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 6:26

6:26 “Woe to you ⁵  when all people ⁶  speak well of you, for their ancestors ⁷  did the same things to the false prophets.

Luke 11:47-48

11:47 Woe to you! You build ⁸  the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors ⁹  killed. 11:48 So you testify that you approve of ¹⁰  the deeds of your ancestors, ¹¹  because they killed the prophets ¹²  and you build their ¹³  tombs! ¹⁴ 

[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).

[6:26]  ⁵ tc The wording “to you” (ὑμῖν, Jumin) is lacking throughout the ms tradition except for a few witnesses (D W* Δ 1424 pc co). The Western witnesses tend to add freely to the text. Supported by the vast majority of witnesses and the likelihood that “to you” is a clarifying addition, the shorter reading should be considered original; nevertheless, “to you” is included in the translation because of English requirements.

[6:26]  ⁶ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

[6:26]  ⁷ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[11:47]  ⁹ sn The effect of what the experts in the law were doing was to deny the message of the prophets and thus honor their death by supporting those who had sought their removal. The charge that this is what previous generations did shows the problem is chronic. As T. W. Manson said, the charge here is “The only prophet you honor is a dead prophet!” (The Sayings of Jesus, 101).

[11:47]  ¹⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[11:48]  ¹³ tn Grk “you are witnesses and approve of.”

[11:48]  ¹⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[11:48]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:48]  ¹⁶ tn “Their,” i.e., the prophets.

[11:48]  ¹⁷ 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.