Psalms 132:11

132:11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David; ¹ 

he will not go back on his word. ² 

He said, ³  “I will place one of your descendants ⁴  on your throne.

Isaiah 7:14

7:14 For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. ⁵  Look, this ⁶  young woman ⁷  is about to conceive ⁸  and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him ⁹  Immanuel. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 31:22

31:22 How long will you vacillate, ¹¹ 

you who were once like an unfaithful daughter? ¹² 

For I, the Lord, promise ¹³  to bring about something new ¹⁴  on the earth,

something as unique as a woman protecting a man!’” ¹⁵ 

Micah 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ¹⁶  will hand the people of Israel ¹⁷  over to their enemies ¹⁸ 

until the time when the woman in labor ¹⁹  gives birth. ²⁰ 

Then the rest of the king’s ²¹  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ²² 

Matthew 1:23

1:23 “Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him ²³  Emmanuel,” ²⁴  which means ²⁵  “God with us.” ²⁶ 

Matthew 1:25

1:25 but did not have marital relations ²⁷  with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named ²⁸  Jesus.

Luke 1:31-35

1:31 Listen: ²⁹  You will become pregnant ³⁰  and give birth to ³¹  a son, and you will name him ³²  Jesus. ³³  1:32 He ³⁴  will be great, ³⁵  and will be called the Son of the Most High, ³⁶  and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father ³⁷  David. 1:33 He ³⁸  will reign over the house of Jacob ³⁹  forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 1:34 Mary ⁴⁰  said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with ⁴¹  a man?” 1:35 The angel replied, ⁴²  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow ⁴³  you. Therefore the child ⁴⁴  to be born ⁴⁵  will be holy; ⁴⁶  he will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:76

1:76 And you, child, ⁴⁷  will be called the prophet ⁴⁸  of the Most High. ⁴⁹ 

For you will go before ⁵⁰  the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁵¹ 

Galatians 4:4

4:4 But when the appropriate time ⁵²  had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

[132:11]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord swore an oath to David [in] truth.”

[132:11]  ² tn Heb “he will not turn back from it.”

[132:11]  ³ tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “the fruit of your body.”

[7:14]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) can refer to a miraculous event (see v. 11), but it does not carry this sense inherently. Elsewhere in Isaiah the word usually refers to a natural occurrence or an object/person vested with special significance (see 8:18; 19:20; 20:3; 37:30; 55:13; 66:19). Only in 38:7-8, 22 does it refer to a miraculous deed that involves suspending or overriding natural laws. The sign outlined in vv. 14-17 involves God’s providential control over events and their timing, but not necessarily miraculous intervention.

[7:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “the young woman.” The Hebrew article has been rendered as a demonstrative pronoun (“this”) in the translation to bring out its force. It is very likely that Isaiah pointed to a woman who was present at the scene of the prophet’s interview with Ahaz. Isaiah’s address to the “house of David” and his use of second plural forms suggests other people were present, and his use of the second feminine singular verb form (“you will name”) later in the verse is best explained if addressed to a woman who is present.

[7:14]  ⁷ tn Traditionally, “virgin.” Because this verse from Isaiah is quoted in Matt 1:23 in connection with Jesus’ birth, the Isaiah passage has been regarded since the earliest Christian times as a prophecy of Christ’s virgin birth. Much debate has taken place over the best way to translate this Hebrew term, although ultimately one’s view of the doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ is unaffected. Though the Hebrew word used here (עַלְמָה, ’almah) can sometimes refer to a woman who is a virgin (Gen 24:43), it does not carry this meaning inherently. The word is simply the feminine form of the corresponding masculine noun עֶלֶם (’elem, “young man”; cf. 1 Sam 17:56; 20:22). The Aramaic and Ugaritic cognate terms are both used of women who are not virgins. The word seems to pertain to age, not sexual experience, and would normally be translated “young woman.” The LXX translator(s) who later translated the Book of Isaiah into Greek sometime between the second and first century b.c., however, rendered the Hebrew term by the more specific Greek word παρθένος (parqenos), which does mean “virgin” in a technical sense. This is the Greek term that also appears in the citation of Isa 7:14 in Matt 1:23. Therefore, regardless of the meaning of the term in the OT context, in the NT Matthew’s usage of the Greek term παρθένος clearly indicates that from his perspective a virgin birth has taken place.

[7:14]  ⁸ tn Elsewhere the adjective הָרָה (harah), when used predicatively, refers to a past pregnancy (from the narrator’s perspective, 1 Sam 4:19), to a present condition (Gen 16:11; 38:24; 2 Sam 11:5), and to a conception that is about to occur in the near future (Judg 13:5, 7). (There is some uncertainty about the interpretation of Judg 13:5, 7, however. See the notes to those verses.) In Isa 7:14 one could translate, “the young woman is pregnant.” In this case the woman is probably a member of the royal family. Another option, the one followed in the present translation, takes the adjective in an imminent future sense, “the young woman is about to conceive.” In this case the woman could be a member of the royal family, or, more likely, the prophetess with whom Isaiah has sexual relations shortly after this (see 8:3).

[7:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “and you will call his name.” The words “young lady” are supplied in the translation to clarify the identity of the addressee. The verb is normally taken as an archaic third feminine singular form here, and translated, “she will call.” However the form (קָרָאת, qara’t) is more naturally understood as second feminine singular, in which case the words would be addressed to the young woman mentioned just before this. In the three other occurrences of the third feminine singular perfect of I קָרָא (qara’, “to call”), the form used is קָרְאָה (qar’ah; see Gen 29:35; 30:6; 1 Chr 4:9). A third feminine singular perfect קָרָאת does appear in Deut 31:29 and Jer 44:23, but the verb here is the homonym II קָרָא (“to meet, encounter”). The form קָרָאת (from I קָרָא, “to call”) appears in three other passages (Gen 16:11; Isa 60:18; Jer 3:4 [Qere]) and in each case is second feminine singular.

[7:14]  ¹⁰ sn The name Immanuel means “God [is] with us.”

[31:22]  ¹¹ tn The translation “dilly-dally” is suggested by J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 276. The verb occurs only here in this stem (the Hitpael) and only one other time in any other stem (the Qal in Song 5:6). The dictionaries define it as “to turn this way and that” (cf., e.g., BDB 330 s.v. חָמַק Hithp.). In the context it refers to turning this way and that looking for the way back.

[31:22]  ¹² sn Israel’s backsliding is forgotten and forgiven. They had once been characterized as an apostate people (3:14, 22; the word “apostate” and “unfaithful” are the same in Hebrew) and figuratively depicted as an adulterous wife (3:20). Now they are viewed as having responded to his invitation (compare 31:18-19 with 3:22-25). Hence they are no longer depicted as an unfaithful daughter but as an unsullied virgin (see the literal translation of “my dear children” in vv. 4, 21 and the study note on v. 4.)

[31:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “For the Lord will create.” The person has been shifted to avoid the possible confusion for some readers of a third person reference to the Lord in what has otherwise been a first person address. The verb “will create” is another one of the many examples of the prophetic perfect that have been seen in the book of Jeremiah. For the significance of the verb “create” here see the study note on “bring about something new.”

[31:22]  ¹⁴ sn Heb “create.” This word is always used with God as the subject and refers to the production of something new or unique, like the creation of the world and the first man and woman (Gen 1:1; 2:3; 1:27; 5:1) or the creation of a new heavens and a new earth in a new age (Isa 65:17), or the bringing about of new and unique circumstances (Num 16:30). Here reference is made contextually to the new exodus, that marvelous deliverance which will be so great that the old will pale in comparison (see the first note on v. 9).

[31:22]  ¹⁵ tn The meaning of this last line is uncertain. The translation has taken it as proverbial for something new and unique. For a fairly complete discussion of most of the options see C. Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” EBC 6:571. For the nuance of “protecting” for the verb here see BDB 686 s.v. סָבַב Po‘ 1 and compare the usage in Deut 32:10.

[5:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ¹⁸ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ¹⁹ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ²⁰ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ²² tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:23]  ²³ tn Grk “they will call his name.”

[1:23]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 7:14.

[1:23]  ²⁵ tn Grk “is translated.”

[1:23]  ²⁶ sn An allusion to Isa 8:8, 10 (LXX).

[1:25]  ²⁷ tn Or “did not have sexual relations”; Grk “was not knowing her.” The verb “know” (in both Hebrew and Greek) is a frequent biblical euphemism for sexual relations. However, a translation like “did not have sexual relations with her” is too graphic in light of the popularity and wide use of Matthew’s infancy narrative. Thus the somewhat more subdued but still clear “did not have marital relations” was selected.

[1:25]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and he called his name Jesus.” The coordinate clause has been translated as a relative clause in English for stylistic reasons.

[1:31]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And behold.”

[1:31]  ³⁰ tn Grk “you will conceive in your womb.”

[1:31]  ³¹ tn Or “and bear.”

[1:31]  ³² tn Grk “you will call his name.”

[1:31]  ³³ tn See v. 13 for a similar construction.

[1:32]  ³⁴ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:32]  ³⁵ sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.

[1:32]  ³⁶ sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[1:32]  ³⁷ tn Or “ancestor.”

[1:33]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. A new sentence is begun here in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek.

[1:33]  ³⁹ tn Or “over Israel.”

[1:34]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “And Mary.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:34]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “have not known.” The expression in the Greek text is a euphemism for sexual relations. Mary seems to have sensed that the declaration had an element of immediacy to it that excluded Joseph. Many modern translations render this phrase “since I am a virgin,” but the Greek word for virgin is not used in the text, and the euphemistic expression is really more explicit, referring specifically to sexual relations.

[1:35]  ⁴² tn Grk “And the angel said to her.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The pronoun αὐτῇ (auth, “to her”) has not been included in the translation since it is redundant in contemporary English.

[1:35]  ⁴³ sn The phrase will overshadow is a reference to God’s glorious presence at work (Exod 40:34-35; Ps 91:4).

[1:35]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “the one born holy will be called the Son of God.” The wording of this phrase depends on whether the adjective is a predicate adjective, as in the text, or is an adjective modifying the participle serving as the subject. The absence of an article with the adjective speaks for a predicate position. Other less appealing options supply a verb for “holy”; thus “the one who is born will be holy”; or argue that both “holy” and “Son of God” are predicates, so “The one who is born will be called holy, the Son of God.”

[1:35]  ⁴⁵ tc A few mss (C* Θ Ë¹ 33 pc) add “by you” here. This looks like a scribal addition to bring symmetry to the first three clauses of the angel’s message (note the second person pronoun in the previous two clauses), and is too poorly supported to be seriously considered as authentic.

[1:35]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “Therefore the holy child to be born will be called the Son of God.” There are two ways to understand the Greek phrase τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον (to gennwmenon {agion) here. First, τὸ γεννώμενον could be considered a substantival participle with ἅγιον as an adjective in the second predicate position, thus making a complete sentence; this interpretation is reflected in the translation above. Second, τὸ ἅγιον could be considered a substantival adjective with γεννώμενον acting as an adjectival participle, thus making the phrase the subject of the verb κληθήσεται (klhqhsetai); this interpretation is reflected in the alternative reading. Treating the participle γεννώμενον as adjectival is a bit unnatural for the very reason that it forces one to understand ἅγιον as substantival; this introduces a new idea in the text with ἅγιον when an already new topic is being introduced with γεννώμενον. Semantically this would overload the new subject introduced at this point. For this reason the first interpretation is preferred.

[1:76]  ⁴⁷ sn Now Zechariah describes his son John (you, child) through v. 77.

[1:76]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “a prophet”; but since Greek nouns can be definite without the article, and since in context this is a reference to the eschatological forerunner of the Messiah (cf. John 1:17), the concept is better conveyed to the English reader by the use of the definite article “the.”

[1:76]  ⁴⁹ sn In other words, John is a prophet of God; see 1:32 and 7:22-23, 28.

[1:76]  ⁵⁰ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C D L Θ Ψ 0130 Ë^1,13 33 Ï sy), have πρὸ προσώπου κυρίου (pro proswpou kuriou, “before the face of the Lord”), but the translation follows the reading ἐνώπιον κυρίου (enwpion kuriou, “before the Lord”), which has earlier and better ms support (Ì⁴ א B W 0177 pc) and is thus more likely to be authentic.

[1:76]  ⁵¹ tn This term is often translated in the singular, looking specifically to the forerunner role, but the plural suggests the many elements in that salvation.

[4:4]  ⁵² tn Grk “the fullness of time” (an idiom for the totality of a period of time, with the implication of proper completion; see L&N 67.69).