Luke 1:32

1:32 He ¹  will be great, ²  and will be called the Son of the Most High, ³  and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father ⁴  David.

Luke 1:69

1:69 For ⁵  he has raised up ⁶  a horn of salvation ⁷  for us in the house of his servant David, ⁸ 

[1:32]  ¹ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:32]  ² sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.

[1:32]  ³ sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[1:32]  ⁴ tn Or “ancestor.”

[1:69]  ⁵ tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.

[1:69]  ⁶ sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.

[1:69]  ⁷ 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.”

[1:69]  ⁸ 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.