Discovery BoxLuke 1:11-17 
Context1:11 An 1 angel of the Lord, 2 standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared 3 to him. 1:12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, 4 was seized with fear. 5 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, 6 and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you 7 will name him John. 8 1:14 Joy and gladness will come 9 to you, and many will rejoice at 10 his birth, 11 1:15 for he will be great in the sight of 12 the Lord. He 13 must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 14 1:16 He 15 will turn 16 many of the people 17 of Israel to the Lord their God. 1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord 18 in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, 19 to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”
Luke 1:67-80
Context1:67 Then 20 his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, 21
1:68 “Blessed 22 be the Lord God of Israel,
because he has come to help 23 and has redeemed 24 his people.
1:69 For 25 he has raised up 26 a horn of salvation 27 for us in the house of his servant David, 28
1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, 29
1:71 that we should be saved 30 from our enemies, 31
and from the hand of all who hate us.
1:72 He has done this 32 to show mercy 33 to our ancestors, 34
and to remember his holy covenant 35 –
1:73 the oath 36 that he swore to our ancestor 37 Abraham.
This oath grants 38
1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our 39 enemies,
may serve him without fear, 40
1:75 in holiness and righteousness 41 before him for as long as we live. 42
1:76 And you, child, 43 will be called the prophet 44 of the Most High. 45
For you will go before 46 the Lord to prepare his ways, 47
1:77 to give his people knowledge of salvation 48 through the forgiveness 49 of their sins.
1:78 Because of 50 our God’s tender mercy 51
the dawn 52 will break 53 upon us from on high
1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, 54
to guide our feet into the way 55 of peace.”
1:80 And the child kept growing 56 and becoming strong 57 in spirit, and he was in the wilderness 58 until the day he was revealed 59 to Israel.
1 tn Grk “And an angel.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.
2 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.
3 sn This term is often used to describe a supernatural appearance (24:34; Acts 2:3; 7:2, 30, 35; 9:17; 13:31; 16:9; 26:16).
4 tn The words “the angel” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
5 tn Or “and he was afraid”; Grk “fear fell upon him.” Fear is common when supernatural agents appear (1:29-30, 65; 2:9; 5:8-10; 9:34; 24:38; Exod 15:16; Judg 6:22-23; 13:6, 22; 2 Sam 6:9).
6 tn The passive means that the prayer was heard by God.
sn Your prayer has been heard. Zechariah’s prayer while offering the sacrifice would have been for the nation, but the answer to the prayer also gave them a long hoped-for child, a hope they had abandoned because of their old age.
7 tn Grk “a son, and you”; καί (kai) has not been translated. Instead a semicolon is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Grk “you will call his name John.” The future tense here functions like a command (see ExSyn 569-70). This same construction occurs in v. 31.
sn “Do not be afraid…you must call his name John.” This is a standard birth announcement (see Gen 16:11; Isa 7:14; Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31).
9 tn Grk “This will be joy and gladness.”
10 tn Or “because of.”
11 tn “At his birth” is more precise as the grammatical subject (1:58), though “at his coming” is a possible force, since it is his mission, as the following verses note, that will really bring joy.
12 tn Grk “before.”
13 tn Grk “and he”; because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun in the translation.
14 tn Grk “even from his mother’s womb.” While this idiom may be understood to refer to the point of birth (“even from his birth”), Luke 1:41 suggests that here it should be understood to refer to a time before birth.
sn He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. This is the language of the birth of a prophet (Judg 13:5, 7; Isa 49:1; Jer 1:5; Sir 49:7); see 1:41 for the first fulfillment.
15 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
16 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).
17 tn Grk “sons”; but clearly this is a generic reference to people of both genders.
18 tn Grk “before him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 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.
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
21 tn Grk “and he prophesied, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
sn Prophesied. The reference to prophecy reflects that Zechariah is enabled by the Spirit to speak God’s will. He does so in this case through a praise psalm, which calls for praise and then gives the reason why God should be praised.
22 sn The traditional name of this psalm, the “Benedictus,” comes from the Latin wording of the start of the hymn (“Blessed be…”).
23 sn The verb come to help can refer to a visit, but can also connote concern or assistance (L&N 85.11).
24 tn Or “has delivered”; Grk “has accomplished redemption.”
sn Has redeemed is a reference to redemption, but it anticipates the total release into salvation that the full work of Messiah will bring for Israel. This involves both spiritual and material benefits eventually.
25 tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.
26 sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.
27 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.”
28 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.
29 tn Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”
30 tn Grk “from long ago, salvation.”
31 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.
32 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.
33 sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.
34 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.
35 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).
36 tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.
37 tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”
38 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.
39 tc Many important early
40 tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.
41 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.
42 tn Grk “all our days.”
43 sn Now Zechariah describes his son John (you, child) through v. 77.
44 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.”
45 sn In other words, John is a prophet of God; see 1:32 and 7:22-23, 28.
46 tc Most
47 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.
48 sn John’s role, to give his people knowledge of salvation, is similar to that of Jesus (Luke 3:1-14; 5:31-32).
49 sn Forgiveness is another major Lukan theme (Luke 4:18; 24:47; Acts 10:37).
50 tn For reasons of style, a new sentence has been started in the translation at this point. God’s mercy is ultimately seen in the deliverance John points to, so v. 78a is placed with the reference to Jesus as the light of dawning day.
51 sn God’s loyal love (steadfast love) is again the topic, reflected in the phrase tender mercy; see Luke 1:72.
52 sn The Greek term translated dawn (ἀνατολή, anatolh) can be a reference to the morning star or to the sun. The Messiah is pictured as a saving light that shows the way. The Greek term was also used to translate the Hebrew word for “branch” or “sprout,” so some see a double entendre here with messianic overtones (see Isa 11:1-10; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12).
53 tn Grk “shall visit us.”
54 sn On the phrases who sit in darkness…and…death see Isa 9:1-2; 42:7; 49:9-10.
55 tn Or “the path.”
56 tn This verb is imperfect.
57 tn This verb is also imperfect.
58 tn Or “desert.”
59 tn Grk “until the day of his revealing.”
