1:68 “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
1:73 the oath 8 that he swore to our ancestor 9 Abraham.
This oath grants 10
2:14 “Glory 15 to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among people 16 with whom he is pleased!” 17
6:24 “But woe 18 to you who are rich, for you have received 19 your comfort 20 already.
1 sn The traditional name of this psalm, the “Benedictus,” comes from the Latin wording of the start of the hymn (“Blessed be…”).
2 sn The verb come to help can refer to a visit, but can also connote concern or assistance (L&N 85.11).
3 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.
4 tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.
5 sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.
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.”
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.
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 sn The Greek word for today (σήμερον, shmeron) occurs eleven times in the Gospel of Luke (2:11; 4:21; 5:26; 12:28; 13:32-33; 19:5, 9; 22:34, 61; 23:43) and nine times in Acts. Its use, especially in passages such as 2:11, 4:21, 5:26; 19:5, 9, signifies the dawning of the era of messianic salvation and the fulfillment of the plan of God. Not only does it underscore the idea of present fulfillment in Jesus’ ministry, but it also indicates salvific fulfillment present in the church (cf. Acts 1:6; 3:18; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:412; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 873).
12 tn Or “town.” See the note on “city” in v. 4.
13 tn This is another indication of a royal, messianic connection.
14 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
sn The term χριστός (cristos) was originally an adjective (“anointed”), developing in LXX into a substantive (“an anointed one”), then developing still further into a technical generic term (“the anointed one”). In the intertestamental period it developed further into a technical term referring to the hoped-for anointed one, that is, a specific individual. In the NT the development starts there (technical-specific), is so used in the gospels, and then develops in Paul to mean virtually Jesus’ last name.
15 sn Glory here refers to giving honor to God.
16 tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") referring to both males and females.
17 tc Most witnesses (א2 B2 L Θ Ξ Ψ Ë1,13 Ï sy bo) have ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία (en anqrwpoi" eudokia, “good will among people”) instead of ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκίας (en anqrwpoi" eudokia", “among people with whom he is pleased”), a reading attested by א* A B* D W pc (sa). Most of the Itala witnesses and some other versional witnesses reflect a Greek text which has the genitive εὐδοκίας but drops the preposition ἐν. Not only is the genitive reading better attested, but it is more difficult than the nominative. “The meaning seems to be, not that divine peace can be bestowed only where human good will is already present, but that at the birth of the Saviour God’s peace rests on those whom he has chosen in accord with his good pleasure” (TCGNT 111).
18 sn Jesus promises condemnation (woe) to those who are callous of others, looking only to their own comforts. On Luke and the rich see 1:53; 12:16; 14:12; 16:1, 21-22; 18:23; 19:2; 21:1. These woes are unique to Luke.
19 sn Ironically the language of reward shows that what the rich have received is all they will get. This result looks at a current situation, just as the start of the beatitudes did. The rest of the conclusions to the woes look to the future at the time of judgment.
20 tn Grk “your consolation.”
21 tn Grk “Behold I.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
22 sn On the imagery of lambs see Isa 40:11, Ezek 34:11-31, and John 10:1-18.
23 sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism as well; see Pss. Sol. 8:23.
24 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply in vv. 18-20 follows from the positive report of the messengers in v. 17.
25 tn This is an imperfect tense verb.
26 tn In Greek, this is a participle and comes at the end of the verse, making it somewhat emphatic.
27 tn This is probably best taken as allusion to Isa 14:12; the phrase in common is ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (ek tou ouranou). These exorcisms in Jesus’ name are a picture of Satan’s greater defeat at Jesus’ hands (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1006-7).
28 tn Grk “seek,” but in the sense of the previous verses.
29 tc Most
30 sn His (that is, God’s) kingdom is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
31 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous statements in the narrative about Herod’s desire to see Jesus.
32 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.