Luke 1:54-55

1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering ¹  his mercy, ² 

1:55 as he promised ³  to our ancestors, ⁴  to Abraham and to his descendants ⁵  forever.”

Luke 1:72-75

1:72 He has done this ⁶  to show mercy ⁷  to our ancestors, ⁸ 

and to remember his holy covenant ⁹  –

1:73 the oath ¹⁰  that he swore to our ancestor ¹¹  Abraham.

This oath grants ¹² 

1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our ¹³  enemies,

may serve him without fear, ¹⁴ 

1:75 in holiness and righteousness ¹⁵  before him for as long as we live. ¹⁶ 

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¹ tn Or “because he remembered mercy,” understanding the infinitive as causal.

² tn Or “his [God’s] loyal love.”

³ tn Grk “as he spoke.” Since this is a reference to the covenant to Abraham, ἐλάλησεν (elalhsen) can be translated in context “as he promised.” God keeps his word.

⁴ tn Grk “fathers.”

⁵ tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).

⁶ 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.

⁷ sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

⁸ 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.

⁹ 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).

¹⁰ tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.

¹¹ tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”

¹² 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.

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.

¹⁵ 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.

¹⁶ tn Grk “all our days.”