Luke 1:58

58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that {the Lord had shown his great mercy to her},^[a] and they rejoiced with her.

Luke 1:58 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 1:58

And her neighbours, and her cousins
That lived in Hebron, and the parts adjacent, whether of the house of Aaron, or of the tribe of Judah; to both which she was related, and who dwelt near her, the priests in the city of Hebron, and the children of Judah in the places about it:

heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her;
or "had magnified his mercy with her"; see ( Genesis 19:19 ) in removing her barrenness, and so taking away her reproach from among men; in giving her strength to conceive, and bring forth a son, that was to be so great, as the prophet of the Highest; and more than a prophet, and greater than any born of women:

and they rejoiced with her:
as the angel had foretold they should, ( Luke 1:14 ) The Persic version reads, "with him, Zacharias"; having rendered the other clause thus, though wrongly, "hearing that God had poured out his mercy on the house of Zacharias"; see ( Romans 12:15 ) .

Luke 1:58 In-Context

56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her home.

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth that she should give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that {the Lord had shown his great mercy to her}, and they rejoiced with her.

59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were wanting to name him {after} his father Zechariah.

60 And his mother answered [and] said, "No, but he will be named John."

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "the Lord had made great his mercy with her"