LUKE 1:76 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, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, magenta:vocative.
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 And indeed, you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
⇔  for you will go before the Lord to prepare his paths;

UST Then Zechariah said to his baby son,
⇔ “And as for you, my child, you will be a prophet
⇔ of the Most High God.
⇔ You will begin your work before the Lord comes
⇔ so that you can prepare the people to be ready for him.

MSB And you, child, will be called
⇔ a prophet of [the] Most High;
⇔ for you will go on before the presence of the Lord[fn]
⇔ to prepare the way for Him,

BLB And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,

AICNT “And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before [[the face of]][fn] the Lord to prepare his ways;

1:76, the face of: Later manuscripts add. BYZ TR

OEB And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
⇔ for you will go before the Lord to make ready his way,

WEBBE And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
⇔ for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High.
⇔ For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

LSV And you, child,
Prophet of the Highest will you be called; For you will go before the face of the LORD,
To prepare His ways.

FBV Even though you are only a small child, you will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way,

TCNT And yoʋ, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
⇔ for yoʋ will go before [fn]the presence of the Lord to prepare his ways,

1:76 the presence of ¦ — CT

T4T Then Zechariah said this to his little son:
⇔ “My child, you will be called {people will say that you are} a prophet
⇔ whom God [MTY/EUP] has sent;
⇔ you will begin your work before ◄the Lord/Messiah► comes;
⇔ you will prepare people so that they will be ready for him.
⇔ (OR, you will begin your work before the Messiah comes).

LEB • And so you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways,

BBE And you, child, will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways;

Moff And you, my child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High;
⇔ for you shall go in front of the Lord to make his ways ready,

Wymth And you moreover, O child, shall be called Prophet of the Most High; For you shall go on in front before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,

ASV Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High:
⇔ For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;

DRA And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:

YLT And thou, child, Prophet of the Highest Shalt thou be called; For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, To prepare His ways.

Drby And thou, child, shalt be called [the] prophet of [the] Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of [the] Lord to make ready his ways;

RV Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;
(Yea and thou/you, child, shalt/shall be called the prophet of the Most High: For thou/you shalt/shall go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways; )

SLT And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

Wbstr And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

KJB-1769 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
(And thou/you, child, shalt/shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou/you shalt/shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; )

KJB-1611 And thou childe shalt bee called the Prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt goe before the face of the Lord to prepare his wayes.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps And thou childe shalt be called the prophete of the hyghest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lorde, to prepare his wayes.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Gnva And thou, babe, shalt be called the Prophet of the most High: for thou shalt goe before the face of the Lord, to prepare his waies,
(And thou/you, babe, shalt/shall be called the Prophet of the most High: for thou/you shalt/shall go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways, )

Cvdl And thou childe shalt be called a prophet of the Hyest: for thou shalt go before ye LORDE, to prepare his wayes.
(And thou/you child shalt/shall be called a prophet of the Highest: for thou/you shalt/shall go before ye/you_all LORD, to prepare his ways.)

TNT And thou chylde shalt be called the Prophet of the hyest: for thou shalt goo before the face of the lorde to prepare his wayes:
(And thou/you child shalt/shall be called the Prophet of the highest: for thou/you shalt/shall go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways: )

Wycl And thou, child, schalt be clepid the prophete of the Hiyest; for thou schalt go bifor the face of the Lord, to make redi hise weies.
(And thou/you, child, shalt/shall be called the prophet of the Hiyest; for thou/you shalt/shall go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways.)

Luth Und du, Kindlein, wirst ein Prophet des Höchsten heißen; du wirst vor dem HErr’s hergehen, daß du seinen Weg bereitest
(And you(sg), little_child, will a Prophet the highest_(one) be_called; you(sg) will before/in_front_of to_him LORD’s go_here, that you(sg) his way/path/road preparest)

ClVg Et tu puer, propheta Altissimi vocaberis: præibis enim ante faciem Domini parare vias ejus,[fn]
(And you(sg) child, a_prophet The_highest_(ones) you_will_be_called: beforeibis because before face Master to_prepare ways/roads his, )

1.76 Et tu, puer, propheta Altissimi vocaberis: præibis enim ante faciem Domini parare, etc. BEDA. Non mirum si alloquitur infantem octo dierum, etc., usque ad quæ agnoscebat se in filios suscepisse.

1.76 And you(sg), child, a_prophet The_highest_(ones) you_will_be_called: beforeibis because before face Master to_prepare, etc. BEDA. Not/No strange when/but_if addresses(v) infantem eight days, etc., until to which acknowledgebat himself in/into/on children suscepisse.

UGNT καὶ σὺ δέ, παιδίον, προφήτης Ὑψίστου κληθήσῃ; προπορεύσῃ γὰρ ἐνώπιον Κυρίου ἑτοιμάσαι ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ;
(kai su de, paidion, profaʸtaʸs Hupsistou klaʸthaʸsaʸ; proporeusaʸ gar enōpion Kuriou hetoimasai hodous autou;)

SBL-GNT καὶ σὺ ⸀δέ, παιδίον, προφήτης Ὑψίστου κληθήσῃ, προπορεύσῃ γὰρ ⸀ἐνώπιον κυρίου ἑτοιμάσαι ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ,
(kai su ⸀de, paidion, profaʸtaʸs Hupsistou klaʸthaʸsaʸ, proporeusaʸ gar ⸀enōpion kuriou hetoimasai hodous autou,)

RP-GNT Καὶ σύ, παιδίον, προφήτης ὑψίστου κληθήσῃ· προπορεύσῃ γὰρ πρὸ προσώπου κυρίου ἑτοιμάσαι ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ·
(Kai su, paidion, profaʸtaʸs hupsistou klaʸthaʸsaʸ; proporeusaʸ gar pro prosōpou kuriou hetoimasai hodous autou;)

TC-GNT Καὶ [fn]σύ, παιδίον, προφήτης ὑψίστου κληθήσῃ·
⇔ προπορεύσῃ γὰρ [fn]πρὸ προσώπου Κυρίου ἑτοιμάσαι ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ·
(Kai su, paidion, profaʸtaʸs hupsistou klaʸthaʸsaʸ;
⇔ proporeusaʸ gar pro prosōpou Kuriou hetoimasai hodous autou; )

1:76 συ ¦ συ δε CT

1:76 προ προσωπου ¦ ενωπιον CT

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:67–80: Zechariah prophesied and praised God

In this section the Holy Spirit gave Zechariah insight, and Zechariah spoke the message in 1:68–79. Some scholars call the message a song because it praises God and is similar to some of the psalms, which people often sang. In the message, Zechariah praised God for keeping his promises by sending the Messiah, who would deliver Israel (1:68–75). He also prophesied that his son, John, would prepare people for the Messiah (1:76–79). John grew up (1:80) and fulfilled this prophecy.

Many verbs in 1:68–79 are in the past tense. But Zechariah was not talking only about the past. He talked about what God was doing at that time and what he would continue to do through the Messiah and through John. If possible, use verb forms that do not refer only to past events.

The phrases in Zechariah’s prophecy are similar to phrases in the Old Testament Scriptures. Almost every clause is similar to a verse in the Old Testament. However, none are so similar that it is clear that Zechariah is quoting a certain verse. You may want to include cross-references to some of the similar verses. They will be mentioned in the Notes.

For your translation of 1:68–79, you may want to write the clauses of this song on separate lines, as poetry. For an example, see 1:68–79 in the BSB, NIV, or GNT. In Greek, 1:68–79 is phrased as two long sentences. Most modern English versions use more and shorter sentences. The Notes will give suggestions about sentence breaks. Remember that there may be special phrases in your language that are appropriate for poetry, even if they are not used in ordinary conversation.

In this section Zechariah did not speak about events in the order in which they happened. In some languages it may be necessary to change the order of the clauses to make the sequence of events clear. For example, here is a possible way to begin this section in some languages:

^68aPraise be to the Lord the God of Israel!

⁷³Long ago he swore an oath to our father Abraham.

^74aHe promised to rescue us from the hand of our enemies…

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Zechariah praised God and prophesied about John

Zechariah praised God for the Messiah who would save Israel

Zechariah’s prophecy

Zechariah’s song of praise to God

1:76a

And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

¶ “You, my child, will be known/acknowledged as a prophet of the Most High God,
¶ “And as for you, my baby, you will have the title: ‘prophet of the one who is more powerful than all other beings,’

In this verse Zechariah began to speak to and about a different person. He had been speaking to all the people who were with him. In this verse he began to speak to his son. Indicate this change of focus in a natural way in your language.

And you, child: Zechariah now began to talk to his baby boy, John, even though the baby did not yet understand him. Even though Zechariah was speaking to a different person, he continued to speak a message from God.

To clarify that John is the child to whom Zechariah is speaking, many English translations supply the word “my” before the word child (or “son”), even though it is not in the Greek text. You may use a natural way in your language for Zechariah to address his son.

you…will be called a prophet of the Most High: The phrase will be called a prophet indicates that God would cause John to be his prophet. People in general would recognize this and give him the title “a prophet of the Most High.”

The verb will be called is passive. In some languages, it may not be natural to translate it as passive. If that is true in your language, here are other ways to translate it:

Use a different verb that does not require you to say who will use the title. For example:
you will have the title “Prophet of the Most High”
your title will be Prophet of the Most High
Focus on the fact that John will be a prophet of the Most High. For example:
you will be a prophet of the Most High

a prophet of the Most High: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as a prophet of the Most High means one who speaks messages from the Most High God.

Some ways to translate a prophet of the Most High are:

a spokesman for the Most High

a man who speaks words from God Most High

a message-speaker for the Most High

The word “prophets” occurs in 1:70. See the note on “his holy prophets” in 1:70. See also prophet in the Glossary.

the Most High: The expression the Most High is a title for God. Some ways to translate this are:

the Greatest/Highest God

the One who is more powerful than all other beings

the Most High God (GNT)

God who is so great that no one is great like him

See the note on 1:32b for a more complete discussion of the Most High.

1:76b

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,

for you^(sing) will be the forerunner/messenger who goes before the Lord to make his roads/paths ready.
because you^(sing) will start your work before the Lord does, to get people ready for him to come.
because your^(sing) role/work will be to go ahead of the Lord to prepare the people to receive him.

Here, Zechariah repeated some of the things that the angel told him in 1:17.

for: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as for introduces the reasons why people would call John a prophet. These reasons are given here in 1:76b and 1:77.

you will go on before the Lord: The clause you will go on before the Lord means that John would go and preach to the people of Israel before the Lord/Messiah came. John was to be messenger or forerunner of the Messiah. He would tell the people that the Messiah was coming. Another way to translate this is:

You will go ahead of the Lord (CEV)

See the note on “he will go on before the Lord” in 1:17a for further discussion.

before the Lord: Make sure that in this verse the word before means “before the Lord/Messiah comes.” Here before does not mean that John would walk in front of the Messiah.

The phrase “before the Lord” was used in 1:17a with the same meaning.

Lord: In this context the word Lord refers to the Messiah. Luke probably also implied here that the Lord was God who was coming to his people as the Messiah. In some languages it may be necessary to use a possessive pronoun with the word Lord. For example:

our^(incl) Lord

See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.

to prepare the way for Him: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the way is literally “roads.” The phrase to prepare the way for Him means “to make roads ready for the Lord to use.” Zechariah used this phrase as a figure of speech. He implied that John would preach to the people to prepare them for the Lord. John would tell the people to prepare their hearts and their attitudes to receive their Messiah.

In some cultures, readers may not understand the meaning of this metaphor. If that is true for your culture, you will have to indicate the meaning more explicitly. Some ways to do this are:

Use a simile. For example:
to prepare people’s hearts/ minds/ lives for the Lord as a person would prepare a road for a king
Express the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
To prepare people’s hearts/ minds/ lives to receive the Lord

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

καὶ σὺ δέ, παιδίον

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί σύ Δέ παιδίον Προφήτης Ὑψίστου κληθήσῃ προπορεύσῃ Γάρ ἐνώπιον Κυρίου ἑτοιμάσαι ὁδούς αὐτοῦ)

Zechariah uses this phrase to begin his direct address to his son. In your translation, you could indicate the change from Zechariah talking about God to Zechariah talking to John in the way that is most appropriate and natural in your language. It may be clearest to indicate this change explicitly. Alternate translation: [Then Zechariah said to his son John, “And you, my child]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

προφήτης & κληθήσῃ

As in [1:32](../01/32.md), to be called is an idiom that means “to be.” Review the note there if that would be helpful. Zechariah is not saying that John will simply have the reputation of being a prophet. Alternate translation: [you … will be a prophet]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

προφήτης & κληθήσῃ

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form. Alternate translation: [will be a prophet]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

Ὑψίστου

˱of˲_˓the˒_Highest

See how you translated the expression the Most High in [1:32](../01/32.md). Review the note there if that would be helpful. Alternate translation: [of the Most High God]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

προπορεύσῃ & ἐνώπιον Κυρίου

˱you˲_˓will_be˒_going_before & before ˓the˒_Lord

As in [1:17](../01/17.md), to go before is an idiom that indicates that before the Lord comes, John will announce to the people that the Lord is going to come to them. Alternate translation: [you will announce that the Lord is coming,]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἑτοιμάσαι ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ

˓to˒_prepare (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί σύ Δέ παιδίον Προφήτης Ὑψίστου κληθήσῃ προπορεύσῃ Γάρ ἐνώπιον Κυρίου ἑτοιμάσαι ὁδούς αὐτοῦ)

Zechariah is using the imagery of paths to indicate that John will prepare the people to listen to the Lord’s message and believe it. Alternate translation: [to get the people ready for him]

Parallel LUKE 1:76

Section 1:67–80: Zechariah prophesied and praised God

1:76a

1:76b