12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased 6 to give you the kingdom.
1 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.
2 sn Do not be afraid. See 1:13 for a similar statement to Zechariah.
3 tn Or “grace.”
4 tn Grk “answered.”
5 tn Or “will be delivered”; Grk “will be saved.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the immediate context; it refers only to the girl’s healing.
7 tn Or perhaps, “your Father chooses.”
10 tn According to L&N 23.184 this could be mainly a psychological experience rather than actual loss of consciousness. It could also refer to complete discouragement because of fear, leading people to give up hope (L&N 25.293).
11 sn An allusion to Isa 34:4. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.