Lukas 1:29-30

1:29 But ¹  she was greatly troubled ²  by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. ³  1:30 So ⁴  the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, ⁵  Mary, for you have found favor ⁶  with God!

[1:29]  ¹ tc Most mss (A C Θ 0130 ˹³ Ï lat sy) have ἰδοῦσα (idousa, “when [she] saw [the angel]”) here as well, making Mary’s concern the appearance of the angel. This construction is harder than the shorter reading since it adds a transitive verb without an explicit object. However, the shorter reading has significant support (א B D L W Ψ Ë¹ 565 579 1241 sa) and on balance should probably be considered authentic.

[1:29]  ² sn On the phrase greatly troubled see 1:12. Mary’s reaction was like Zechariah’s response.

[1:29]  ³ tn Grk “to wonder what kind of greeting this might be.” Luke often uses the optative this way to reveal a figure’s thinking (3:15; 8:9; 18:36; 22:23).

[1:30]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Gabriel’s statement is a response to Mary’s perplexity over the greeting.

[1:30]  ⁵ sn Do not be afraid. See 1:13 for a similar statement to Zechariah.

[1:30]  ⁶ tn Or “grace.”

[1:30]  sn The expression found favor is a Semitism, common in the OT (Gen 6:8; 18:3; 43:14; 2 Sam 15:25). God has chosen to act on this person’s behalf.