1:69a
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us: The sentence He has raised up a horn of salvation is a figure of speech. It means that the Lord has provided a mighty Savior/Rescuer. Old Testament writers used the expression He has raised up when God provided a king or judge to rule his people and save them.
Some other ways to translate this are:
He has provided for us a mighty Savior (Good News Translation)
-or-
He has given us a powerful Savior (New Century Version)
-or-
He has sent us a mighty Savior (New Living Translation (2004))
a horn of salvation for us: The phrase a horn of salvation is a metaphor taken from the Old Testament. Literally, it refers to the horn of a strong animal such as an ox. The horn was a powerful weapon that the animal could use to attack and defend itself against enemies. It refers figuratively to someone who is very strong or powerful. A horn of salvation refers to a powerful person who would bring salvation to people, that is, who would save them.
If you do not use an animal’s horn to express this idea in your language, here are some other ways to translate this:
• Use a figure of speech that has the same meaning in your language.
• Translate the meaning directly without the figure of speech. For example:
a powerful one to save us
-or-
a mighty ⌊ruler⌋ to bring us to safety
salvation: The word salvation refers to being rescued/saved from something harmful or dangerous. A person may be saved from physical dangers such as death or enemies or from spiritual dangers such as sin and its punishment. The “horn of salvation” (the Messiah) would save people from both physical and spiritual dangers. In 1:71 the text specifies that he would save them from their enemies.
In some languages it may be necessary to specify what the people were saved from. If that is true in your language, there are two ways to translate it in this context:
• Use a general expression that can include deliverance from all kinds of dangers/troubles. For example:
to rescue us ⌊from evil/harm⌋
• Use the information from 1:71 and indicate that they were saved from their enemies. For example:
to rescue us ⌊from our enemies⌋
If you use this option, express it in a way that will fit with 1:71 and will not sound redundant.
See also save in the Glossary (see the note on salvation).
for us: In this context the phrase for us means “for us(incl) Israelites.” Zechariah and the people to whom he was talking were all Israelites.
1:69b
in the house of His servant David: The phrase in the house of His servant David means that the Savior would come “from the family of ⌊King⌋ David, God’s servant.” The Savior or Messiah would be a descendant of King David. This implies that he would be a king.
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