Luke 1:55

1:55 as he promised ¹  to our ancestors, ²  to Abraham and to his descendants ³  forever.”

Luke 1:72

1:72 He has done this ⁴  to show mercy ⁵  to our ancestors, ⁶ 

and to remember his holy covenant ⁷  –

[1:55]  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.

[1:55]  ² tn Grk “fathers.”

[1:55]  ³ tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).

[1:72]  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.

[1:72]  ⁵ sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  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.

[1:72]  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).