Lukas 1:68-79
Konteks1:68 “Blessed 1 be the Lord God of Israel,
because he has come to help 2 and has redeemed 3 his people.
1:69 For 4 he has raised up 5 a horn of salvation 6 for us in the house of his servant David, 7
1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, 8
1:71 that we should be saved 9 from our enemies, 10
and from the hand of all who hate us.
1:72 He has done this 11 to show mercy 12 to our ancestors, 13
and to remember his holy covenant 14 –
1:73 the oath 15 that he swore to our ancestor 16 Abraham.
This oath grants 17
1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our 18 enemies,
may serve him without fear, 19
1:75 in holiness and righteousness 20 before him for as long as we live. 21
1:76 And you, child, 22 will be called the prophet 23 of the Most High. 24
For you will go before 25 the Lord to prepare his ways, 26
1:77 to give his people knowledge of salvation 27 through the forgiveness 28 of their sins.
1:78 Because of 29 our God’s tender mercy 30
the dawn 31 will break 32 upon us from on high
1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, 33
to guide our feet into the way 34 of peace.”
Lukas 2:29-32
Konteks2:29 “Now, according to your word, 35 Sovereign Lord, 36 permit 37 your servant 38 to depart 39 in peace.
2:30 For my eyes have seen your salvation 40
2:31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: 41
for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory 43 to your people Israel.”
Lukas 1:46-55
Konteks“My soul exalts 46 the Lord, 47
1:47 and my spirit has begun to rejoice 48 in God my Savior,
1:48 because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant. 49
For 50 from now on 51 all generations will call me blessed, 52
1:49 because he who is mighty 53 has done great things for me, and holy is his name;
1:50 from 54 generation to generation he is merciful 55 to those who fear 56 him.
1:51 He has demonstrated power 57 with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance 58 of their hearts.
1:52 He has brought down the mighty 59 from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; 60
1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, 61 and has sent the rich away empty. 62
1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering 63 his mercy, 64
1:55 as he promised 65 to our ancestors, 66 to Abraham and to his descendants 67 forever.”
[1:68] 1 sn The traditional name of this psalm, the “Benedictus,” comes from the Latin wording of the start of the hymn (“Blessed be…”).
[1:68] 2 sn The verb come to help can refer to a visit, but can also connote concern or assistance (L&N 85.11).
[1:68] 3 tn Or “has delivered”; Grk “has accomplished redemption.”
[1:68] 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.
[1:69] 4 tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.
[1:69] 5 sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.
[1:69] 6 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.”
[1:69] 7 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.
[1:70] 8 tn Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”
[1:71] 9 tn Grk “from long ago, salvation.”
[1:71] 10 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.
[1:72] 11 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.
[1:72] 12 sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.
[1:72] 13 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.
[1:72] 14 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).
[1:73] 15 tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.
[1:73] 16 tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”
[1:73] 17 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.
[1:74] 18 tc Many important early
[1:74] 19 tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.
[1:75] 20 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.
[1:75] 21 tn Grk “all our days.”
[1:76] 22 sn Now Zechariah describes his son John (you, child) through v. 77.
[1:76] 23 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.”
[1:76] 24 sn In other words, John is a prophet of God; see 1:32 and 7:22-23, 28.
[1:76] 25 tc Most
[1:76] 26 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.
[1:76] sn On the phrase prepare his ways see Isa 40:3-5 and Luke 3:1-6.
[1:77] 27 sn John’s role, to give his people knowledge of salvation, is similar to that of Jesus (Luke 3:1-14; 5:31-32).
[1:77] 28 sn Forgiveness is another major Lukan theme (Luke 4:18; 24:47; Acts 10:37).
[1:78] 29 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.
[1:78] 30 sn God’s loyal love (steadfast love) is again the topic, reflected in the phrase tender mercy; see Luke 1:72.
[1:78] 31 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).
[1:78] 32 tn Grk “shall visit us.”
[1:79] 33 sn On the phrases who sit in darkness…and…death see Isa 9:1-2; 42:7; 49:9-10.
[2:29] 35 sn The phrase according to your word again emphasizes that God will perform his promise.
[2:29] 36 tn The Greek word translated here by “Sovereign Lord” is δεσπότης (despoth").
[2:29] 37 sn This short prophetic declaration is sometimes called the Nunc dimittis, which comes from the opening phrase of the saying in Latin, “now dismiss,” a fairly literal translation of the Greek verb ἀπολύεις (apolueis, “now release”) in this verse.
[2:29] 38 tn Here the Greek word δοῦλος (doulos, “slave”) has been translated “servant” since it acts almost as an honorific term for one specially chosen and appointed to carry out the Lord’s tasks.
[2:29] sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”
[2:29] 39 tn Grk “now release your servant.”
[2:30] 40 sn To see Jesus, the Messiah, is to see God’s salvation.
[2:31] 41 sn Is the phrase all peoples a reference to Israel alone, or to both Israel and the Gentiles? The following verse makes it clear that all peoples includes Gentiles, another key Lukan emphasis (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:34-43).
[2:32] 42 tn The syntax of this verse is disputed. Most read “light” and “glory” in parallelism, so Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and is glory to the people for Israel. Others see “light” (1:78-79) as a summary, while “revelation” and “glory” are parallel, so Jesus is light for all, but is revelation for the Gentiles and glory for Israel. Both readings make good sense and either could be correct, but Luke 1:78-79 and Acts 26:22-23 slightly favor this second option.
[2:32] 43 sn In other words, Jesus is a special cause for praise and honor (“glory”) for the nation.
[1:46] 44 tc A few witnesses, especially Latin
[1:46] 45 sn The following passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.
[1:46] 46 tn Or “lifts up the Lord in praise.”
[1:46] 47 sn This psalm (vv. 46-55) is one of the few praise psalms in the NT. Mary praises God and then tells why both in terms of his care for her (vv. 46-49) and for others, including Israel (vv. 50-55). Its traditional name, the “Magnificat,” comes from the Latin for the phrase My soul magnifies the Lord at the hymn’s start.
[1:47] 48 tn Or “rejoices.” The translation renders this aorist, which stands in contrast to the previous line’s present tense, as ingressive, which highlights Mary’s joyous reaction to the announcement. A comprehensive aorist is also possible here.
[1:48] 49 tn See the note on the word “servant” in v. 38.
[1:48] 50 tn Grk “for behold.”
[1:48] 51 sn From now on is a favorite phrase of Luke’s, showing how God’s acts change things from this point on (5:10; 12:52; 22:18, 69; Acts 18:6).
[1:48] 52 sn Mary is seen here as an example of an object of God’s grace (blessed) for all generations.
[1:49] 53 tn Traditionally, “the Mighty One.”
[1:50] 54 tn Grk “and from.” Here καί (kai) has been translated by a semicolon to improve the English style.
[1:50] 55 sn God’s mercy refers to his “loyal love” or “steadfast love,” expressed in faithful actions, as the rest of the psalm illustrates.
[1:50] 56 tn That is, “who revere.” This refers to those who show God a reverential respect for his sovereignty.
[1:51] 57 tn Or “shown strength,” “performed powerful deeds.” The verbs here switch to aorist tense through 1:55. This is how God will act in general for his people as they look to his ultimate deliverance.
[1:51] 58 tn Grk “in the imaginations of their hearts.” The psalm rebukes the arrogance of the proud, who think that power is their sovereign right. Here διανοίᾳ (dianoia) can be understood as a dative of sphere or reference/respect.
[1:52] 60 tn Or “those of humble position”
[1:52] sn The contrast between the mighty and those of lowly position is fundamental for Luke. God cares for those that the powerful ignore (Luke 4:18-19).
[1:53] 61 sn Good things refers not merely to material blessings, but blessings that come from knowing God.
[1:53] 62 sn Another fundamental contrast of Luke’s is between the hungry and the rich (Luke 6:20-26).
[1:54] 63 tn Or “because he remembered mercy,” understanding the infinitive as causal.
[1:54] 64 tn Or “his [God’s] loyal love.”
[1:55] 65 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.
[1:55] 67 tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).
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