LUKE 1:55 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
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 as he spoke to our fathers—to Abraham and to his seed in the ages past.”

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.”

AICNT as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

OEB as he promised to our ancestors,
⇔ to Abraham and his descendants for ever.’

WEBBE as he spoke to our fathers,
⇔ to Abraham and his offspring[fn] forever.”

1:55 or, seed

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

NET as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

LSV As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed—throughout the age.”

FBV just as he promised our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants for ever.”

TCNT just as he spoke to our fathers,
⇔ to Abraham and to his offspring [fn]forever.”

1:55 forever ¦ until eternity PCK

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 • just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever .”[fn]

1:46 Literally “for the age”

BBE As he gave his word to our fathers.

Moff as he promised our fathers,
⇔ to have mercy on Abraham and his offspring for ever."

Wymth In fulfillment of His promises to our forefathers—For Abraham and his posterity for ever."

ASV (As he spake unto our fathers)
⇔ Toward Abraham and his seed for ever.

DRA As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

YLT As He spake unto our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed — to the age.'

Drby (as he spoke to our fathers,) to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

RV (As he spake unto our fathers) Toward Abraham and his seed for ever.
((As he spake unto our fathers) Toward Abraham and his seed forever. )

SLT As he spake to our fathers, to Abram, and his seed forever.

Wbstr As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

KJB-1769 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
(As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever. )

KJB-1611 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for euer.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps ( Euen as he promised to our fathers, Abraham, and to his seede) for euer.
(( Even as he promised to our fathers, Abraham, and to his seede) forever.)

Gnva (As hee hath spoken to our fathers, to wit, to Abraham, and his seede) for euer.
((As he hath/has spoken to our fathers, to wit, to Abraham, and his seede) forever. )

Cvdl Euen as he promysed vnto oure fathers, Abraham and to his sede foreuer.
(Even as he promised unto our fathers, Abraham and to his seed forever.)

TNT Even as he promised to oure fathers Abraham and to his seede for ever.
(Even as he promised to our fathers Abraham and to his seed forever. )

Wycl as he hath spokun to oure fadris, to Abraham and to his seed, in to worldis.
(as he hath/has spoken to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed, in to worlds.)

Luth wie er geredet hat unsern Vätern, Abraham und seinem Samen ewiglich.
(as/like he talked has ours fathers, Abraham and his seed(s) forever.)

ClVg sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini ejus in sæcula.][fn]
(like spoke it_is to fathers ours, Abraham and seed his in/into/on forever.] )

1.55 Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros. Memoriam patrum quibus hæc salus revelata est faciens, Abraham nominatim exprimit, cui primo ipsa incarnatio manifestata est. Et semini ejus in sæcula. Non tam carne genitis, quam fidei vestigia secutis, quibus adventus Salvatoris in sæcula est promissus, quia ipsa promissio hæreditatis nullo fine claudetur. Nam et usque in finem sæculi credentes non deerunt, et beatitudinis erit gloria perennis.

1.55 Like spoke it_is to fathers ours. Recall/Remember of_the_fathers to_whom these_things health/safety revealed it_is making, Abraham namedm expresses, to_whom at_first herself incarnatio obviousta it_is. And seed his in/into/on forever. Not/No tam flesh/meat genitis, how of_faith footsteps followeds, to_whom arrivals Saviour in/into/on forever it_is promissus, because herself promise inheritance with_no_one fine claudetur. For/Surely and until in/into/on the_end of_the_world/of_the_ages believers not/no deerunt, and of_happiness will_be glory perennial/yearly/constant.

UGNT καθὼς ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
(kathōs elalaʸsen pros tous pateras haʸmōn, tōi Abraʼam kai tōi spermati autou, eis ton aiōna.)

SBL-GNT καθὼς ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
(kathōs elalaʸsen pros tous pateras haʸmōn, tōi Abraʼam kai tōi spermati autou eis ton aiōna.)

RP-GNT καθὼς ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
(kathōs elalaʸsen pros tous pateras haʸmōn, tōi Abraʼam kai tōi spermati autou eis ton aiōna.)

TC-GNT καθὼς ἐλάλησε πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν,
⇔ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ [fn]εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
(kathōs elalaʸse pros tous pateras haʸmōn,
⇔ tōi Abraʼam kai tōi spermati autou eis ton aiōna. )

1:55 εις τον αιωνα ¦ εως αιωνος PCK

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:46–56: Mary praised God

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

1:55a

as He promised to our fathers,

just as he assured our^(incl) ancestors.
exactly as he told our^(incl) ancestors that he would.
So he has fulfilled the promise that he made to our ancestors,

as He promised to our fathers: Mary used the phrase our fathers to refer to all the people of Israel who had lived before Mary and Elizabeth were born. Some versions translate this phrase as “our ancestors.” She also used the word our to refer to the ancestors of all the people of Israel. God had promised to all the people of Israel that he would send a Savior. He did not make this promise only to the ancestors of Mary and Elizabeth. So it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

just as he said to the ancestors of our people

1:55b

to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

He made this permanent promise to Abraham and to his family after him.”
that is, to Abraham and to all of the descendants he would ever have.”

to Abraham and his descendants forever: There are two interpretations of the way this clause relates to the context:

Abraham and his descendants are the ones who received God’s mercy that is mentioned in 1:54b. For example:
He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham and to all his descendants forever! (GNT) (BSB, NIV, NJB, GNT, REB, and the majority of commentators)
Abraham and his descendants are the ones who received God’s promise that is mentioned in 1:55b. In this interpretation, Abraham and his descendants has the same meaning as “our fathers” in 1:55b. This means that God spoke a promise to our fathers/ancestors who are Abraham and his descendants. For example:
as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his children forever (NCV) (RSV, CEV, GW, NET, NLT, NASB, NCV, KJV, JBP)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).The phrase Abraham and his descendants is in a different case than the phrase “our fathers,” so they are probably not the objects of the same verb.

to Abraham and his descendants: As mentioned above, the phrase Abraham and his descendants is connected to the word “merciful” in 1:54b. God showed his mercy to Abraham and Abraham’s descendants by sending the Messiah. This phrase is another way to refer to Israel, since Abraham was the ancestor of the Israelites.

General Comment on 1:54–55

In some languages it may be helpful to reorder these verses in order to put God’s promise to their ancestors first (1:55b). Here is one way you could do that:

^55bGod promised our ancestors that ^54ahe would help his servants the Israelites. Now he has fulfilled his promise. ^54bHe has remembered to be merciful ^55ato Abraham and to all of his descendants.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

καθὼς ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καθώς ἐλάλησεν πρός τούς πατέρας ἡμῶν τῷ Ἀβραάμ καί τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εἰς τόν αἰῶνα)

Here, the word fathers means “ancestors.” Alternate translation: [just as he promised to our ancestors]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ

¬the ˱to˲_the descendants ˱of˲_him

The term seed means “offspring.” It is a word picture. Just as plants produce seeds that grow into many more plants, so people can have many offspring. Alternate translation: [to his descendants]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα

for (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καθώς ἐλάλησεν πρός τούς πατέρας ἡμῶν τῷ Ἀβραάμ καί τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εἰς τόν αἰῶνα)

This is an idiom. See how you translated the similar expression in [1:33](../01/33.md). Alternate translation: [forever]

Parallel LUKE 1:55

Section 1:46–56: Mary praised God

1:55a

1:55b

General Comment on 1:54–55