1:38a
In the Greek text, Mary begins her answer with a word that introduces and emphasizes the response that she would give to the angel. It is the same word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “now” in 1:20, as “Behold” in 1:31, and as “Look” in 1:36. The Berean Standard Bible does not translate the word here, and some other English versions also do not explicitly translate the word. But since Mary was agreeing to what the Lord wanted, some English versions include that idea here. Some ways to translate it are:
Yes… (NET Bible)
-or-
Here am I… (New Revised Standard Version)
Translate the word in a way is natural in your language for this context. In some languages it may not be necessary to translate it explicitly. See the notes at 1:20a and 1:31a, which discuss the way this word introduces those verses.
I am the Lord’s servant: The phrase I am the Lord’s servant means “I belong to the Lord as his servant.” Mary said this to express her humble submission to whatever the Lord said. Her response showed that she believed what the angel told her and accepted the role of being the mother of the Lord’s son (Jesus). The word Lord refers to God.
servant: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as servant refers to a female slave. This word refers to a woman who was owned by another person. She served and obeyed her master or mistress. She probably was not paid, but she received food and a place to live.
In some cultures, slaves may not be known. In other cultures, the word for slave may imply different customs than in biblical culture. If that is true in your language, some ways to translate this are:
person who belonged to someone else
-or-
owned person
-or-
person who serves someone
-or-
worker/servant
Mary answered: The Berean Standard Bible has placed the words Mary answered in the middle of what Mary said. Place them where it is natural in your language.
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible has translated as answered is the common word that means “said.” Use the word that is most natural in your language to introduce Mary’s response to what the angel said.
1:38b
May it happen to me according to your word: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as May it happen is a form that often expresses a hope, wish, or prayer. Mary wanted or requested that the Lord would do to her exactly what the angel had said. The English word May does not express any doubt here. Some English versions use “Let it be.” This also expresses a hope or request that God would cause his will to happen to her.
Some other ways to translate May it happen to me according to your word are:
I am willing to accept whatever he wants. (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
Let everything you’ve said happen to me. (God’s Word)
according to your word: The phrase according to your word refers back to what the angel said in 1:31–37. He said that Mary would conceive a child without being married.
1:38c
Then the angel left her: After Mary said the words in 1:38a–b, the angel left.
angel: See the note at 1:11a for suggestions about how to translate the word angel. See also angel, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.
© 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.