1:69 For 12 he has raised up 13 a horn of salvation 14 for us in the house of his servant David, 15
1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, 16
1 tn Grk “And behold.”
2 tn Grk “you will conceive in your womb.”
3 tn Or “and bear.”
4 tn Grk “you will call his name.”
5 tn See v. 13 for a similar construction.
sn You will name him Jesus. This verse reflects the birth announcement of a major figure; see 1:13; Gen 16:7; Judg 13:5; Isa 7:14. The Greek form of the name Ihsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.
6 tn Grk “this one.”
7 sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.
8 sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.
9 tn Or “ancestor.”
10 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. A new sentence is begun here in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek.
11 tn Or “over Israel.”
sn The expression house of Jacob refers to Israel. This points to the Messiah’s relationship to the people of Israel.
12 tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.
13 sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.
14 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.”
15 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.
16 tn Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”