| BEFORE Luke 1:28, 42 DRV | AFTER Luke 1:28, 42 KJV |
| 28 And the angel being come in, said unto her[Mary]: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 42 And she[Elizabeth] cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. | 28 “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! |
Why is this change important?
Every time a Catholic prays a “Hail Mary”, he or she is quoting scripture and fulfilling Mary’s prophesy “for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed”. The meaning of “full of grace” is a far cry from “highly favored” and it subtly undermines the belief of all Christians going back to the moment of the Angelic Salutation. Replacing “fruit of thy womb” with “child you will bear” is another subtle way to create a disconnect between generations before and after the KJV re-interpretation.
Additional Notes
To God, through the Angel Gabriel, Mary’s name is “full of grace”. It was St Peter Canisius (1521 – 1597) who popularized the second part to the Hail Mary (during the chaos of the 1500s): “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Later this text was stated explicitly in the Roman Breviary in ~1570. As a side note, this was another affirmation of the communion of saints. The Holy Saints and Angels, especially Mary, can be our advocates and helpers and they can plead our cause with God.