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the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
Luke 1:73 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB the oath which he swore to Abraham, our father,
  • KJV The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
  • NKJV The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
  • NASB The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
  • NLT the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The covenant in view is the oath God swore to Abraham. It matters because Christ's coming fulfills the foundational promise of blessing to Abraham and all nations through him.

Overview

Zechariah identifies the covenant specifically as God's sworn promise to Abraham (Genesis 22:16-18). That oath promised blessing to Abraham's offspring and, through that offspring, to all the families of the earth. The New Testament shows this promise reaching its fulfillment in Christ, the true seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Gen 22:16–18saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,
  • Deut 7:8But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
  • Ps 105:9the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac.
  • Jer 11:5This was in order to establish the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is to this day.” “Amen, LORD,” I answered.
  • Deut 7:12If you listen to these ordinances and keep them carefully, then the LORD your God will keep His covenant and the loving devotion that He swore to your fathers.
  • Gen 26:3Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
  • Heb 6:16–17Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument.
  • Heb 6:13When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
  • Gen 24:7The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me from my father’s house and my native land, who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—He will send His angel before you so that you can take a wife for my son from there.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 1:73YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 1:73 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.