Logos Bible Study

Luke 1:68–79

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1:68“Blessed208 be the Lord God of Israel,

because he has come to help209 and has redeemed210 his people.

1:69For211 he has raised up212 a horn of salvation213 for us in the house of his servant David,214

1:70as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago,215

1:71that we should be saved216 from our enemies,217

and from the hand of all who hate us.

1:72He has done this218 to show mercy219 to our ancestors,220

and to remember his holy covenant221—

1:73the oath222 that he swore to our ancestor223 Abraham.

This oath grants224

1:74that we, being rescued from the hand of our225 enemies,

may serve him without fear,226

1:75in holiness and righteousness227 before him for as long as we live.228

1:76And you, child,229 will be called the prophet230 of the Most High.231

For you will go before232 the Lord to prepare his ways,233

1:77to give his people knowledge of salvation234 through the forgiveness235 of their sins.

1:78Because of236 our God’s tender mercy237

the dawn238 will break239 upon us from on high

1:79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,240

to guide our feet into the way241 of peace.”

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Footnotes

  1. 208 The traditional name of this psalm, the “Benedictus,” comes from the Latin wording of the start of the hymn (“Blessed be …”).
  2. 209 The verb come to help can refer to a visit, but can also connote concern or assistance (L&N 85.11).
  3. 210 Or “has delivered”; Grk “has accomplished redemption.” Has redeemed is a reference to redemption, but it anticipates the total release into salvation that the full work of Messiah will bring for Israel. This involves both spiritual and material benefits eventually.
  4. 211 Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.
  5. 212 The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.
  6. 213 The horn of salvation is a figure that refers to the power of Messiah and his ability to protect, as the horn refers to what an animal uses to attack and defend (Ps 75:4–5, 10; 148:14; 2 Sam 22:3). Thus the meaning of the figure is “a powerful savior.”
  7. 214 In the house of his servant David is a reference to Messiah’s Davidic descent. Zechariah is more interested in Jesus than his own son John at this point.
  8. 215 Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”
  9. 216 Grk “from long ago, salvation.”
  10. 217 The theme of being saved from our enemies is like the release Jesus preached in Luke 4:18–19. Luke’s narrative shows that one of the enemies in view is Satan and his cohorts, with the grip they have on humanity.
  11. 218 The words “He has done this” (referring to the raising up of the horn of salvation from David’s house) are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to allow a new sentence to be started in the translation. The Greek sentence is lengthy and complex at this point, while contemporary English uses much shorter sentences.
  12. 219 Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.
  13. 220 Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.
  14. 221 The promises of God can be summarized as being found in the one promise (the oath that he swore) to Abraham (Gen 12:1–3).
  15. 222 This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.
  16. 223 Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”
  17. 224 Again for reasons of English style, the infinitival clause “to grant us” has been translated “This oath grants” and made the beginning of a new sentence in the translation.
  18. 225 Many important early (א B L W [0130] f1, 13 565 892 ) lack “our,” while most (A C D [K] Θ Ψ 0177 33 𝔐 ) supply it. Although the addition is most likely not authentic, “our” has been included in the translation due to English stylistic requirements.
  19. 226 This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.
  20. 227 The phrases that we … might serve him … in holiness and righteousness from Luke 1:74–75 well summarize a basic goal for a believer in the eyes of Luke. Salvation frees us up to serve God without fear through a life full of ethical integrity.
  21. 228 Grk “all our days.”
  22. 229 Now Zechariah describes his son John (you, child) through v. 77.
  23. 230 Or “a prophet”; but since Greek nouns can be definite without the article, and since in context this is a reference to the eschatological forerunner of the Messiah (cf. John 1:17), the concept is better conveyed to the English reader by the use of the definite article “the.”
  24. 231 In other words, John is a prophet of God; see 1:32 and 7:22–23, 28.
  25. 232 Most , especially the later ones (A C D L Θ Ψ 0130 f1, 13 33 𝔐 sy), have πρὸ προσώπου κυρίου (pro prosōpou kuriou, “before the face of the Lord”), but the translation follows the reading ἐνώπιον κυρίου (enōpion kuriou, “before the Lord”), which has earlier and better support (𝔓4 א B W 0177 ) and is thus more likely to be authentic.
  26. 233 This term is often translated in the singular, looking specifically to the forerunner role, but the plural suggests the many elements in that salvation. On the phrase prepare his ways see Isa 40:3–5 and Luke 3:1–6.
  27. 234 John’s role, to give his people knowledge of salvation, is similar to that of Jesus (Luke 3:1–14; 5:31–32).
  28. 235 Forgiveness is another major Lukan theme (Luke 4:18; 24:47; Acts 10:37).
  29. 236 For reasons of style, a new sentence has been started in the translation at this point. God’s mercy is ultimately seen in the deliverance John points to, so v. 78a is placed with the reference to Jesus as the light of dawning day.
  30. 237 God’s loyal love (steadfast love) is again the topic, reflected in the phrase tender mercy; see Luke 1:72.
  31. 238 The Greek term translated dawn (ἀνατολή, anatolē) can be a reference to the morning star or to the sun. The Messiah is pictured as a saving light that shows the way. The Greek term was also used to translate the Hebrew word for “branch” or “sprout,” so some see a double entendre here with messianic overtones (see Isa 11:1–10; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12).
  32. 239 Grk “shall visit us.”
  33. 240 On the phrases who sit in darkness … and … death see Isa 9:1–2; 42:7; 49:9–10.
  34. 241 Or “the path.”

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has visited and redeemed his people

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

that we should be saved from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us;

to show the mercy promised to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David

(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us—

to show mercy to our ancestors

and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

and to enable us to serve him without fear

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

to shine on those living in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has visited

and provided redemption for his people.

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David,

just as he spoke by the mouth

of his holy prophets in ancient times;

salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of those who hate us.

He has dealt mercifully with our ancestors

and remembered his holy covenant—

the oath that he swore to our father Abraham.

He has given us the privilege,

since we have been rescued

from the hand of our enemies,

to serve him without fear

in holiness and righteousness

in his presence all our days.

And you, child, will be called

a prophet of the Most High,

for you will go before the Lord

to prepare his ways,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins.

Because of our God’s merciful compassion,

the dawn from on high will visit us

to shine on those who live in darkness

and the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has visited and redeemed his people.

He has sent us a mighty Savior

from the royal line of his servant David,

just as he promised

through his holy prophets long ago.

Now we will be saved from our enemies

and from all who hate us.

He has been merciful to our ancestors

by remembering his sacred covenant—

the covenant he swore with an oath

to our ancestor Abraham.

We have been rescued from our enemies

so we can serve God without fear,

in holiness and righteousness

for as long as we live.

“And you, my little son,

will be called the prophet of the Most High,

because you will prepare the way for the Lord.

You will tell his people how to find salvation

through forgiveness of their sins.

Because of God’s tender mercy,

the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has visited to help and has redeemed his people,

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David,

just as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times—

salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all those who hate us,

to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath that he swore to Abraham our father,

to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,

could serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness

before him all our days.

And so you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

by the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the merciful compassion of our God

by which the dawn will visit to help us from on high,

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to direct our feet into the way of peace.”

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;

For he hath visited and redeemed his people,

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us

In the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets,

Which have been since the world began:

That we should be saved from our enemies,

And from the hand of all that hate us;

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers,

And to remember his holy covenant;

The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies

Might serve him without fear,

In holiness and righteousness before him,

All the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest:

For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord

To prepare his ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people

By the remission of their sins,

Through the tender mercy of our God;

Whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

To guide our feet into the way of peace.

Public Domain