Discovery BoxLuke 1:54-55 
Context1:54 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 1:72-73
Context1:72 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 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.
