Luke 1:29

But ¹  she was greatly troubled ²  by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. ³ 

Jud 6:13-15; 1Sa 9:20,21; Mr 6:49,50; Mr 16:5,6; Lu 1:12; Lu 1:66; Lu 2:19,51; Ac 10:4; Ac 10:4,17

¹ tc Most mss (A C Θ 0130 ˹³ Ï lat sy) have ἰδοῦσα (idousa, “when [she] saw [the angel]”) here as well, making Mary’s concern the appearance of the angel. This construction is harder than the shorter reading since it adds a transitive verb without an explicit object. However, the shorter reading has significant support (א B D L W Ψ Ë¹ 565 579 1241 sa) and on balance should probably be considered authentic.

² sn On the phrase greatly troubled see 1:12. Mary’s reaction was like Zechariah’s response.

³ tn Grk “to wonder what kind of greeting this might be.” Luke often uses the optative this way to reveal a figure’s thinking (3:15; 8:9; 18:36; 22:23).