Luke 1:16 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Luke 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

Luke 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

Luke 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Luke 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "children", "israel", "shall", "turn", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "children" and "israel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "For he shall be great in the..." into verse 17's "And he shall go before him in...", so "children" and "israel" 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 "children" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.