1:55 as he promised 1 to our ancestors, 2 to Abraham and to his descendants 3 forever.”
1:72 He has done this 4 to show mercy 5 to our ancestors, 6
and to remember his holy covenant 7 –
1 tn Grk “as he spoke.” Since this is a reference to the covenant to Abraham, ἐλάλησεν (elalhsen) can be translated in context “as he promised.” God keeps his word.
2 tn Grk “fathers.”
3 tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).
4 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.
5 sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.
6 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.
7 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).
8 tn Grk “gave you circumcision.”
9 tn Grk “a man.” While the text literally reads “circumcise a man” in actual fact the practice of circumcising male infants on the eighth day after birth (see Phil 3:5) is primarily what is in view here.
10 tn Or “to our forefathers”; Grk “the fathers.”