The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Parallel translations
- KJV And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
- BSB So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
- NKJV Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
- NASB And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
- NLT “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The angel reassures Mary not to fear, for she has found favor with God. God's grace removes her dread.
Overview
Gabriel calms Mary's fear and confirms that she has received God's gracious favor. This favor is the unmerited kindness of God in choosing her for his purpose. The announcement of grace prepares her for the astonishing news to follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Luke 1:13But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
- Luke 12:32Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
- Rom 8:31What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Isa 41:10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Matt 28:5The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified.
- Acts 18:9–10The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent;
- Matt 14:27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.”
- Isa 44:2This is what Yahweh who made you, and formed you from the womb, who will help you says: “Don’t be afraid, Jacob my servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
- Isa 41:14Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
- Isa 43:1–4But now Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel says: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.
- Acts 27:24saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. Behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
- Heb 13:6So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 1:30 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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