1:34
The Berean Standard Bible divides Mary’s question in 1:34 into two parts, and it puts the words “Mary asked the angel” between these parts. In many languages it is more natural to put the phrase “Mary asked the angel” at the beginning of the sentence. That is the word order in Greek. See the Display for 1:34a for an example. Follow the order that is natural in your language.
1:34a
How can this be: The word this refers to the angel’s words in 1:31a, “You will conceive.” So the question How can this be means “How shall this happen?” Mary was asking the angel for information. She was not implying that she did not believe what the angel had said. She did not understand how she could have a baby when she had not had sexual relations. You should express the question in a respectful way.
Some other ways to say this are:
But how can I have a baby? (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
How can/will I become pregnant?
Mary asked the angel: The Berean Standard Bible has placed the words Mary asked the angel in the middle of what Mary asked the angel in 1:34a–b. Place these words where it is natural in your language.
1:34b
since I am a virgin: The basis for Mary’s question in 1:34a is that she was a virgin. That is, because she was a virgin, she concluded that she could not have a baby. So she asked the angel to explain how this could happen.
I am a virgin: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I am a virgin is literally “I do not know a man.” This phrase is a polite way to refer to the fact that Mary had never had sexual intercourse with a man. In some languages there may be an idiom for this. Be careful to use an expression that is not vulgar in your language.
Some other ways to say this in English are:
I have not been intimate with a man (NET Bible)
-or-
I am still a virgin (Revised English Bible)
-or-
I have not had sexual relations with a man
General Comment on 1:34a–b
In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of 1:34a and 1:34b. For example:
34b“I have no husband, 34a so how can this happen?” Mary asked the angel.
© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.