Luke 1:16 (YLT)

Passage

and many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God,

Nearby Context

Luke 1:14 and there shall be joy to thee, and gladness, and many at his birth shall joy,

Luke 1:15 for he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and strong drink he may not drink, and of the Holy Spirit he shall be full, even from his mother's womb;

Luke 1:16 and many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God,

Luke 1:17 and he shall go before Him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers unto children, and disobedient ones to the wisdom of righteous ones, to make ready for the Lord, a people prepared.'

Luke 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the messenger, `Whereby shall I know this? for I am aged, and my wife is advanced in her days?'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sons", "israel", "shall", "turn", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sons" 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 before the..." into verse 17's "and he shall go before Him in...", so "sons" 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 "sons" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.