The Magnificat in Ancient Greek
Mary's song is sung in churches every evening around the world, and it has been set to music by Bach and countless others. It takes its name from the first word in Latin, but Luke wrote it in Greek, and it is full of echoes of the Hebrew Bible.
Learn to read this in Ancient Greek
No account needed. Your first line takes about three minutes.
The text and translation
Καὶ εἶπεν Μαριάμ· Μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν κύριον,
Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.
Word by word
- Καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- εἶπεν
- to say, speak
- Μαριάμ
- Mary
- Μεγαλύνει
- to enlarge, magnify, extol
- ἡ
- the
- ψυχή
- the soul, life, self
- μου
- I
- τὸν
- the
- κύριον
- lord, Lord, master, sir
καὶ ἠγαλλίασεν τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ σωτῆρί μου·
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
Word by word
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- ἠγαλλίασεν
- to exult, be full of joy
- τὸ
- the
- πνεῦμά
- wind, breath, spirit
- μου
- I
- ἐπὶ
- on, to, against, on the basis of, at
- τῷ
- the
- θεῷ
- God, a god
- τῷ
- the
- σωτῆρί
- a savior, deliverer, preserver
- μου
- I
ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ, ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσίν με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί·
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
Word by word
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- ἐπέβλεψεν
- to look with favor on
- ἐπὶ
- on, to, against, on the basis of, at
- τὴν
- the
- ταπείνωσιν
- abasement, low condition
- τῆς
- the
- δούλης
- a female slave, bonds-maid
- αὐτοῦ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- ἰδοὺ
- See! Lo! Behold! Look!
- γὰρ
- for
- ἀπὸ
- from, away from
- τοῦ
- the
- νῦν
- now, already, at present
- μακαριοῦσίν
- to deem happy
- με
- I
- πᾶσαι
- all, the whole, every kind of
- αἱ
- the
- γενεαί
- a generation
ὅτι ἐποίησέν μοι ⸀μεγάλα ὁ δυνατός, καὶ ἅγιον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ,
For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.
Word by word
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- ἐποίησέν
- to do, make
- μοι
- I
- ⸀μεγάλα
- large, great
- ὁ
- the
- δυνατός
- powerful, able, possible
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- ἅγιον
- set apart, holy, sacred
- τὸ
- the
- ὄνομα
- name, character, reputation
- αὐτοῦ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
καὶ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ εἰς γενεὰς ⸂καὶ γενεὰς⸃ τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
Word by word
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- τὸ
- the
- ἔλεος
- pity, mercy
- αὐτοῦ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- εἰς
- into, in, among, till, for
- γενεὰς
- a generation
- ⸂καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- γενεὰς⸃
- a generation
- τοῖς
- the
- φοβουμένοις
- to fear, be terrified
- αὐτόν
- he, she, it, they, them, same
Ἐποίησεν κράτος ἐν βραχίονι αὐτοῦ, διεσκόρπισεν ὑπερηφάνους διανοίᾳ καρδίας αὐτῶν·
He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
Word by word
- Ἐποίησεν
- to do, make
- κράτος
- dominion, strength, power
- ἐν
- in, on, among
- βραχίονι
- the arm, strength
- αὐτοῦ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- διεσκόρπισεν
- to scatter, winnow, disperse, waste
- ὑπερηφάνους
- proud, arrogant
- διανοίᾳ
- understanding, intellect, mind
- καρδίας
- the heart, inner life, intention
- αὐτῶν
- he, she, it, they, them, same
καθεῖλεν δυνάστας ἀπὸ θρόνων καὶ ὕψωσεν ταπεινούς,
He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly.
Word by word
- καθεῖλεν
- to take down, depose, destroy
- δυνάστας
- a ruler, potentate
- ἀπὸ
- from, away from
- θρόνων
- a throne, seat
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- ὕψωσεν
- to lift up, exalt
- ταπεινούς
- humble, lowly
πεινῶντας ἐνέπλησεν ἀγαθῶν καὶ πλουτοῦντας ἐξαπέστειλεν κενούς.
He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
Word by word
- πεινῶντας
- to be hungry, needy
- ἐνέπλησεν
- to fill, satisfy
- ἀγαθῶν
- good
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- πλουτοῦντας
- to become rich
- ἐξαπέστειλεν
- to send forth
- κενούς
- empty, vain, hollow
ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ, μνησθῆναι ἐλέους,
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
Word by word
- ἀντελάβετο
- to take hold of, help, share in
- Ἰσραὴλ
- Israel
- παιδὸς
- a boy or girl child
- αὐτοῦ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- μνησθῆναι
- to remember, recall
- ἐλέους
- pity, mercy
καθὼς ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.”
Word by word
- καθὼς
- just as, as
- ἐλάλησεν
- to speak, say
- πρὸς
- to, towards, with
- τοὺς
- the
- πατέρας
- father, Father, ancestor
- ἡμῶν
- I
- τῷ
- the
- Ἀβραὰμ
- Abraham
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- τῷ
- the
- σπέρματι
- seed, offspring
- αὐτοῦ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- εἰς
- into, in, among, till, for
- τὸν
- the
- αἰῶνα
- an age, a cycle of time
Ἔμεινεν δὲ Μαριὰμ σὺν αὐτῇ ⸀ὡς μῆνας τρεῖς, καὶ ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς.
Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.
Word by word
- Ἔμεινεν
- to remain, abide
- δὲ
- but, on the other hand, and
- Μαριὰμ
- Mary
- σὺν
- with
- αὐτῇ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- ⸀ὡς
- as, like as, how, while, so that
- μῆνας
- certainly
- τρεῖς
- three
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- ὑπέστρεψεν
- to turn back, return
- εἰς
- into, in, among, till, for
- τὸν
- the
- οἶκον
- a house, household
- αὐτῆς
- he, she, it, they, them, same
What to notice
- Μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν κύριον means “my soul magnifies the Lord”. Μεγαλύνει comes from μέγας, “great”, as in English mega-.
- τὸ πνεῦμά μου means “my spirit”. Πνεῦμα is also “breath” and “wind”, which gives us pneumatic.
- πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί means “all generations”, and you can hear generation and genealogy in it.
Read it yourself
Urling teaches the words in this text first, so that when you reach it you can read it in Ancient Greek. It uses short lessons, and nothing has to be memorised from a list.
Learn to read this in Ancient Greek
No account needed. Your first line takes about three minutes.
Sources
SBL Greek New Testament with MorphGNT tagging. English: World English Bible, which follows the Majority Text and may add words this edition does not have.
Text licence: Text CC BY 4.0 (SBLGNT); tagging CC BY-SA 3.0 (MorphGNT).
Language pack licence: Text CC BY 4.0 (SBLGNT); tagging CC BY-SA 3.0 (MorphGNT); glosses CC0.
Text: The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition, Copyright 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software (CC BY 4.0). Lemmas and parsing: MorphGNT (James Tauber et al., CC BY-SA 3.0). Glosses: Dodson Greek-English Lexicon (CC0), with AI-written corrections (marked "ai"). English: World English Bible (public domain, eBible.org); it translates the Majority Text, so a verse’s English sometimes has words this Greek edition does not (e.g. the end of the Lord’s Prayer).
The introduction and notes on this page were written by Claude (AI). Word glosses are AI-assisted, and so is the English unless the source above names another translator.