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the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
Luke 1:73 · English Standard Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB the oath which he swore to Abraham, our father,
  • KJV The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
  • BSB the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
  • 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 quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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 22:16–18and said, “I have sworn by myself, says Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
  • Deut 7:8but because Yahweh loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
  • Ps 105:9the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac,
  • Jer 11:5that I may establish the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is today.” Then answered I, and said, “Amen, Yahweh.”
  • Deut 7:12It shall happen, because you listen to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that Yahweh your God will keep with you the covenant and the loving kindness which he swore to your fathers.
  • Gen 26:3Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
  • Heb 6:16–17For men indeed swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.
  • Heb 6:13For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself,
  • Gen 24:7Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, ‘I will give this land to your offspring. He will send his angel before you, and you shall 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.