1:78a

because of the tender mercy of our God: The phrase because of the tender mercy of our God expresses God’s motivation or basis for forgiving and saving people in 1:77. He does it because of his tender mercy. This phrase also connects with 1:78b: because of God’s tender mercy, the “Dawn” will come to visit us. Some English versions connect the phrase with 1:77, and others connect it with 1:79. Either option is acceptable.

You should decide how to connect this phrase to the context in the most natural way in your language. In some languages you may be able to leave these connections implied. For example:

77…having their sins forgiven.

78aOur God is merciful and tender.

78bHe will cause the bright dawn of salvation to rise on us… (Good News Translation)

Some other ways to express the connections in English are:

77
⌊You will⌋ give his people knowledge of salvation through our God forgiving their sins 78abecause of his tender mercies. As a result of his mercies, 78bthe Rising One will visit us from heaven…
-or-

77…and lead his people to a knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins: 78for in the tender compassion of our God the dawn from heaven will break upon us… (Revised English Bible)

tender mercy: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tender mercy is an idiom that refers to mercy and kindness that someone feels intensely. This kindness and compassion comes from a person’s deepest emotions.

Some ways to translate this are:

• Use an idiom that has the same meaning in your language. For example:

the heart of our God is full of mercy (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

• Translate the meaning of the idiom directly. For example:

the compassionate mercy of our God
-or-
our God is loving and merciful (God’s Word)
-or-
the compassion that our God feels deeply/intensely

1:78b

by which the Dawn will visit us from on high: This part of the verse indicates a result of God’s tender mercy toward us. A literal translation of it is “by which (the) rising (sun) will visit us from the height.” The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek phrase that introduces this result as by which. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

by God’s tender mercy
-or-

through God’s tender mercy
-or-

as a result of God’s tender mercy
-or-

because of God’s tender mercy, ⌊he will cause⌋

the Dawn: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Dawn refers to the sun at dawn. It refers to the moment when the sun rises and the day begins. It is a figure of speech that refers to the Lord/Messiah. This figure is repeated from Malachi 4:2. It indicates that the coming of the Messiah is like light shining on people in dark places.

Some ways to translate this figure of speech are:

• Indicate in the translation whom the Dawn refers to. For example:

⌊the Messiah/Lord, like⌋ the rising sun
-or-

⌊the Lord, like⌋ sunrise/dawn

• Include a footnote and say that the Dawn represents the Lord/ Messiah. For example:

The word “Dawn” (or the phrase “rising sun”) represents the Messiah coming from heaven.

See the General Comment on 1:78b–79b at the end of 1:79b for another suggestion about how to translate this figure of speech.

will visit: There is a textual issue here:

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have the future tense “will come/visit.” For example:

A new day will dawn (God’s Word)

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)

(2) Other Greek manuscripts have the past tense “has come/visited.” For example:

the rising Sun has come (New Jerusalem Bible)

(New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) because it has early and strong manuscript support. Also, most English versions follow this option.

from on high: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as on high refers to two places. It refers to the sky, where the sun is, and also to God’s dwelling, where the Messiah came from. Try to choose a phrase that can refer to both places, as “from on high” does.

See heaven, Meanings 1 and 2, in the Glossary.

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