Luke 1:44 (ASV)

Passage

For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

Nearby Context

Luke 1:42 and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb.

Luke 1:43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me?

Luke 1:44 For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

Luke 1:45 And blessed [is] she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord.

Luke 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "behold", "voice", "salutation", "came", "mine", "ears", "babe", and "leaped". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "behold" and "voice", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 43's "And whence is this to me that..." into verse 45's "And blessed is she that believed for...", so "behold" and "voice" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "behold" and "voice" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.