Psalms 25:22

25:22 O God, rescue ¹  Israel

from all their distress! ² 

Psalms 130:8

130:8 He will deliver ³  Israel

from all the consequences of their sins. ⁴ 

Genesis 48:16

48:16 the Angel ⁵  who has protected me ⁶ 

from all harm –

bless these boys.

May my name be named in them, ⁷ 

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

Genesis 48:2

48:2 When Jacob was told, ⁸  “Your son Joseph has just ⁹  come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed.

Genesis 4:9

4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” ¹⁰  And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” ¹¹ 

Luke 1:68-75

1:68 “Blessed ¹²  be the Lord God of Israel,

because he has come to help ¹³  and has redeemed ¹⁴  his people.

1:69 For ¹⁵  he has raised up ¹⁶  a horn of salvation ¹⁷  for us in the house of his servant David, ¹⁸ 

1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, ¹⁹ 

1:71 that we should be saved ²⁰  from our enemies, ²¹ 

and from the hand of all who hate us.

1:72 He has done this ²²  to show mercy ²³  to our ancestors, ²⁴ 

and to remember his holy covenant ²⁵  –

1:73 the oath ²⁶  that he swore to our ancestor ²⁷  Abraham.

This oath grants ²⁸ 

1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our ²⁹  enemies,

may serve him without fear, ³⁰ 

1:75 in holiness and righteousness ³¹  before him for as long as we live. ³² 

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ³³  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ³⁴  who are eager to do good. ³⁵ 

[25:22]  ¹ tn Or “redeem.”

[25:22]  ² tn Heb “his distresses.”

[130:8]  ³ tn Or “redeem.”

[130:8]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew noun עָוֹן (’avon) can refer to sin, the guilt sin produces, or the consequences of sin. Only here is the noun collocated with the verb פָּדָה (padah, “to redeem; to deliver”). The psalmist may refer to forgiveness per se (v. 4), but the emphasis in this context is likely on deliverance from the national consequences of sin. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 192.

[48:16]  ⁵ sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.

[48:16]  ⁶ tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).

[48:16]  ⁷ tn Or “be recalled through them.”

[48:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and one told and said.” The verbs have no expressed subject and can be translated with the passive voice.

[48:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “Look, your son Joseph.”

[4:9]  ¹⁰ sn Where is Abel your brother? Again the Lord confronts a guilty sinner with a rhetorical question (see Gen 3:9-13), asking for an explanation of what has happened.

[4:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “The one guarding my brother [am] I?”

[1:68]  ¹² sn The traditional name of this psalm, the “Benedictus,” comes from the Latin wording of the start of the hymn (“Blessed be…”).

[1:68]  ¹³ sn The verb come to help can refer to a visit, but can also connote concern or assistance (L&N 85.11).

[1:68]  ¹⁴ tn Or “has delivered”; Grk “has accomplished redemption.”

[1:69]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.

[1:69]  ¹⁶ sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.

[1:69]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”

[1:71]  ²⁰ tn Grk “from long ago, salvation.”

[1:71]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.

[1:73]  ²⁷ tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”

[1:73]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.

[1:75]  ³¹ 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]  ³² tn Grk “all our days.”

[2:14]  ³³ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ³⁴ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ³⁵ tn Grk “for good works.”