Luke 1:72

1:72 He has done this ¹  to show mercy ²  to our ancestors, ³ 

and to remember his holy covenant ⁴  –

Luke 1:17

1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord ⁵  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ⁶  to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

Luke 11:48

11:48 So you testify that you approve of ⁷  the deeds of your ancestors, ⁸  because they killed the prophets ⁹  and you build their ¹⁰  tombs! ¹¹ 

[1:72]  ¹ 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]  ² sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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).

[1:17]  ⁵ tn Grk “before him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ⁶ sn These two lines cover all relationships: Turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children points to horizontal relationships, while (turn) the disobedient to the wisdom of the just shows what God gives from above in a vertical manner.

[11:48]  ⁹ tn Grk “you are witnesses and approve of.”

[11:48]  ¹⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[11:48]  ¹¹ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:48]  ¹² tn “Their,” i.e., the prophets.

[11:48]  ¹³ tc The majority of mss list a specific object (“their tombs”), filling out the sentence (although there are two different words for “tombs” among the mss, as well as different word orders: αὐτῶν τὰ μνημεῖα (autwn ta mnhmeia; found in A C W Θ Ψ 33 Ï) and τοὺς τάφους αὐτῶν (tou" tafou" autwn; found in Ë^1,[13] 2542 pc). This suggests that early copyists had no term in front of them but felt the verb needed an object. But since a wide distribution of early Alexandrian and Western mss lack these words (Ì⁷⁵ א B D L 579 1241 it sa), it is likely that they were not part of the original text of Luke. Nevertheless, the words “their tombs” are inserted in the translation because of requirements of English style.