Section 1:26–38
An angel told Mary that Jesus would be born
God sent an angel to tell Mary that she would have a son and that his name would be Jesus. He would be a king forever. This surprised and frightened Mary. She asked the angel how this would happen, as she was a virgin. She had never had sexual relations with a man. The angel said that the power of God would overshadow her and cause her to become pregnant. She would give birth to a son, and he would be called the Son of God. Mary believed God’s message, and she was willing for this to happen to her.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
The angel Gabriel predicts the virgin birth of Jesus the Christ
-or-
Angel Gabriel announces to the virgin Mary that God will cause her to give birth to a son
-or-
The Birth of Jesus is Announced (Good News Translation)
Paragraph 1:26–28
1:26a
In the sixth month: The phrase In the sixth month refers to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. You may want to make this information explicit. For example:
Six months after Elizabeth had become pregnant (God’s Word)
-or-
During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy (New Century Version)
1:26b
God sent the angel Gabriel: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as God sent the angel Gabriel is literally “the angel Gabriel was sent from God” (as in the Revised Standard Version). This Greek expression is passive. You can use either an active or a passive phrase, whichever is more natural in your language for this context.
sent: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sent means “told to go (somewhere) for a certain purpose.” God told the angel to go to Nazareth to give a message to Mary.
the angel Gabriel: The angel Gabriel was also mentioned in 1:19. Gabriel was the angel who appeared to Zechariah.
angel: See the note at 1:11a for suggestions about how to translate the word angel. See also angel, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.
1:26c
to a town in Galilee called Nazareth: Nazareth was a small town with perhaps several hundred inhabitants.
Galilee: Galilee was the name of a district or area in the north part of Israel.
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