Luke 1:28-30

1:28 The ¹  angel ²  came ³  to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, ⁴  the Lord is with you!” ⁵  1:29 But ⁶  she was greatly troubled ⁷  by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. ⁸  1:30 So ⁹  the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, ¹⁰  Mary, for you have found favor ¹¹  with God!

¹ tn Grk “And coming to her.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “And coming to her, he said”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ 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.

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ sn On the phrase greatly troubled see 1:12. Mary’s reaction was like Zechariah’s response.

⁸ 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 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 sn Do not be afraid. See 1:13 for a similar statement to Zechariah.

¹³ tn Or “grace.”