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ParallelVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 1 V1 V4 V7 V10 V13 V16 V19 V22 V25 V28 V31 V34 V37 V40 V43 V46 V49 V52 V55 V58 V61 V64 V67 V70 V73 V76 V79
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) He took good care of his servant, Yisrael,
⇔ to be reminded of mercy![]()
OET-LV He_took_care of_Israaʸl/(Yisrāʼēl) servant of_him, to_be_reminded of_mercy,![]()
SR-GNT Ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ, μνησθῆναι ἐλέους, ‡
(Antelabeto Israaʸl paidos autou, mnaʸsthaʸnai eleous,)
Key: khaki:verbs, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT He has helped Israel his servant,
⇔ to remember his mercy,
UST 54-55 He has helped Israel, the people who serve him.
⇔ Long ago he promised our ancestors that he would be merciful to them.
⇔ He has kept that promise and has always acted mercifully toward Abraham and all who descended from him.”
BSB He has helped His servant Israel,
⇔ remembering to be merciful,
MSB (Same as BSB above)
BLB He has helped Israel His servant, remembering mercy,
AICNT He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
OEB ⇔ ‘He has stretched out his hand to his servant Israel,
⇔ ever mindful of his mercy,
WEBBE He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
WMBB (Same as above)
NET He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy,
LSV He has taken hold of His servant Israel,
To remember kindness,
FBV He has helped his servant Israel, remembering him in mercy,
TCNT He has helped his servant Israel,
⇔ remembering his mercy,
T4T 54-55 He promised to Abraham and all our other ancestors who descended from him that he would act mercifully toward them forever.
⇔ And now he has remembered what he promised.
⇔ So he has helped me and all the other people of [MTY] Israel who serve him.”
LEB • He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,
BBE His help he has given to Israel, his servant, so that he might keep in mind his mercy to Abraham and his seed for ever,
Moff He has succoured his servant Israel,
⇔ mindful of his mercy--
Wymth His servant Israel He has helped, Remembering His compassion—
ASV He hath given help to Israel his servant,
⇔ That he might remember mercy
DRA He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
YLT He received again Israel His servant, To remember kindness,
Drby He has helped Israel his servant, in order to remember mercy,
RV He hath holpen Israel his servant, That he might remember mercy
(He hath/has helped Israel his servant, That he might remember mercy )
SLT He succored Israel his servant, remembering mercy;
Wbstr He hath sustained his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
KJB-1769 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
(He hath/has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; )
KJB-1611 Hee hath holpen his seruant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Bshps He hath helped his seruaunt Israel, in remembraunce of his mercy,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))
Gnva Hee hath vpholden Israel his seruaunt to be mindefull of his mercie
(He hath/has upholden Israel his servant to be mindful of his mercy )
Cvdl He remebreth mercy, and helpeth vp his seruaunt Israel.
(He remebreth mercy, and helpeth/helps up his servant Israel.)
TNT He remembreth mercy: and helpeth his servaunt Israel.
(He remembereth/remembers mercy: and helpeth/helps his servant Israel. )
Wycl He, hauynge mynde of his mercy, took Israel, his child;
(He, having mind of his mercy, took Israel, his child;)
Luth Er denket der Barmherzigkeit und hilft seinem Diener Israel auf,
(He thinks the/of_the compassion and help(v) his servant Israel on/in/to,)
ClVg Suscepit Israël puerum suum, recordatus misericordiæ suæ:
(Suscepit Israel boy his_own, remembered of_mercy his/her_own: )
UGNT ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ, μνησθῆναι ἐλέους,
(antelabeto Israaʸl paidos autou, mnaʸsthaʸnai eleous,)
SBL-GNT ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ, μνησθῆναι ἐλέους,
(antelabeto Israaʸl paidos autou, mnaʸsthaʸnai eleous,)
RP-GNT Ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ, μνησθῆναι ἐλέους,
(Antelabeto Israaʸl paidos autou, mnaʸsthaʸnai eleous,)
TC-GNT Ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ,
⇔ μνησθῆναι ἐλέους,
(Antelabeto Israaʸl paidos autou,
⇔ mnaʸsthaʸnai eleous, )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).
1:46-55 Mary’s song is the first of three songs of praise in the birth narrative. It is called the Magnificat (“magnifies”), from the first word in the Latin translation. The song has many parallels to Hannah’s prayer in 1 Sam 2:1-10. The fact that God cares for the oppressed and reverses their fortunes is a common theme throughout Luke’s Gospel. The coming of God’s Kingdom brings salvation to rejected and outcast people.
Praise and Rejoicing in Luke–Acts
Throughout Luke’s Gospel, the recipients of God’s grace praise him for his wonderful deeds (Luke 1:44, 46, 64, 68; 2:13, 38; 5:25-26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15-18; 18:43; 19:37; 24:53). In Acts, praise accompanies healings (3:8-9; 4:21-22) and the salvation of the Gentiles (Acts 11:18; 13:48; 21:19-20).
This motif of praise is closely linked to a key theme in Luke, that the fulfillment of God’s promise in the coming of Jesus the Messiah is a cause for joy and rejoicing. This theme emerges toward the beginning of the Gospel in the songs of Mary (Luke 1:46-55) and Zechariah (Luke 1:67-79). The Old Testament prophets had predicted that nature itself would break forth in songs of praise when God’s salvation arrived (see Isa 55:12). When Jesus entered Jerusalem at the end of his ministry, his disciples shouted and sang, “praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen” (Luke 19:37). The Pharisees called on Jesus to rebuke his disciples, but he responded, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” (19:37-40). At the end of the Gospel, the disciples “returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God” (24:52-53). The arrival of God’s marvelous salvation is a cause for rejoicing and praise.
Passages for Further Study
Isa 55:12; Luke 1:44-47, 64, 68; 2:13-14, 38; 5:25-26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15-18; 18:43; 19:37-40; 24:51-53; Acts 2:47; 3:8-9; 4:21; 11:18; 13:48; 21:20
In this section Mary spoke a poem or song of praise to God.Many of the lines in this song of praise are echoes of other songs of praise in the Old Testament. In fact, one scholar points out that of the ten verses of Mary’s song, eight are very similar to Old Testament verses. For example, in 1:47 Mary said that “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Compare this with Habakkuk 3:18, “I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” Mary may have had these thoughts stored in her mind because she had heard people read the Scriptures many times in synagogue services. However, in her song, Mary combined the thoughts of Old Testament songs in her own original way. In 1:46–49 she praised God for blessing her personally. In 1:50 she praised God because he is merciful to all people who fear him. In 1:51–53 she spoke of the way God had rejected the proud, the powerful, and the rich. She spoke of the way he had instead chosen to bless those who are poor and lowly. In 1:54–55 she praised God for helping the people of Israel.
When Mary talked about what God had done, she was not just talking about the past. She was talking about what God was doing at that time and about what he would continue to do through the Messiah. By choosing Mary to be the mother of the Messiah, God had shown mercy to her as a poor and lowly person. He had also shown mercy to the people of Israel, because the Messiah would save them. This was similar to the way he had worked in the past, showing mercy to his people and helping them against their enemies.
It may be good to write this song (1:46–55) as poetry in your translation, using separate lines at appropriate places. For examples, see 1:46–55 in the RSV, NIV, and GNT. There may be special phrases in your language that are appropriate to use in poetry that you do not use in ordinary conversation. Because this song is poetry, you may be able to use those phrases here.
Some other possible headings for this section are:The name of Mary’s song in Latin, the Magnificat, is well-known in some areas of the world. If this is true in your area, you may be able to use this name as your heading or as part of the heading. For example, the NLT has “The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise.”
Mary’s song of praise to God
Mary praised God for the kindness he was showing to Israel and to her
He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful…to Abraham and his descendants forever: The word Israel refers to the same people as Abraham’s descendants. Abraham was the ancestor of Jacob, who was called Israel, for whom the nation of Israel was named. In some languages it may be good to indicate this in some way in your translation. For example:
He has helped…us Israelites. Yes, he has remembered to be merciful…to our ancestor Abraham and to us his descendants forever.
remembering to be merciful…to Abraham and his descendants forever: This phrase does not suggest that God might potentially forget something. Rather, it indicates that God will continue to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants in the future. He will never stop being merciful to them.
He has helped His servant Israel,
He has helped the people of Israel, his servants,
He has come to the aid of us his servants, the Israelites,
He has helped His servant Israel: The Greek word that the BSB translates as helped means “to assist, to share in someone’s situation to aid him/her.” God had helped the people of Israel by fulfilling his promise to send the Messiah who would save them. The angel had told Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah.
His servant Israel: The phrase His servant Israel refers to the people of Israel. They are called God’s servant because they serve God and worship him. In some languages it is not natural to use a singular form to speak of the whole nation as God’s servant. If this is true in your language, some other ways to translate it are:
his servants, the people/nation of Israel
us Israelites, his servants
servant: The Greek word that the BSB translates here as servant refers to a slave, but to one whom the master loves. This is a different Greek word than “servant” or “slave” in 1:38a, but the meaning is similar.
remembering to be merciful,
by remembering his promise to show mercy/kindness
and has not forgotten to be kind
and has been faithful to always show compassion
remembering to be merciful: The phrase remembering to be merciful refers to the same action as the previous phrase “he has helped his servant Israel.” It means that God remembered that he had promised to be merciful to his people, and he fulfilled his promise.
God had not previously forgotten to be merciful. If a literal translation would give this wrong meaning, you may need to say something such as:
God has kept his promise to be merciful.
to be merciful: The phrase to be merciful means “to have compassion” or “to show pity.” It is related to the word that is translated as “mercy” in 1:50. See the note there.
Some other ways to translate it are:
to be kind
graciously to show compassion
Note 1 topic: translate-versebridge
If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine [1:54](../01/54.md) and [1:55](../01/55.md) into a verse bridge, as UST does, in order to keep the information about Israel together.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
Ἰσραὴλ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραήλ παιδός αὐτοῦ μνησθῆναι ἐλέους)
Mary is referring to all of the people of Israel as if they were a single person, their ancestor, Israel. Alternate translation: [the Israelites]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
παιδὸς αὐτοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραήλ παιδός αὐτοῦ μνησθῆναι ἐλέους)
The term servant refers to the special role that God gave to the people of Israel. Alternate translation: [his chosen people]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
μνησθῆναι ἐλέους
˓to_be˒_reminded ˱of˲_mercy
In this context, the phrase to remember his mercy refers to God thinking about a person or group and considering what action he can take on their behalf. It does not suggest that God had ever forgotten to be merciful. Alternate translation: [in order to be merciful]