Luke 1:26-31

Birth Announcement of Jesus the Messiah

1:26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, ¹  the angel Gabriel ²  was sent by ³  God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, ⁴  1:27 to a virgin engaged ⁵  to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, ⁶  and the virgin’s name was Mary. 1:28 The ⁷  angel ⁸  came ⁹  to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, ¹⁰  the Lord is with you!” ¹¹  1:29 But ¹²  she was greatly troubled ¹³  by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. ¹⁴  1:30 So ¹⁵  the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, ¹⁶  Mary, for you have found favor ¹⁷  with God! 1:31 Listen: ¹⁸  You will become pregnant ¹⁹  and give birth to ²⁰  a son, and you will name him ²¹  Jesus. ²² 

¹ tn Grk “in the sixth month.” The phrase “of Elizabeth’s pregnancy” was supplied in the translation to clarify the exact time meant by this reference. That Elizabeth’s pregnancy is meant is clear from vv. 24-25.

² sn Gabriel is the same angel mentioned previously in v. 19. He is traditionally identified as an angel who brings revelation (see Dan 8:15-16; 9:21). Gabriel and Michael are the only two good angels named in the Bible.

³ tn Or “from.” The account suggests God’s planned direction in these events, so “by” is better than “from,” as six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God acts again.

⁴ sn Nazareth was a town in the region of Galilee, located north of Samaria and Judea. Galilee extended from about 45 to 85 miles north of Jerusalem and was about 30 miles in width. Nazareth was a very small village and was located about 15 miles west of the southern edge of the Sea of Galilee.

⁵ tn Or “promised in marriage.”

⁶ tn Grk “Joseph, of the house of David.”

⁷ tn Grk “And coming to her.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁸ tn Grk “And coming to her, he said”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn Grk “coming to her, he said.” The participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ tc Most mss (A C D Θ Ë¹³ 33 Ï latt sy) read here εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξίν (euloghmenh 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 important witnesses and several others (א B L W Ψ Ë¹ 565 579 700 1241 pc co), is thus preferred.

¹² tc Most mss (A C Θ 0130 ˹³ Ï 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 Ë¹ 565 579 1241 sa) and on balance should probably be considered authentic.

¹³ sn On the phrase greatly troubled see 1:12. Mary’s reaction was like Zechariah’s response.

¹⁴ 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).

¹⁵ 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.

¹⁶ sn Do not be afraid. See 1:13 for a similar statement to Zechariah.

¹⁷ tn Or “grace.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “And behold.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “you will conceive in your womb.”

²⁰ tn Or “and bear.”

²¹ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

²² tn See v. 13 for a similar construction.