1:76 And you, child, 6 will be called the prophet 7 of the Most High. 8
For you will go before 9 the Lord to prepare his ways, 10
1 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 sn The word translated will turn is a good summary term for repentance and denotes John’s call to a change of direction (Luke 3:1-14).
3 tn Grk “sons”; but clearly this is a generic reference to people of both genders.
4 tn Grk “before him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 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.
6 sn Now Zechariah describes his son John (you, child) through v. 77.
7 tn Or “a prophet”; but since Greek nouns can be definite without the article, and since in context this is a reference to the eschatological forerunner of the Messiah (cf. John 1:17), the concept is better conveyed to the English reader by the use of the definite article “the.”
8 sn In other words, John is a prophet of God; see 1:32 and 7:22-23, 28.
9 tc Most
10 tn This term is often translated in the singular, looking specifically to the forerunner role, but the plural suggests the many elements in that salvation.
sn On the phrase prepare his ways see Isa 40:3-5 and Luke 3:1-6.