Discovery BoxLuke 1:70-74 
Context1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, 1
1:71 that we should be saved 2 from our enemies, 3
and from the hand of all who hate us.
1:72 He has done this 4 to show mercy 5 to our ancestors, 6
and to remember his holy covenant 7 –
1:73 the oath 8 that he swore to our ancestor 9 Abraham.
This oath grants 10
1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our 11 enemies,
may serve him without fear, 12
1 tn Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”
2 tn Grk “from long ago, salvation.”
3 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.
4 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.
5 sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.
6 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.
7 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).
8 tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.
9 tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”
10 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.
11 tc Many important early
12 tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.
