King James Bible
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,"
Zechariah begins his prophecy with a traditional Jewish blessing formula, praising God with covenant language that emphasizes His special relationship with Israel. This opening establishes the hymn as both worship and proclamation, rooted in Israel's historic faith. The past tense celebrates God's intervention as already accomplished through the coming births of John and Jesus. "Visited" implies God's personal presence after apparent absence, while "redeemed" evokes the Exodus—suggesting a new deliverance from spiritual bondage rather than political oppression.