Luke 1:67-79
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
The Canticle of Zechariah. 67 Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:
68 [a]“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.(A)
69 [b]He has raised up a horn for our salvation
within the house of David his servant,(B)
70 even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,(C)
72 to show mercy to our fathers(D)
and to be mindful of his holy covenant(E)
73 and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,(F)
and to grant us that, 74 rescued from the hand of enemies,
without fear we might worship him 75 in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.(G)
76 And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord[c] to prepare his ways,(H)
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God(I)
by which the daybreak from on high[d] will visit us(J)
79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Footnotes
- 1:68–79 Like the canticle of Mary (Lk 1:46–55) the canticle of Zechariah is only loosely connected with its context. Apart from Lk 1:76–77, the hymn in speaking of a horn for our salvation (Lk 1:69) and the daybreak from on high (Lk 1:78) applies more closely to Jesus and his work than to John. Again like Mary’s canticle, it is largely composed of phrases taken from the Greek Old Testament and may have been a Jewish Christian hymn of praise that Luke adapted to fit the present context by inserting Lk 1:76–77 to give Zechariah’s reply to the question asked in Lk 1:66.
- 1:69 A horn for our salvation: the horn is a common Old Testament figure for strength (Ps 18:3; 75:5–6; 89:18; 112:9; 148:14). This description is applied to God in Ps 18:3 and is here transferred to Jesus. The connection of the phrase with the house of David gives the title messianic overtones and may indicate an allusion to a phrase in Hannah’s song of praise (1 Sm 2:10), “the horn of his anointed.”
- 1:76 You will go before the Lord: here the Lord is most likely a reference to Jesus (contrast Lk 1:15–17 where Yahweh is meant) and John is presented as the precursor of Jesus.
- 1:78 The daybreak from on high: three times in the LXX (Jer 23:5; Zec 3:8; 6:12), the Greek word used here for daybreak translates the Hebrew word for “scion, branch,” an Old Testament messianic title.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.