Luke 1:16

New King James Version

And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

King James Version (1611)
And many of the children of Israel shall hee turne to the Lord their God.

King James Version
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

English Standard Version
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,

New American Standard Bible
"And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

New Century Version
He will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God.

Amplified Bible
"He will turn many of the sons of Israel back [from sin] to [love and serve] the Lord their God.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

Legacy Standard Bible
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

Berean Standard Bible
Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God.

Contemporary English Version
John will lead many people in Israel to turn back to the Lord their God.

Complete Jewish Bible
He will turn many of the people of Isra'el to Adonai their God.

Darby Translation
And many of the sons of Israel shall he turn to [the] Lord their God.

Easy-to-Read Version
"John will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And many of the children of Israel shall he turne to their Lord God.

George Lamsa Translation
And many Israelites he will cause to turn to the Lord their God.

Good News Translation
and he will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

Lexham English Bible
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.

Literal Translation
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.

American Standard Version
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God.

Bible in Basic English
And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.

Hebrew Names Version
He will turn many of the children of Yisra'el to the Lord, their God.

International Standard Version
He will bring many of Israel's descendants back to the Lord their God.Malachi 4:5-6;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And many of the sons of Isroel shall he convert to the Lord their Aloha.

Murdock Translation
And many of the children of Israel will he convert to the Lord their God.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And many of the chyldren of Israel, shall he turne to their Lorde God.

English Revised Version
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God.

World English Bible
He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Weymouth's New Testament
Many of the descendants of Israel will he turn to the Lord their God;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he schal conuerte many of the children of Israel to her Lord God;

Update Bible Version
And many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God.

Webster's Bible Translation
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

New English Translation
He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

New Living Translation
And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.

New Life Bible
Many of the Jews will be turned to the Lord their God by him.

New Revised Standard
He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, many of the Sons of Israel, shall he turn towards the Lord their God;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

Revised Standard Version
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and many of the chyldren of Israel shall he tourne to their Lorde God.

Young's Literal Translation
and many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And many of the children of Israel shal he turne vnto the LORDE their God.

Mace New Testament (1729)
he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

THE MESSAGE
So many others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, using reports handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very lives. Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting from the story's beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught. During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old. It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear. But the angel reassured him, "Don't fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You're going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He'll achieve great stature with God. "He'll drink neither wine nor beer. He'll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother's womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God's arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he'll get the people ready for God." Zachariah said to the angel, "Do you expect me to believe this? I'm an old man and my wife is an old woman." But the angel said, "I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won't believe me, you'll be unable to say a word until the day of your son's birth. Every word I've spoken to you will come true on time—God's time." Meanwhile, the congregation waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so long in the sanctuary. When he came out and couldn't speak, they knew he had seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the people. When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went back home. It wasn't long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. "So, this is how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!" she said. In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You're beautiful with God's beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.' The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob's house forever— no end, ever, to his kingdom." Mary said to the angel, "But how? I've never slept with a man." The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. "And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God." And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her. Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly, You're so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed! And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, The babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true! And Mary said, I'm bursting with God-news; I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I'm the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It's exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home. When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her. On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: "No. He is to be called John." "But," they said, "no one in your family is named that." They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named. Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, "His name is to be John." That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah's mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God! A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, "What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this." Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he came and set his people free. He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives, and in the very house of David his servant, Just as he promised long ago through the preaching of his holy prophets: Deliverance from our enemies and every hateful hand; Mercy to our fathers, as he remembers to do what he said he'd do, What he swore to our father Abraham— a clean rescue from the enemy camp, So we can worship him without a care in the world, made holy before him as long as we live. And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest," will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways, Present the offer of salvation to his people, the forgiveness of their sins. Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God's Sunrise will break in upon us, Shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, Then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace. The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.

Simplified Cowboy Version
John's going to gather a lot of people for God's outfit.

Contextual Overview

⁵ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. ⁸ So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Luke 1:76, Isaiah 40:3-5, Isaiah 49:6, Daniel 12:3, Malachi 3:1, Matthew 3:1-6, Matthew 21:32

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 18:37 - thou hast turned Psalms 80:7 - Turn Malachi 2:6 - and did Malachi 4:6 - turn Matthew 17:11 - and restore Mark 9:12 - restoreth Luke 1:17 - before Luke 3:4 - Prepare John 1:23 - I am John 3:28 - but Acts 3:19 - be Acts 9:17 - the Lord Acts 9:35 - turned Acts 26:20 - turn 1 Corinthians 15:47 - the Lord Galatians 1:15 - who Hebrews 1:8 - O God

Cross-References

Genesis 1:7
Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.

Genesis 1:8
And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

Genesis 1:9
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.

Genesis 1:12
And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:14
Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;

Deuteronomy 4:19
And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

Job 31:26
If I have observed the sun [fn] when it shines,Or the moon moving in brightness,

Job 38:7
When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Psalms 8:3
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

Psalms 19:6
Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And many of the children of Israel,.... To whom only, or at least chiefly, he was sent, and came preaching, and administering the ordinance of baptism; and great multitudes of them flocked unto him, attended on his ministry, believed in his doctrine, and submitted to his baptism, but not all; for some slighted his preaching, and rejected his baptism: however, some there were, and many too, that were converted under his ministry, confessed their sins, and were baptized by him; which verified this prediction:

shall he turn to the Lord their God; not Jehovah, the Father; for though he was the Lord God of the Jews in general, and of those that were turned by John's ministry in a special manner; yet John cannot be said "to go before him", as he is in the next verse; but the Messiah is here meant, who is the Lord Jehovah, and is often so called in the Old Testament; particularly in a prophecy afterwards respected, Isaiah 40:3 a name peculiar to God alone: and who also is called God, as he is frequently with additional epithets; as the mighty God, God over all, the great God, the true God, and eternal life; and our, your, and their God, the God of his covenant people, whether Jews or Gentiles; see Isaiah 25:9. Conversion, which is meant by turning to God, is not man's work, but God's; and is effected by his mighty power, which is only equal to it; but John was to be, and was, an instrument of the conversion of many among the Jews, by preaching the doctrine of repentance towards God, and faith in the Messiah, that was just ready to come: he was the means in the hand of God, of turning many from sin, of bringing them to a true sense of it, and to an hearty and ingenuous confession and acknowledgment of it; and from trusting to, and depending upon, their birth privileges, legal duties, and self-righteousness; and from their gross notions of a temporal Messiah; and of leading them to believe in Christ as a spiritual Saviour, as the Lamb of God, that should take away the sin of the world.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Children of Israel - Jews. Descendants of Israel or Jacob.

Shall he turn - By repentance. He shall call them from their sins, and persuade them to forsake them, and to seek the Lord their God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 1:16. Many of the children of Israel shall he turn — See this prediction fulfilled, Luke 3:10-18.