of so mean and low a condition; for though she was of the family of David, yet that family had for many years been broken and afflicted, and she was now espoused to a carpenter, which spake her condition low and mean though descended from the royal family of David: and thus God usually magnifies himself; he chooseth David from the sheepfold to be king over Israel; he much delighteth to exalt such as are low; he chooseth the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, the weak things of the world to confound the mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen; that no flesh should glory in his presence, 1Co 1:27-29.
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Henceforth (saith Mary) all generations shall call me blessed. It is no mean favour of God, when God giveth us a name: in the world, and that not only in the present generation, but in succeeding generations.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For he hath regarded the low estate of his…
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden,.... Meaning, either her outward temporal estate, which was very low and mean: David's family was now very much reduced, it had its seat not at Jerusalem, but at Nazareth, in Galilee: Mary, of that house, was a poor virgin, and Joseph, of the same, to whom she was betrothed, was a poor carpenter; and yet God passed by the rich and noble families of Jewish people, and pitched upon this poor virgin to be the mother of the Messiah: or her estate, in a spiritual sense, which, as that of every son and daughter of Adam, was very low by the fall; for sin has run all mankind into debt, and they have nothing to pay: it has stripped them of original righteousness, and clothed them with rags; it has filled them with diseases, from the crown of the head to the sole of the feet; it has exposed them to a prison, into which being cast, they must lie, till they have paid the uttermost farthing; and has left them hopeless and helpless, poor and miserable, and blind and naked: but God has remembered his elect, in this their low estate, and has provided a Saviour for them, and sent him to deliver them out of it; because his mercy endures forever; and this Mary was sensible, and there rejoiced in God her Saviour:
for behold, from henceforth all generations; not Jews only, but Gentiles also,
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shall call me blessed; both on account of her son she had now conceived, and was bearing; because she was the mother of our Lord, who had reason so to conclude, from the nature of the thing, and from the words of the angel, and of Elisabeth, Luk 1:28 and much more than Leah had, who said something like this, at the birth of her second son, Gen 30:13 and also on account of her interest in Christ, as God her Saviour: in whom she was blessed, with all spiritual blessings; so that she was truly blessed, and might well be called so.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 48. He hath regarded] Looked favourably, c., επεβλεψεν.…
Verse 48. He hath regarded] Looked favourably, c., επεβλεψεν. In the most tender and compassionate manner he has visited me in my humiliation, drawing the reasons of his conduct, not from any excellence in me, but from his own eternal kindness and love.
All generations shall call me blessed.] This was the character by which alone she wished to be known viz. The blessed or happy virgin. What dishonour do those do to this holy woman, who give her names and characters which her pure soul would abhor; and which properly belong to GOD her Saviour! By her votaries she is addressed as Queen of Heaven, Mother of God, &c., titles both absurd and blasphemous.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaid…
He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaid - Literally, he has looked upon the low or humble condition of his handmaid. That is, notwithstanding her humble rank and poverty, he has shown her favor. And this example abundantly teaches what is elsewhere fully taught in the Bible, that God is not a respecter of persons; that he is not influenced, in conferring favors, by wealth, honor, or office, Rom 2:11; Rom 10:11-12. He seeks the humble and the contrite; he imparts his rich blessings to those who feel that they need them, and who will bless him for them, Psa 138:6; Isa 57:15.
From henceforth - Hereafter, or in consequence of this.
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All generations - All people. All posterity.
Call me blessed - Pronounce me highly favored or happy in being the mother of the Messiah. It is therefore right to consider her as highly favored or happy; but this certainly does not warrant us to worship her or to pray to her. Abraham was blessed in being the father of the faithful; Paul in being the apostle to the Gentiles; Peter in first preaching the gospel to them; but who would think of worshipping or praying to Abraham, Paul, or Peter?
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The humility of his handmaid,[9] i.e. the humble, low,…
The humility of his handmaid,[9] i.e. the humble, low, and abject condition; as perhaps might be translated both in this and in ver. 52. For the blessed Virgin does not here commend and praise her own virtue of humility; as divers interpreters observe. See St. Francis de Sales, in his introduction to a devout life, part 3, chap. vi. (Witham) --- As death entered into the world by the pride of our first parents, so was it proper that the path to life should be opened by the humility of Mary. (Ven. Bede) --- Not Elizabeth only, but all nations of believers are to call her blessed. (Theophylactus)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Humilitatem, Greek: tapeinosin, not tapeinophrosunen. By which latter word is signified the virtue of humility of mind and heart. But humilis, and humilitas, in Latin, even in Cicero, is put to signify vilem et abjectam conditionem: and so also Greek: tapeinos, and tapeinosis in Greek, as in the 70 [the Septuagint] 1 King i. 11. the Latin Vulgate for Greek: tapeinesin, has affictionem famulæ tuæ. And this is the sense in this and the 52d verse; as it is confirmed by the antithesis, or opposition, betwixt those of a high, and of a low state or condition.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain I. Recognition of God’s grace to her humility.
I. Recognition of God’s grace to her humility.
Compare the song of Hannah upon a similar occasion, the birth of a future prophet and judge of Israel. This is formed upon the same model of that, as proof that the new dispensation is the outgrowth of the old, and that the same spirit, in different ages and persons, breathes the same holy strains. But the song of the latter is gentler, grander, opening into a far sublimer prospective.
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48. Low estate of his handmaiden—Mary’s ground of praise and thanksgiving is the wonderful grace of God that had condescended to even her. True, she is daughter of the noblest line of Israel or the world, but for ages that royal line has been in a low estate. It seemed wonderful that the daughter of neither Augustus nor Herod should be selected as the mother of the Incarnate, but the humble virgin of Nazareth. Some ten years before Mary uttered this hymn, Virgil, the Roman poet, had in one of his finest strains predicted the birth of a noble babe, under whose sway a new order of things should commence, and the renovation of the world be accomplished. It was suggested, doubtless, by the prevalent presentiment that a great deliverer was soon to be born, arising from the prophecies of the Messiah. But the worldly poet preferred to find his mother for the Messiah in the wife of a Roman consul. So differs the wisdom of God from the folly of man.
All generations shall call me blessed—Here is prophecy; and how wonderfully has it been fulfilled! Sad it is, indeed, to think that even the Christian Church has made her the object of idolatry. But let that not prevent our uttering the epithet blessed upon her whom God deigned to honour above all her sex.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 48. he hath regarded] Rather, He looked upon.
48. he hath regarded] Rather, He looked upon.
the low estate] So Hagar (Gen_16:11) and Hannah (1Sa_1:11; cf. Psa_138:6; Psa_102:17). The word may be rendered humiliation, Act_8:33; Isa_1:9-10. The reader will notice in this hymn more than one anticipation of the Beatitudes.
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all generations shall call me blessed] “Blessed is the womb that bare Thee,” Luk_11:27. “Leah said, The daughters will call me blessed,” Gen_30:13; Psa_72:17. We cannot but wonder at the vast faith of the despised and persecuted Virgin of Nazareth, whose inspired anticipations have been so amply fulfilled.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (48) The low estate of his handmaiden.—Note the recurrence…
(48) The low estate of his handmaiden.—Note the recurrence of the word that had been used in Luk_1:37, as expressing the character which she was now ready to accept, whatever it might involve.
All generations shall call me blessed.—The words have, of course, been partly instrumental in bringing about their own fulfilment; but what a vision of the future they must have implied then on the part of the village maiden who uttered them! Not her kinswoman only, but all generations should join in that beatitude.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 For he
For he
"This is because he"
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looked at
"looked at with concern" or "cared about"
low condition
"poverty." Mary's family was not rich.
For see
This phrase calls attention to the statement that follows.
from now on
"now and in the future"
all generations
"the people in all generations"
he who is mighty
"God, the Powerful One"
his name
Here "name" refers to the entire person of God. AT: "he" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
lowly
servant
generation
bless
might
holy
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:48 all generations will call me blessed: In Middle…
1:48 all generations will call me blessed: In Middle Eastern culture, honor and shame were extremely important, and one’s legacy to future generations was highly cherished.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.