To magnify
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G3170 is a Greek verb for making great, magnifying, exalting, regarding highly, or recognizing greatness in an act or person. In Luke 1:46 Mary says that her soul magnifies the Lord, responding to God's saving mercy rather than enlarging God in a literal sense.
Reader summary
Full entry for μεγαλύνω (G3170) · Open the biblical lexicon
G3170 is a Greek verb for making great, magnifying, exalting, regarding highly, or recognizing greatness in an act or person. In Luke 1:46 Mary says that her soul magnifies the Lord, responding to God's saving mercy rather than enlarging God in a literal sense.
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include exalting (1), had shown her great (1), lengthen (1), magnifies (1), regarded them highly (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 23:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (3), Luke (2), 2 Corinthians (1), Matthew (1).
G3170 is a Greek verb for making great, magnifying, exalting, regarding highly, or recognizing greatness in an act or person. In Luke 1:46 Mary says that her soul magnifies the Lord, responding to God's saving mercy rather than enlarging God in a literal sense. Philippians 1:20 expresses Paul's hope that Christ will be exalted in his body whether through life or death, joining bold witness with surrendered outcome.
Matthew 23:5 uses the making-great sense critically when religious leaders enlarge visible markers so their deeds will be seen. Acts also describes God being exalted and the name of Jesus held in high honor. G3170 opens worship, public honor, embodied witness, shared joy, and performative self-display. It corrects devotion that uses visible size, platform, clothing, or reputation to magnify the servant, while also guarding against the claim that faithful exaltation of Christ requires seeking suffering, neglecting safety, or treating human beings as expendable.
G3170 can mean make something great, enlarge it, declare or regard someone as great, exalt God or Christ, or recognize great mercy. The object of the verb and the narrative evaluation distinguish worship, communal honor, growth of influence, and ostentatious self-presentation.
Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
Mary's song begins with her soul magnifying the Lord in response to His regard and saving mercy.
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
Paul hopes that Christ will be exalted in his body through courageous faithfulness whether he lives or dies.
All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
Jesus criticizes leaders whose public deeds and enlarged religious markers are arranged for human notice.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. To declare or proclaim someone great; praising God's greatness through speech or testimony.
To declare or proclaim someone great; praising God's greatness through speech or testimony.
(μέγας) [in LXX chiefly for גָּדַל pi., hi. ;]
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I enlarge, magnify, extol
Read verseI enlarge, magnify, extol
Read verseI enlarge, magnify, extol
Read verseI enlarge, magnify, extol
Read verseI enlarge, magnify, extol
Read verseI enlarge, magnify, extol
Read verseI enlarge, magnify, extol
Read verseI enlarge, magnify, extol
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 8 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 8 lexical occurrence verses.
μεγαλύνω is built from this root:
Expresses covenant worship rooted in divine mercy.Luke 1:39–56
G3170 asks where greatness is being directed. Mary's song magnifies the Lord because God has seen the lowly, acted with mercy, overturned proud expectations, and kept covenant promises. Her praise does not make God larger; it truthfully names His greatness. Paul similarly wants Christ exalted in his body amid imprisonment and uncertainty. His life is not disposable, for he weighs fruitful labor and the church's good, yet his deepest aim is that either outcome display Christ's worth.
Matthew supplies the contrast. Religious leaders enlarge visible markers and perform deeds to be seen, turning signs of devotion into instruments of status. The problem is not fabric dimensions by themselves but an economy of honor centered on the performer. Churches can therefore ask whether platforms, stories, design, testimony, and statistics help people recognize God's mercy or make servants harder to question.
Magnifying Christ includes honest care for bodies, truthful accounts of suffering, and refusal to manufacture spectacle. It can celebrate faithful people without treating them as saviors. The verb invites wholehearted praise and courageous witness while exposing self-enlargement that borrows holy language.
Luke.1.46
G3170 is built on the language of greatness and can mean make great, enlarge, magnify, exalt, or regard highly. Its object and construction distinguish physical enlargement, recognition of mercy, worshipful praise, social esteem, and increased influence.
Psalms and prophetic songs repeatedly magnify the Lord for deliverance, justice, and covenant love, providing the worship background for Mary's song. The canonical pattern opposes boasting in human power while allowing truthful honor and public thanksgiving.