Luke 1:69-75

1:69 For ¹  he has raised up ²  a horn of salvation ³  for us in the house of his servant David, ⁴ 

1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, ⁵ 

1:71 that we should be saved ⁶  from our enemies, ⁷ 

and from the hand of all who hate us.

1:72 He has done this ⁸  to show mercy ⁹  to our ancestors, ¹⁰ 

and to remember his holy covenant ¹¹  –

1:73 the oath ¹²  that he swore to our ancestor ¹³  Abraham.

This oath grants ¹⁴ 

1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our ¹⁵  enemies,

may serve him without fear, ¹⁶ 

1:75 in holiness and righteousness ¹⁷  before him for as long as we live. ¹⁸ 

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

[1:69]  ² sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.

[1:69]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[1:70]  ⁵ tn Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”

[1:71]  ⁶ tn Grk “from long ago, salvation.”

[1:71]  ⁷ 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.

[1:72]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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).

[1:73]  ¹² tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.

[1:73]  ¹³ tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”

[1:73]  ¹⁴ 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.

[1:74]  ¹⁵ tc Many important early mss (א B L W [0130] Ë^1,13 565 892 pc) lack “our,” while most (A C D [K] Θ Ψ 0177 33 Ï pc) supply it. Although the addition is most likely not authentic, “our” has been included in the translation due to English stylistic requirements.

[1:74]  ¹⁶ tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.

[1:75]  ¹⁷ sn The phrases that we…might serve him…in holiness and righteousness from Luke 1:74-75 well summarize a basic goal for a believer in the eyes of Luke. Salvation frees us up to serve God without fear through a life full of ethical integrity.

[1:75]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “all our days.”