LUKE 1:48 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT For he has looked upon the low condition of his female servant.
⇔  For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed,

UST I am happy because he was gracious to me, even though I was not very important.
⇔ Just imagine this—from now on, people living at all times in the future will say that God has blessed me.

BSB For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
⇔ From now on all generations will call me blessed.

MSB For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
⇔ From now on all generations will call me blessed.

BLB For He has looked upon the humiliation of His handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all the generations will count me blessed.

AICNT for he has looked on the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

OEB for he has looked with favour on his humble servant girl.
⇔ From now on all generations will call me blessed!

WEBBE for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
⇔ For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant.
⇔ For from now on all generations will call me blessed,

LSV Because He looked on the lowliness of His maidservant,
For behold, from now on all the generations will call me blessed,

FBV because he decided that I, his servant, was worthy of his consideration, despite my humble background. From now on every generation will say I was blessed.

TCNT because he has looked favorably on the humble state of his servant.
⇔ For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed,

T4T I was only his lowly servant girl, but he did not forget me.
⇔ So from now on, everyone will say that God was pleased with me,

LEB • because he has looked upon the humble state of his female slave, for behold, from now on all generations will consider me blessed,

BBE For he has had pity on his servant, though she is poor and lowly placed: and from this hour will all generations give witness to the blessing which has come to me.

Moff for he has considered the humiliation of his servant.
⇔ From this time forth all generations will call me blessed,

Wymth Because He has not turned from His maidservant in her lowly position; For from this time forward all generations will account me happy,

ASV For he hath looked upon the low estate of his handmaid:
⇔ For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

DRA Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

YLT Because He looked on the lowliness of His maid-servant, For, lo, henceforth call me happy shall all the generations,

Drby For he has looked upon the low estate of his bondmaid; for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

RV For he hath looked upon the low estate of his handmaiden: For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
(For he hath/has looked upon the low estate of his handmaiden: For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. )

SLT For he looked upon the humiliation of his servant; for, behold, from now shall all generations deem me happy.

Wbstr For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for behold, from henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

KJB-1769 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
(For he hath/has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. )

KJB-1611 For hee hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for behold, from hencefoorth all generations shall call me blessed.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps For he hath loked on the lowe degree of his handmayden: For loe, now from hencefoorth shal all generations call me blessed.
(For he hath/has looked on the low degree of his handmaiden: For lo, now from henceforth shall all generations call me blessed.)

Gnva For hee hath looked on the poore degree of his seruaunt: for beholde, from henceforth shall all ages call me blessed,
(For he hath/has looked on the poor degree of his servant: for behold, from henceforth shall all ages call me blessed, )

Cvdl For he hath loked vpo the lowe degre of his hande mayde. Beholde, fro hence forth shal all generacions call me blessed.
(For he hath/has looked upon the low degree of his hand mayde. Behold, from henceforth shall all generations call me blessed.)

TNT For he hath loked on the povre degre of his honde mayde. Beholde now from hence forth shall all generacions call me blessed.
(For he hath/has looked on the poor degree of his hand mayde. Behold now from henceforth shall all generations call me blessed. )

Wycl For he hath biholdun the mekenesse of his handmaidun.
(For he hath/has biholdun the meekness of his handmaidun.)

Luth Denn er hat die Niedrigkeit seiner Magd angesehen. Siehe, von nun an werden mich selig preisen alle Kindeskinder.
(Because he has the Niedrigkeit his maid viewed. See/Look, from now at/to become me blessed praise all children's_children/grandchildren.)

ClVg Quia respexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes,[fn]
(Because looked_back humility handmaiden his/her_own: behold because from this blessed me they_will_say everyone generations, )

1.48 Quia respexit. ID. Ecce quam vilia de se sentit, etc., usque ad et de parvis et infirmis magnos facit et fortes. Quia fecit mihi magna. Quia in me carnem sumpsit, et me a peccatis mundavit, et dona Spiritus sancti mihi contulit. Et misericordia. BEDA. A specialibus donis ad generalia Dei judicia se convertit, etc., usque ad subdit quid contemptores mereantur.

1.48 Because looked_back. ID. Behold how vilia from/about himself feels, etc., until to and from/about parvis and sick/weak the_great he_does and strong. Because he_did to_me big. Because in/into/on me the_flesh took, and me from sins cleanvit, and gifts Spirit holy to_me contributed. And mercy. BEDA. From specialibus gifts to generala of_God judgements himself he_turned, etc., until to I_submit what contemptores mereantur.

UGNT ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ; ἰδοὺ γὰρ, ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσίν με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί.
(hoti epeblepsen epi taʸn tapeinōsin taʸs doulaʸs autou; idou gar, apo tou nun makariousin me pasai hai geneai.)

SBL-GNT ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ, ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσίν με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί·
(hoti epeblepsen epi taʸn tapeinōsin taʸs doulaʸs autou, idou gar apo tou nun makariousin me pasai hai geneai;)

RP-GNT Ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ. Ἰδοὺ γάρ, ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσίν με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί.
(Hoti epeblepsen epi taʸn tapeinōsin taʸs doulaʸs autou. Idou gar, apo tou nun makariousin me pasai hai geneai.)

TC-GNT Ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ.
⇔ Ἰδοὺ γάρ, ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσί με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί.
(Hoti epeblepsen epi taʸn tapeinōsin taʸs doulaʸs autou.
⇔ Idou gar, apo tou nun makariousi me pasai hai geneai. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:46–56: Mary praised God

In this section Mary spoke a poem or song of praise to God.Many of the lines in this song of praise are echoes of other songs of praise in the Old Testament. In fact, one scholar points out that of the ten verses of Mary’s song, eight are very similar to Old Testament verses. For example, in 1:47 Mary said that “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Compare this with Habakkuk 3:18, “I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” Mary may have had these thoughts stored in her mind because she had heard people read the Scriptures many times in synagogue services. However, in her song, Mary combined the thoughts of Old Testament songs in her own original way. In 1:46–49 she praised God for blessing her personally. In 1:50 she praised God because he is merciful to all people who fear him. In 1:51–53 she spoke of the way God had rejected the proud, the powerful, and the rich. She spoke of the way he had instead chosen to bless those who are poor and lowly. In 1:54–55 she praised God for helping the people of Israel.

When Mary talked about what God had done, she was not just talking about the past. She was talking about what God was doing at that time and about what he would continue to do through the Messiah. By choosing Mary to be the mother of the Messiah, God had shown mercy to her as a poor and lowly person. He had also shown mercy to the people of Israel, because the Messiah would save them. This was similar to the way he had worked in the past, showing mercy to his people and helping them against their enemies.

It may be good to write this song (1:46–55) as poetry in your translation, using separate lines at appropriate places. For examples, see 1:46–55 in the RSV, NIV, and GNT. There may be special phrases in your language that are appropriate to use in poetry that you do not use in ordinary conversation. Because this song is poetry, you may be able to use those phrases here.

Some other possible headings for this section are:The name of Mary’s song in Latin, the Magnificat, is well-known in some areas of the world. If this is true in your area, you may be able to use this name as your heading or as part of the heading. For example, the NLT has “The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise.”

Mary’s song of praise to God

Mary praised God for the kindness he was showing to Israel and to her

1:48a

For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.

because he has looked on the lowly state/status of me, his slave girl, to favor me.
He cares about me, though I am just his lowly maidservant.

For: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For introduces the reason for Mary’s praise in 1:46 and 1:47. It is often translated as “because” in English (as in the NET).

He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant: The Greek verb that the BSB translates literally as He has looked…on means that God had thought about Mary with concern. He had acted kindly and graciously to her in spite of her humble state. In this context she implied that God had done that by choosing her to be the mother of the Messiah.

Some other ways to translate this are:

he has looked with favour on his servant, lowly as she is (REB)

For he took notice of his lowly servant girl (NLT)

he has shown his concern for his humble servant girl (NCV)

the humble state of His servant: The Greek word that the BSB translates as humble state means “low status.” Mary referred to the fact that she was not an important person. She was just a poor, young girl. Notice that humble here does not refer to humility.

Some other ways to translate this are:

his lowly servant girl

his servant who is so low in status

His servant: The Greek word that the BSB translates as servant here literally means “female servant/slave.” It is the same word as in 1:38a.

Here Mary again indirectly referred to herself as the Lord’s servant. In some languages you may need to express more directly that she referred to herself. For example:

me, his servant/slave girl

me, his lowly work-girl

1:48b

From now on all generations will call me blessed.

For behold, people of all generations to come will call me ‘the blessed/fortunate woman.’
Indeed, starting now, people of all future ages will say that God has especially favored me,

The Greek text connects 1:48b to 1:48a with a conjunction that is often translated as “for.” This conjunction often introduces the reason or basis for something. Sometimes it introduces an explanation or evidence for a statement. Here the exact relationship between 1:48a and 1:48b is not completely clear. As you think about this, it may be helpful to remember the implied way that God had been mindful of Mary:

^48aHe has been mindful of the humble state of his servant by choosing her to be the mother of the Messiah. ^48bAs a result, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

God was mindful of Mary, and because of that, all generations would call her blessed.

The Greek text also includes a word that calls attention to what Mary said in 1:48b. It is the same word that the BSB translates as “now” in 1:20, as “Behold” in 1:31, and as “Look” in 1:36. The BSB does not translate the word here, and some other English versions also do not explicitly translate the word or the conjunction. Here are some other ways to translate the connection:

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed (RSV)

As a result, from now onwards all generations will call me blessed

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed (NRSV)

Translate the connection between 1:48a and 1:48b in a natural way in your language.

From now on: The phrase From now on means:

starting now and for all future time

all generations: The phrase all generations refers to people of all the ages to come, that is, the people from all generations. The word “generation” refers to people who are born in the same general time period. Parents represent one generation and their children represent the next generation.

Some other ways to translate this are:

people of all generations

people in every age group in every time period

generation after generation (NLT96)

people from every age/time

will call me blessed: The Greek word that the BSB translates here as will call me blessed is related to the Greek word that the BSB translates as “Blessed” in 1:45a.The Greek word is μακαρίζω (makarizō). It means “to call or consider someone to be blessed, to say that he or she is in a good situation.” In this context it implies that people will recognize that God showed favor/kindness to Mary.

Some other ways to translate this are:

will describe my situation as very desirable/joyful

will consider me blessed/fortunate

will say, “God greatly blessed her!”

See the note on “blessed” at 1:45a–b. See also the word bless, Meaning 3, in the Glossary.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

ὅτι

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπί τήν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ ἰδού Γάρ ἀπό τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσιν μέ πάσαι αἱ γενεαί)

The word For introduces the reason for what the previous sentence described. Alternate translation: [And this is why]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ

˱he˲_looked_at (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπί τήν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ ἰδού Γάρ ἀπό τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσιν μέ πάσαι αἱ γενεαί)

As in [1:25](../01/25.md), looked upon is an idiom that means “shown regard for.” Alternate translation: [he has kindly chosen]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ

Mary is speaking of her low condition to mean herself. Alternate translation: [me to serve him, even though I am not very important]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἰδοὺ γὰρ

The term behold focuses the attention of the listener on what the speaker is about to say. Alternate translation: [Just think!]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί

Mary uses the term generations to mean the people who will be born in all future generations. Alternate translation: [the people of all future generations]

Parallel LUKE 1:48

Section 1:46–56: Mary praised God

1:48a

1:48b