15:13 By your loyal love you will lead 1 the people whom 2 you have redeemed;
you will guide 3 them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.
23:10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone,
or take over 4 the fields of the fatherless,
23:11 for their Protector 5 is strong;
he will plead their case against you. 6
63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 7
The messenger sent from his very presence 8 delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected 9 them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 10
1:68 “Blessed 11 be the Lord God of Israel,
because he has come to help 12 and has redeemed 13 his people.
1:69 For 14 he has raised up 15 a horn of salvation 16 for us in the house of his servant David, 17
1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, 18
1:71 that we should be saved 19 from our enemies, 20
and from the hand of all who hate us.
1:72 He has done this 21 to show mercy 22 to our ancestors, 23
and to remember his holy covenant 24 –
1:73 the oath 25 that he swore to our ancestor 26 Abraham.
This oath grants 27
1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our 28 enemies,
may serve him without fear, 29
1 tn The verbs in the next two verses are perfect tenses, but can be interpreted as a prophetic perfect, looking to the future.
2 tn The particle זוּ (zu) is a relative pronoun, subordinating the next verb to the preceding.
3 tn This verb seems to mean “to guide to a watering-place” (See Ps 23:2).
4 tn Or “encroach on” (NIV, NRSV); Heb “go into.”
5 tn The participle גֹּאֵל (go’el) describes a “kinsman redeemer.” Some English versions explicitly cite “God” (e.g., NCV, CEV) or “the Lord” (e.g. TEV).
6 sn This is the tenth saying; once again there is a warning not to encroach on other people’s rights and property, especially the defenseless (see v. 10; 22:22-23, 28).
7 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
8 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”
9 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
10 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
11 sn The traditional name of this psalm, the “Benedictus,” comes from the Latin wording of the start of the hymn (“Blessed be…”).
12 sn The verb come to help can refer to a visit, but can also connote concern or assistance (L&N 85.11).
13 tn Or “has delivered”; Grk “has accomplished redemption.”
14 tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.
15 sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.
16 sn 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.”
17 sn 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.
18 tn Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”
19 tn Grk “from long ago, salvation.”
20 sn 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.
21 tn 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.
22 sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.
23 tn Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.
24 sn 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).
25 tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.
26 tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”
27 tn 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.
28 tc Many important early
29 tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.
30 tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).
31 tn Or “a people who are his very own.”
32 tn Grk “for good works.”