Luke 2:5

2:5 He went ¹  to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, ²  and who was expecting a child.

Luke 2:9

2:9 An ³  angel of the Lord ⁴  appeared to ⁵  them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were absolutely terrified. ⁶ 

[2:5]  ¹ tn The words “He went” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to begin a new sentence in the translation. The Greek sentence is longer and more complex than normal contemporary English usage.

[2:5]  ² tn Traditionally, “Mary, his betrothed.” Although often rendered in contemporary English as “Mary, who was engaged to him,” this may give the modern reader a wrong impression, since Jewish marriages in this period were typically arranged marriages. The term ἐμνηστευμένῃ (emnhsteumenh) may suggest that the marriage is not yet consummated, not necessarily that they are not currently married. Some mss read “the betrothed to him wife”; others, simply “his wife.” These readings, though probably not original, may give the right sense.

[2:9]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:9]  ⁴ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:11.

[2:9]  ⁵ tn Or “stood in front of.”

[2:9]  ⁶ tn Grk “they feared a great fear” (a Semitic idiom which intensifies the main idea, in this case their fear).