Luke 1:28

And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee.

Thou art highly favored ... In the Vulgate, these words are "gratia plena" as found in the opening phrase of the famed "Ave Maria." Plummer noted that this is wrong if it means "full of grace which thou hast to bestow," and right only if it is understood as "full of grace which thou hast received."[23] Thus, the Vulgate is inaccurate, as Spence said:

The "plena gratia" of the Vulgate, said and sung so often in the virgin's famous hymn, is an inaccurate rendering. Rather, "gratia cumulata," as it has been well rendered. "Having been much graced (by God)" is the literal translation of the Greek word.Luke 1, p. 8.">[24]

[23] Herschel H. Hobbs, op. cit., p. 34.

Luke 1, p. 8.">[24] H. D. M. Spence, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962), Vol. 16, Luke 1, p. 8.