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OET (OET-LV) And the birth the of_Yaʸsous chosen_one/messiah was thus:
Maria the mother of_him, having_been_betrothed to_ the _Yōsaʸf, before or/than them to_come_together, she_was_found having in womb by the_ holy _spirit.
OET (OET-RV) Now this is how the birth of Yeshua came about: Maria his mother was engaged to Yosef. But before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the work of the holy spirit.
This section tells us how the Messiah came into the world. The Holy Spirit miraculously caused the virgin Mary to become pregnant with the child Jesus. Such an event had never happened before.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Birth of Jesus Christ (NIV)
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah (NLT)
Here is how Jesus was born
There is a parallel passage for this section in Luke 2:1–7.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
¶ This is the story about the birth of Jesus Christ.
¶ Here is how Jesus the Christ/Messiah was born:
The Greek of 1:18a begins with a word that is often translated as “and” or “but.” It indicates that 1:18 is the beginning of a new section. Some English versions indicate this with a conjunction (ESV: “Now”). The BSB, like other English versions, does not introduce this section with a conjunction. In your language, translate it in a way that is natural to indicate the start of a new story.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: This clause introduces the story of Jesus’ birth.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. (NET)
the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: (NASB)
This is how Jesus Christ was born. (CEV)
Jesus Christ: Here, the name Christ is a title. Another word for this title is Messiah. For example:
Jesus the Messiah (NLT)
The phrase Jesus Christ also occurs in 1:1a. You should translate it here as you did there.
His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph,
His mother Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph.
The name of Jesus’ mother was Mary. She had promised to marry a man named Joseph.
His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph: The word pledged refers to an agreement to marry. This agreement was made by a young man and woman and their families. Mary had formally agreed to marry Joseph.
Some English versions translate this word as “engaged.” However, the marriage agreement among the Jews was more strict than the word “engaged” implies in western society. It legally joined a man and woman, and it was as binding as marriage. If either the man or the woman ended the agreement, people considered them to be divorced.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
was pledged to be married (NIV)
was engaged to be married (NCV)
had been promised…in marriage (GW)
had made an agreement to marry
After the marriage agreement was made, the man and woman usually waited for a year before their wedding. As part of the wedding ceremony, the man took the woman into his house to live.
but before they came together,
Before they(dual) were married,
But before they(dual) lived together as husband and wife,
But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, (NLT)
but before they came together: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as before they came together refers to getting married.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
but before they were married (GNT)
but before they lived together (NRSV)
Matthew’s point is that Mary became pregnant while she was still a virgin. It was a miracle. In some cultures, sexual relations are common before marriage. So it may be necessary to make it more explicit that Mary had not had sexual relations when she became pregnant. For example:
But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin (NLT)
before they slept together
she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
she became pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
the Spirit of God did a miracle which caused her to be pregnant.
she was found to be with child: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as she was found to be with child is an expression that means “she was/becameSee also passages such as Luke 9:36 and Luke 17:18 where the passive form of the verb εὑρίσκω (find) is an expression meaning “is” or “realize.” pregnant” or “she learned/realized that she was pregnant.” For example:
she learned that she was going to have a baby (CEV)
Mary realized that she was pregnant (GW)
she became pregnant (NLT)
through the Holy Spirit: The phrase through the Holy Spirit indicates that the Holy Spirit caused Mary to become pregnant. It was a miracle. The Holy Spirit did not cause Mary to become pregnant in the same way a man causes a woman to become pregnant.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
through a miracle of the Holy Spirit
by means of the power of the Holy Spirit
the Holy Spirit caused it
the Holy Spirit: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the Holy Spirit refers to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is God, together with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is Spirit in the sense that he is a living being who does not have a physical body. He is Holy in the sense that he is divine. He is perfect in every way and is completely pure and sinless. Because of these qualities, he is worthy of awe.
Here are some other ways to translate Holy Spirit:
Spirit/Breath of God
Sacred Spirit
Spirit from God
Spirit belonging to God
Do not imply that the Holy Spirit is like the ghost of a dead person or that God has died.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
τοῦ δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ γένεσις οὕτως ἦν
¬the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦ Δέ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ γένεσις οὕτως ἦν μνηστευθείσης τῆς μητρός αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ Ἰωσήφ πρίν ἤ συνελθεῖν αὐτούς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρί ἔχουσα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου)
Here, the word Now introduces a new section in this book that focuses on the birth of Jesus Christ. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a new section, or you could leave Now untranslated. Alternate translation: [As for the birth of Jesus Christ, it happened thus]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
μνηστευθείσης & τῷ Ἰωσήφ
˓having_been˒_betrothed & ¬the ˱to˲_Joseph
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, it is clear from the context that it was her parents. Alternate translation: [whose parents promised her to Joseph, that she would marry him]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / euphemism
πρὶν & συνελθεῖν αὐτοὺς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦ Δέ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ γένεσις οὕτως ἦν μνηστευθείσης τῆς μητρός αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ Ἰωσήφ πρίν ἤ συνελθεῖν αὐτούς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρί ἔχουσα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου)
Matthew is referring in a polite way to having sex by using the phrase came together. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a polite way of referring to this in your language, or you could state this plainly. Alternate translation: [before they consummated the marriage] or [before they had sex]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα
˱she˲_˓was˒_found in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦ Δέ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ γένεσις οὕτως ἦν μνηστευθείσης τῆς μητρός αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ Ἰωσήφ πρίν ἤ συνελθεῖν αὐτούς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρί ἔχουσα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [was having in the womb] or [realized that she was having in the womb]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα
in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦ Δέ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ γένεσις οὕτως ἦν μνηστευθείσης τῆς μητρός αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ Ἰωσήφ πρίν ἤ συνελθεῖν αὐτούς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρί ἔχουσα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου)
Here, the phrase having in the womb refers to being pregnant. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [to be with child] or [to be pregnant]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου
by ˓the˒_Spirit Holy
The phrase from the Holy Spirit indicates that Mary did not become pregnant in the usual way, that is, by having sex with a man. Rather, she became pregnant because the Holy Spirit caused her to be pregnant. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [by the power of the Holy Spirit] or [because of the Holy Spirit’s work]
1:18 Jesus the Messiah (literally Jesus the Christ): Using Messiah in the translation accurately communicates that it is a title rather than a personal name (“Jesus Christ”).
• engaged to be married: In Judaism, engagement (or betrothal) meant a permanent relationship (Mal 2:14) that could be broken only by legal process; thus, Mary was considered Joseph’s wife and he her husband (see Matt 1:20; Deut 22:23-24), even though they had not had sexual relations. Mary’s status as a virgin at the time of Jesus’ conception through the power of the Holy Spirit helps authenticate Jesus’ divinity.
OET (OET-LV) And the birth the of_Yaʸsous chosen_one/messiah was thus:
Maria the mother of_him, having_been_betrothed to_ the _Yōsaʸf, before or/than them to_come_together, she_was_found having in womb by the_ holy _spirit.
OET (OET-RV) Now this is how the birth of Yeshua came about: Maria his mother was engaged to Yosef. But before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the work of the holy spirit.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.