Lukas 1:38

1:38 So ¹  Mary said, “Yes, ²  I am a servant ³  of the Lord; let this happen to me ⁴  according to your word.” ⁵  Then ⁶  the angel departed from her.

Lukas 19:21

19:21 For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe ⁷  man. You withdraw ⁸  what you did not deposit ⁹  and reap what you did not sow.’

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

[1:38]  ² tn Grk “behold.”

[1:38]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “let this be to me.”

[1:38]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[19:21]  ⁷ tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”

[19:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “man, taking out.” The Greek word can refer to withdrawing money from a bank (L&N 57.218), and in this context of financial accountability that is the most probable meaning. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “you” as subject and translating the participle αἴρεις (airei") as a finite verb.

[19:21]  ⁹ tn The Greek verb τίθημι (tiqhmi) can be used of depositing money with a banker to earn interest (L&N 57.217). In effect the slave charges that the master takes what he has not earned.