Luke 1:26

Luke 1:26, in plain English

When Elizabeth is six months pregnant, God sends the angel Gabriel to a small town in Galilee called Nazareth.

Why it's here

Nazareth was a tiny, insignificant town. Nobody expected anything important to come from there. But God loves choosing the places and people the world overlooks.

Who's speaking

Luke transitions to the next part of the story.

Where it sits in the story

God could have chosen anywhere. Instead, He sends His angel to a small, forgotten town to visit a young, unknown girl. That's how God works: starting small, changing everything.

The scholarly reading

In Elizabeth's sixth month of pregnancy, God sends Gabriel to Nazareth in Galilee, connecting the two miraculous birth narratives chronologically.

Language and setting

Nazareth was an insignificant village of perhaps 400-500 people, never mentioned in the Old Testament. God's choice of this obscure location for the Annunciation underscores His pattern of working through the lowly.

Voice

The narrator transitions from the Zechariah narrative to Mary's annunciation.

Significance

The narrative scope expands as Gabriel's mission shifts from the temple in Jerusalem to a tiny village in Galilee. God's plan moves from the priestly center to the rural margins.

24After these days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. She declared,

25“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

28The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Read all of Luke 1 — A physician writes the most detailed account of Jesus' life. Luke notices the people others overlook — the poor, the outcast, the women, the forgotten.