Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
- KJV Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
- BSB “How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
- NKJV Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
- NASB But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
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
Mary asks how this can happen since she is a virgin. Her question seeks understanding, not proof against doubt.
Overview
Mary's question, unlike Zacharias', expresses faith seeking to understand how God will work, not skepticism. She honestly acknowledges the natural impossibility of the promise. Her response invites the angel's explanation of the miraculous conception.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Judg 13:8–12Then Manoah entreated Yahweh, and said, “Oh, Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us, and teach us what we should do to the child who shall be born.”
- Acts 9:6But rise up, and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 1:34 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.