Luke 1:68

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

because he has come to help ²  and has redeemed ³  his people.

Luke 1:78

1:78 Because of ⁴  our God’s tender mercy ⁵ 

the dawn ⁶  will break ⁷  upon us from on high

[1:68]  ¹ sn The traditional name of this psalm, the “Benedictus,” comes from the Latin wording of the start of the hymn (“Blessed be…”).

[1:68]  ² sn The verb come to help can refer to a visit, but can also connote concern or assistance (L&N 85.11).

[1:68]  ³ tn Or “has delivered”; Grk “has accomplished redemption.”

[1:78]  ⁴ tn 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.

[1:78]  ⁵ sn God’s loyal love (steadfast love) is again the topic, reflected in the phrase tender mercy; see Luke 1:72.

[1:78]  ⁶ sn The Greek term translated dawn (ἀνατολή, anatolh) 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).

[1:78]  ⁷ tn Grk “shall visit us.”