Psalms 116:16

116:16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;

I am your lowest slave. ¹ 

You saved me from death. ² 

Psalms 119:94

119:94 I belong to you. Deliver me!

For I seek your precepts.

Luke 1:38

1:38 So ³  Mary said, “Yes, ⁴  I am a servant ⁵  of the Lord; let this happen to me ⁶  according to your word.” ⁷  Then ⁸  the angel departed from her.

[116:16]  ¹ tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

[116:16]  ² tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).

[1:38]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[1:38]  ⁴ tn Grk “behold.”

[1:38]  ⁵ tn Traditionally, “handmaid”; Grk “slave woman.” Though δούλη (doulh) is normally translated “woman servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free woman serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times… in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. δοῦλος). The most accurate translation is “bondservant,” sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος (doulos), in that it often indicates one who sells himself or herself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:38]  ⁶ tn Grk “let this be to me.”

[1:38]  ⁷ sn The remark according to your word is a sign of Mary’s total submission to God’s will, a response that makes her exemplary.

[1:38]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.