Luke 1 · Verse 28

Luke 1:28

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Luke 1:28, King James Version

Luke 1:28 in other translations

BSBThe angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
WEBHaving come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
ASVAnd he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee.
YLTAnd the messenger having come in unto her, said, ‘Hail, favoured one, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women;'
DARBYAnd the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, thou favoured one! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women.
BBEAnd the angel came in to her and said, Peace be with you, to whom special grace has been given; the Lord is with you.
WebsterAnd the angel came to her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

What does Luke 1:28 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
28. highly favoured--a word only once used elsewhere (Ep 1:6, "made accepted"): compare Lu 1:30, "Thou hast found favour with God." The mistake of the Vulgate's rendering, "full of grace," has been taken abundant advantage of by the Romish Church. As the mother of our Lord, she was the most "blessed among women" in external distinction; but let them listen to the Lord's own words. "Nay, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it." (See on Lu 11:27).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 28. Hail (c) . This word of salutation is equivalent to Peace be with thee, or Joy be with thee; a form of speech implying that she was signally favoured, and expressing joy at meeting her.

Highly favoured (2). By being the mother of the long-expected Messiah--the mother of the Redeemer of mankind. Long had he been predicted; long had the eyes of the nation been turned to him, and long had his coming been an object of intense desire. To be reckoned among his ancestors was accounted sufficient honour for even Abraham and David. But now the happy individual was designated who was to be his mother; and on Mary, a poor virgin of Nazareth, was to come this honour, which would have rendered infinitely illustrious any of the daughters of Adam--the honour of giving birth to the world's Redeemer and the Son of God.

The Lord is with thee (d) . The word is is not in the original, and the passage may be rendered either "the Lord is with thee," or "the Lord be with thee," implying the prayer of the angel that all blessings from God might descend and rest upon her.

Blessed art thou among women. This passage is equivalent to saying "thou art the most happy of women."

(c) Dan 9:23 (2) or graciously accepted, or much graced (d) Jud 6:12

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 28 And the angel came in unto her - Some think that all this business was transacted in a vision; and that there was no personal appearance of the angel. When Divine visions were given, they are announced as such, in the sacred writings; nor can we with safety attribute any thing to a vision, where a Divine communication is made, unless it be specified as such in the text. Hail - Analogous to, Peace be to thee - May thou enjoy all possible blessings! Highly favored - As being chosen in preference to all the women upon earth, to be the mother of the Messiah. Not the mother of God, for that is blasphemy. The Lord is with thee - Thou art about to receive the most convincing proofs of God's peculiar favor towards thee. Blessed art thou among women - That is, thou art favored beyond all others.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 1:26-38

We have here an account of the mother of our Lord; though we are not to pray to her, yet we ought to praise God for her. Christ must be born miraculously. The angel's address means only, Hail, thou that art the especially chosen and favoured of the Most High, to attain the honour Jewish mothers have so long desired. This wondrous salutation and appearance troubled Mary. The angel then assured her that she had found…

Read the full comment on Luke 1:26-38 →

Luke 1:28 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ΚαὶKaiAndG2532
εἰσελθὼνeiselthōnhaving comeG1525
ἄγγελοςangelosangelG32
πρὸςprostoG4314
αὐτὴνautēnherG846
εἶπεν·eipenhe said;G2036
χαῖρε,chaireGreetings!G5463
κεχαριτωμένη·kecharitōmenēyou graciously favored;G5487
ὁhoTheG3588
κύριοςkuriosLord [is]G2962
μετὰmetawithG3326
σοῦsouyou.G4771
εὐλογημένηeulogēmenēblessed [are]G2127
σὺsuyou yourselfG4771
ἐνenamongG1722
γυναιξίν.gunaixinwomen.G1135

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Luke 1:28

  • Judges 6:12

    And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

  • Daniel 10:19

    And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

  • Luke 1:30

    And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

  • Ephesians 1:6

    To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

  • Daniel 9:21-23

    Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

  • Acts 18:10

    For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

  • Jeremiah 1:18-19

    For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

  • Luke 1:42

    And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

  • Luke 11:27-28

    And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

  • Proverbs 31:29-31

    Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

  • Isaiah 43:5

    Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;

  • Judges 5:24

    Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Hail.
Da 9:21-23; 10:19
highly favoured. or, graciously accepted, or much graced.
30; Ho 14:2; Eph 1:6
the Lord.
Jud 6:12; Isa 43:5; Jer 1:18,19; Ac 18:10
blessed.
42; 11:27,28; Jud 5:24; Pr 31:29-31; Mt 12:48

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Luke 1:27

    To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

  • Luke 1:28

    And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

  • Luke 1:29

    And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

Read all of Luke 1

Luke 1:28 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y entrando el ángel á donde estaba, dijo, ¡Salve, muy favorecida! el Señor es contigo: bendita tú entre las mujeres.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et l’ange étant entré auprès d’elle, dit: Je te salue, toi que Dieu fait jouir de sa faveur! Le ✶Seigneur est avec toi; tu es bénie entre les femmes.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und der Engel kam zu ihr hinein und sprach: Sei gegrüßt, Begnadigte! der Herr ist mit dir; gesegnet bist du unter den Weibern!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit: Ave gratia plena: Dominus tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus.