Luke 1:66 (ASV)

Passage

And all that heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.

Nearby Context

Luke 1:64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue [loosed], and he spake, blessing God.

Luke 1:65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

Luke 1:66 And all that heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.

Luke 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

Luke 1:68 Blessed [be] the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heard", "laid", "heart", "saying", "shall", "child", "hand", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heard" and "laid", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 65's "And fear came on all that dwelt..." into verse 67's "And his father Zacharias was filled with...", so "heard" and "laid" 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 "heard" and "laid" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.