1:8 Now 1 while Zechariah 2 was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 3
1:21 Now 4 the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder 5 why he was delayed in the holy place. 6
4:1 Then 12 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River 13 and was led by the Spirit 14 in 15 the wilderness, 16
1 tn Grk “Now it happened that.” 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 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “serving as priest in the order of his division before God.”
4 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
5 tn The imperfect verb ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
6 tn Or “temple.” See the note on the phrase “the holy place” in v. 9.
7 tn Grk “Thus.”
8 tn Grk “in the days.”
9 tn Grk “has looked on me” (an idiom for taking favorable notice of someone).
10 sn Barrenness was often seen as a reproach or disgrace (Lev 20:20-21; Jer 22:30), but now at her late age (the exact age is never given in Luke’s account), God had miraculously removed it (see also Luke 1:7).
11 tn Grk “among men”; but the context clearly indicates a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") here.
10 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.
11 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
12 sn The double mention of the Spirit in this verse makes it clear that the temptation was neither the fault of Jesus nor an accident.
13 tc Most
14 tn Or “desert.”
13 tn Grk “his exodus,” which refers to Jesus’ death in Jerusalem and journey back to glory. Here is the first lesson that the disciples must learn. The wondrous rule comes only after suffering.
14 tn Or “accomplish,” “bring to completion.”
15 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
16 tn Or “seats of honor.” The term here is plural and is not a reference only to the lead “seat of Moses” in the synagogue, but includes the front seats near the ark.
17 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
18 tn Grk “and the greetings.”
19 sn The second or third watch of the night would be between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on a Roman schedule and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on a Jewish schedule. Luke uses the four-watch schedule of the Romans in Acts 12:4, so that is more probable here. Regardless of the precise times of the watches, however, it is clear that the late-night watches when a person is least alert are in view here.
20 tn Grk “finds (them) thus”; but this has been clarified in the translation by referring to the status (“alert”) mentioned in v. 37.
21 tn Grk “blessed are they”; the referent (the watchful slaves, v. 37) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
23 tn Or “as it happened.”
24 sn Like the days of Noah, the time of the flood in Gen 6:5-8:22, the judgment will come as a surprise as people live their day to day lives.
25 tn Grk “who” (a continuation of the previous sentence).
26 sn Ironically, what Jesus was alleged to have done, started an insurrection, this man really did.
27 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
28 sn Now with the recounting of what had happened on the road two sets of witnesses corroborate the women’s report.
29 tn Grk “how he was made known to them”; or “how he was recognized by them.” Here the passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.