Luke 1:27-31

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 1:27 tn Or “promised in marriage.”
2. Luke 1:27 tn Grk “Joseph, of the house of David.” sn The Greek word order here favors connecting Davidic descent to Joseph, not Mary, in this remark.
3. Luke 1:28 tn Grk “And coming to her.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
4. Luke 1:28 tn Grk “And coming to her, he said”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5. Luke 1:28 tn Grk “coming to her, he said.” The participle εἰσελθών (eiselthōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
6. Luke 1:28 tn The address, “favored one” (a perfect participle, Grk “Oh one who is favored”) points to Mary as the recipient of God’s grace, not a bestower of it. She is a model saint in this passage, one who willingly receives God’s benefits. The Vulgate rendering “full of grace” suggests something more of Mary as a bestower of grace, but does not make sense here contextually.
7. Luke 1:28 tc Most mss (A C D Θ ƒ¹³ 33 M latt sy) read here εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξίν (eulogēmenē su en gunaixin, “blessed are you among women”) which also appears in 1:42 (where it is textually certain). This has the earmarks of a scribal addition for balance; the shorter reading, attested by the most significant witnesses and several others (א B L W Ψ ƒ¹ 565 579 700 1241 co), is thus preferred.
8. Luke 1:29 tc Most mss (A C Θ 0130 ƒ¹³ M lat sy) have ἰδοῦσα (idousa, “when [she] saw [the angel]”) here as well, making Mary’s concern the appearance of the angel. This construction is harder than the shorter reading since it adds a transitive verb without an explicit object. However, the shorter reading has significant support (א B D L W Ψ ƒ¹ 565 579 1241 sa) and on balance should probably be considered authentic.
9. Luke 1:29 sn On the phrase greatly troubled see 1:12. Mary’s reaction was like Zechariah’s response.
10. Luke 1:29 tn Grk “to wonder what kind of greeting this might be.” Luke often uses the optative this way to reveal a figure’s thinking (3:15; 8:9; 18:36; 22:23).
11. Luke 1:30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Gabriel’s statement is a response to Mary’s perplexity over the greeting.
12. Luke 1:30 sn Do not be afraid. See 1:13 for a similar statement to Zechariah.
13. Luke 1:30 tn Or “grace.” sn The expression found favor is a Semitism, common in the OT (Gen 6:8; 18:3; 43:14; 2 Sam 15:25). God has chosen to act on this person’s behalf.
14. Luke 1:31 tn Grk “And behold.”
15. Luke 1:31 tn Grk “you will conceive in your womb.”
16. Luke 1:31 tn Or “and bear.”
17. Luke 1:31 tn Grk “you will call his name.”
18. Luke 1:31 tn See v. 13 for a similar construction.sn You will name him Jesus. This verse reflects the birth announcement of a major figure; see 1:13; Gen 16:7; Judg 13:5; Isa 7:14. The Greek form of the name Iēsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.