Luke 1:5

Birth Announcement of John the Baptist

1:5 During the reign ¹  of Herod ²  king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ³  the priestly division of Abijah, ⁴  and he had a wife named Elizabeth, ⁵  who was a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ 

Luke 1:1

Explanatory Preface

1:1 Now ⁷  many have undertaken to compile an account ⁸  of the things ⁹  that have been fulfilled ¹⁰  among us,

Luke 24:19

24:19 He ¹¹  said to them, “What things?” “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied, “a man ¹²  who, with his powerful deeds and words, proved to be a prophet ¹³  before God and all the people;

Luke 24:2

24:2 They ¹⁴  found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, ¹⁵ 

Luke 8:14

8:14 As for the seed that ¹⁶  fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but ¹⁷  as they go on their way they are choked ¹⁸  by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, ¹⁹  and their fruit does not mature. ²⁰ 

Luke 1:2

1:2 like the accounts ²¹  passed on ²²  to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word ²³  from the beginning. ²⁴ 

Luke 1:19

1:19 The ²⁵  angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands ²⁶  in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring ²⁷  you this good news.

Ezra 6:18

6:18 They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, ²⁸  in accord with ²⁹  the book of Moses.

¹ tn Grk “It happened that in the days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

² sn Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

³ tn Grk “of”; but the meaning of the preposition ἐκ (ek) is more accurately expressed in contemporary English by the relative clause “who belonged to.”

⁴ sn There were twenty-four divisions of priesthood and the priestly division of Abijah was eighth on the list according to 1 Chr 24:10.

⁵ tn Grk “and her name was Elizabeth.”

⁶ tn Grk “a wife of the daughters of Aaron.”

⁷ tn Grk “Since” or “Because.” This begins a long sentence that extends through v. 4. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, the Greek sentence has been divided up into shorter English sentences in the translation.

⁸ tn This is sometimes translated “narrative,” but the term itself can refer to an oral or written account. It is the verb “undertaken” which suggests a written account, since it literally is “to set one’s hand” to something (BDAG 386 s.v. ἐπιχειρέω). “Narrative” is too specific, denoting a particular genre of work for the accounts that existed in the earlier tradition. Not all of that material would have been narrative.

⁹ tn Or “events.”

¹⁰ tn Or “have been accomplished.” Given Luke’s emphasis on divine design (e.g., Luke 24:43-47) a stronger sense (“fulfilled”) is better than a mere reference to something having taken place (“accomplished”).

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹² tn This translates the Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr).

¹³ sn The role of Jesus as prophet is a function Luke frequently mentions: 4:25-27; 9:35; 13:31-35.

¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁵ sn Luke tells the story of the empty tomb with little drama. He simply notes that when they arrived the stone had been rolled away in a position where the tomb could be entered. This large stone was often placed in a channel so that it could be easily moved by rolling it aside. The other possibility is that it was merely placed over the opening in a position from which it had now been moved.

¹⁶ tn Grk “What”; the referent (the seed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

¹⁸ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

¹⁹ sn On warnings about the dangers of excessive material attachments, described here as the worries and riches and pleasures of life, see Luke 12:12-21; 16:19-31.

²⁰ tn The verb τελεσφορέω (telesforew) means “to produce mature or ripe fruit” (L&N 23.203). Once again the seed does not reach its goal.

²¹ tn Grk “even as”; this compares the recorded tradition of 1:1 with the original eyewitness tradition of 1:2.

²² tn Or “delivered.”

²³ sn The phrase eyewitnesses and servants of the word refers to a single group of people who faithfully passed on the accounts about Jesus. The language about delivery (passed on) points to accounts faithfully passed on to the early church.

²⁴ tn Grk “like the accounts those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word passed on to us.” The location of “in the beginning” in the Greek shows that the tradition is rooted in those who were with Jesus from the start.

²⁵ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁶ tn Grk “the one who is standing before God.”

²⁷ tn Grk “to announce these things of good news to you.”

²⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁹ tn Aram “according to the writing of.”