MAT 1:21 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

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 And she will bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

UST She will have a male child. You should name him ‘Jesus,’ which means ‘the Lord rescues’. You should name him that because he will rescue his people from the sins that they have committed.”

BLB And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

AICNT She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

OEB She will give birth to a son; name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’

WEBBE She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus,[fn] for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

1:21 “Jesus” means “Salvation”.

WMBB She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Yeshua,[fn] for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

1:21 “Yeshua” means “Salvation”.

NET She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

LSV and she will bring forth a Son, and you will call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

FBV She will give birth to a son and you shall call him Jesus, for he will save people from their sins.”

TCNT She will give birth to a son, and yoʋ shall name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

T4T She will give birth to a son. Since it is he who will cause that his people will be saved from the guilt of their having sinned, name the baby Jesus, which means ‘the Lord saves people’.”

LEB And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name ‘Jesus,’ because he will save his people from their sins.”

BBE And she will give birth to a son; and you will give him the name Jesus; for he will give his people salvation from their sins.

Moff She will bear a son, and you will call him 'Jesus,' for he will save his people from their sins."

Wymth She will give birth to a Son, and you are to call His name JESUS for He it is who will save His People from their sins."

ASV And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.

DRA And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name JESUS. For he shall save his people from their sins.

YLT and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.'

Drby And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.

RV And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.
(And she shall bring forth a son; and thou/you shalt/shall call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins. )

SLT And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins,

Wbstr And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

KJB-1769 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
(And she shall bring forth a son, and thou/you shalt/shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. )

KJB-1611 And she shall bring forth a sonne, and thou shalt call his Name Iesus: for hee shall saue his people from their sinnes.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps She shall bryng foorth a sonne, and thou shalt call his name Iesus: for he shall saue his people from their sinnes.
(She shall bring forth a son, and thou/you shalt/shall call his name Yesus/Yeshua: for he shall save his people from their sins.)

Gnva And she shall bring foorth a sonne, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for hee shall saue his people from their sinnes.
(And she shall bring forth a son, and thou/you shalt/shall call his name YESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. )

Cvdl She shall brynge forth a sonne, and thou shalt call his name Iesus. For he shall saue his people from their synnes.
(She shall bring forth a son, and thou/you shalt/shall call his name Yesus/Yeshua. For he shall save his people from their sins.)

TNT She shall brynge forthe a sonne and thou shalt call his name Iesus. For he shall save his peple from their synnes.
(She shall bring forth a son and thou/you shalt/shall call his name Yesus/Yeshua. For he shall save his peple from their sins. )

Wycl And she shal bere a sone, and thou shalt clepe his name Jhesus; for he schal make his puple saaf fro her synnes.
(And she shall bear a son, and thou/you shalt/shall call his name Yhesus; for he shall make his people safe from her sins.)

Luth Und sie wird einen Sohn gebären, des Namen sollst du JEsus heißen; denn er wird sein Volk selig machen von ihren Sünden.
(And they/she/them becomes a son give_birth, the name(s) should you(sg) Yesus be_called; because/than he becomes be people blessed make from your(pl) sins(n).)

ClVg Pariet autem filium: et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum: ipse enim salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis eorum.[fn]
(Pariet however son: and you_will_call name his Yesus: exactly_that/himself because safe will_do the_people his_own from sins their. )

1.21 Pariet. Ne videretur Joseph non esse necessarius ei, subdit: Pariet. Et ita eris necessarius procurationi. Et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum. Idem dicit isti quod prædixerat Mariæ ut promissum Salvatorem jam venisse tam viris quam feminis repræsentet ex voce. Ipse enim. Nomen interpretatur.

1.21 Pariet. Don't it_would_seem Yoseph not/no to_be necessarius to_him, I_submit: Pariet. And so/thus you_will_be necessarius procurationi. And you_will_call name his Yesus. Idem he_says these that had_predicted Mary as promised Salvatorem already came tam men how feminis representt from voice. Exactly_that because. Name interprets.

UGNT τέξεται δὲ υἱὸν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν; αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν.
(texetai de huion, kai kaleseis to onoma autou Yaʸsoun; autos gar sōsei ton laon autou apo tōn hamartiōn autōn.)

SBL-GNT τέξεται δὲ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν, αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν.
(texetai de huion kai kaleseis to onoma autou Yaʸsoun, autos gar sōsei ton laon autou apo tōn hamartiōn autōn.)

RP-GNT Τέξεται δὲ υἱόν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν· αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν.
(Texetai de huion, kai kaleseis to onoma autou Yaʸsoun; autos gar sōsei ton laon autou apo tōn hamartiōn autōn.)

TC-GNT Τέξεται δὲ υἱόν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν· αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν.
(Texetai de huion, kai kaleseis to onoma autou Yaʸsoun; autos gar sōsei ton laon autou apo tōn hamartiōn autōn. )

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:18–25: Jesus Christ was born

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.

1:21a

She will give birth to a Son,

She will bear a son,
She will have a son.

1:21b

and you are to give Him the name Jesus,

and you^(sing) will name him Jesus,
Name^(sing) him Jesus which means ‘the Lord saves/rescues’,

you are to give Him the name Jesus: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as you are to give Him the name Jesus means “name him Jesus.” This clause is future tense with the force of a command. Some languages may be able to use the future tense in the same way. Other languages will need to translate this clause simply as a command.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

name him Jesus (CEV)

you are to name him Jesus (NLT)

you must name him Jesus

Jesus: The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Joshua.” This Hebrew name means “the Lord saves.” In order for people to understand 1:21c, they must understand the meaning of Jesus.

Here are some ways to explain the meaning:

Include the meaning in your translation. For example:
you will name him Jesus (which means the Lord saves)
Put the meaning in a footnote. A sample footnote is:
The name Jesus means “the Lord saves.”

1:21c

because He will save His people from their sins.”

because he is the one who will save his people from their sins.”
because he will save/rescue his own people from the guilt and power of their evil deeds.”

because: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as because introduces the basis for the angel’s command to name the baby “Jesus.” The name “Jesus” means “the Lord saves.” Joseph should name him Jesus (the Lord saves) because he will save his people. The name Jesus fits his purpose in life.

In some languages, it is more natural to put 1:21c before 1:21b. See the General Comment below for translation advice.

He: The pronoun He is emphasized in Greek. If there is a natural way in your language to emphasize this pronoun, you may want to do so.

Here are some other ways to translate this emphasis:

it is he who (JBP)

he is the one who (NJB)

will save His people from their sins: The word save refers to rescuing from harm. Sinning separates people from God, but Jesus rescues believers from that separation and brings them back to God.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

deliver/rescue his people from their sins

liberate his people from the guilt and power of their sins

His people: The phrase His people refers to the people of Israel. Do not translate this phrase simply as “people.”

Another way to translate this phrase is:

his own people

from their sins: The word sins refers to offenses against God or another person. Sins include acts, thoughts, and attitudes that are not what God wants or approves. A person can also offend God by not doing what God wants him to do.

Try to translate sins with a general term that can include any wrongdoing against God. Here are problems to avoid:

The term should not imply that only serious crimes like murder or stealing are sins. Other offenses like gossip and greed are also sins.
The term should not include accidents or mistakes that are not against God’s will.

Here are some other ways to translate sins:

Wrong acts

evil/bad deeds

offenses against God

General Comment on 1:21b–c

In some languages, it is more natural to have the basis of the command (1:21c) before the command (1:21b). For example:

^21cHe will save his people from their sins, ^21bthat is why you shall name him Jesus.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν; αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τέξεται Δέ υἱόν καί καλέσεις τό ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν αὐτός γάρ σώσει τόν λαόν αὐτοῦ ἀπό τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν)

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these clauses, since the second clause gives the reason for the command that the first clause describes. Alternate translation: [and because he will save his people from their sins, you will call his name Jesus]

Note 2 topic: translate-tense

καλέσεις

˱you˲_˓will_be˒_calling

Here the angel gives a command using the future tense. If your language does not use the future tense for commands, you could use a form that your language uses to express commands. Alternate translation: [you must call] or [you are to call]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

Ἰησοῦν; αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν

Jesus (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τέξεται Δέ υἱόν καί καλέσεις τό ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν αὐτός γάρ σώσει τόν λαόν αὐτοῦ ἀπό τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν)

The name Jesus means “the Lord saves” in Hebrew. The angel is explaining that Jesus should have this name because he will save his people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could explain what Jesus’ name means or include this information in a footnote. Alternate translation: [Jesus, for, as his name indicates, he will save his people from their sins] or [Jesus, that is, "the Lord saves," since he will save his people from their sins]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ

Here, the phrase his people refers most directly to Jewish people, but it also includes anyone who believes in Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that identifies a group of people who belong to or are connected with Jesus. Alternate translation: [his own people] or [the people who belong to him]

Parallel MAT 1:21

Section 1:18–25: Jesus Christ was born

1:21a

1:21b

1:21c

General Comment on 1:21b–c