Luke 1:37

“for no word from God will be impossible.””
Luke 1:37 · direct translation from the Greek

With the Greek beneath

forὅτιnoοὐκ πᾶνwordῥῆμαfromπαρὰGodτοῦ θεοῦwill be impossible.”ἀδυνατήσει

Allusion · Genesis 18:14

Genesis 18:14 asks “Is anything too difficult for YHWH?” in the announcement of the birth of Isaac; Luke 1:37 says that “no word that comes from God will be impossible” in the announcement to Mary.

They share words that are rare in the original, without a quotation.

ἀδυνατήσειadynatēseiG101יִפָּלֵאyipaleH6381“be impossible”
ῥῆμαrhēmaG4487דָּבָרdavarH1697“word, saying”

Luke 1:37, word by word

wordῥῆμαrhēma

word

What comes out of someone's mouth: a saying, a sentence, a message.

Where else “rhēma” appears

Godθεοῦtheou

God

The Creator and Lord of all, the one God of Israel.

Where else “theou” appears

will be impossibleἀδυνατήσειadynatēsei

be impossible

Be impossible; "nothing will be impossible".

Where else “adynatēsei” appears

Translation note

It recalls Genesis 18:14.

The context

36And look, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

37 · This verse (above)

38And Mary said, “Look, I am the slave of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Read all of Luke 1

To study Luke 1 in a group

1. What it says
What does the angel Gabriel tell Mary about the son she will have, and how does she answer at the end? (vv. 30-38)
2. What it means
Why do you think Zechariah was left unable to speak while Mary was not, when both asked the angel a question? (vv. 18-20, 34-38)
3. How I live it
Which promise of God is hard for you to believe today, and what small step could you take in trust, like Mary?

How to use it