Luke 1:18-23

1:18 Zechariah ¹  said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? ²  For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.” ³  1:19 The ⁴  angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands ⁵  in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring ⁶  you this good news. 1:20 And now, ⁷  because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, ⁸  you will be silent, unable to speak, ⁹  until the day these things take place.”

1:21 Now ¹⁰  the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder ¹¹  why he was delayed in the holy place. ¹²  1:22 When ¹³  he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They ¹⁴  realized that he had seen a vision ¹⁵  in the holy place, ¹⁶  because ¹⁷  he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak. ¹⁸  1:23 When his time of service was over, ¹⁹  he went to his home.

[1:18]  ¹ tn Grk “And Zechariah.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:18]  ² tn Grk “How will I know this?”

[1:18]  ³ tn Grk “is advanced in days” (an idiom for old age).

[1:19]  ⁴ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:19]  ⁵ tn Grk “the one who is standing before God.”

[1:19]  ⁶ tn Grk “to announce these things of good news to you.”

[1:20]  ⁷ tn Grk “behold.”

[1:20]  ⁸ sn The predicted fulfillment in the expression my words, which will be fulfilled in their time takes place in Luke 1:63-66.

[1:20]  ⁹ sn Silent, unable to speak. Actually Zechariah was deaf and mute as 1:61-63 indicates, since others had to use gestures to communicate with him.

[1:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[1:21]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect verb ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[1:21]  ¹² tn Or “temple.” See the note on the phrase “the holy place” in v. 9.

[1:22]  ¹³ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:22]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:22]  ¹⁵ tn That is, “he had had a supernatural encounter in the holy place,” since the angel came to Zechariah by the altar. This was not just a “mental experience.”

[1:22]  ¹⁶ tn Or “temple.” See the note on the phrase “the holy place” in v. 9.

[1:22]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and,” but the force is causal or explanatory in context.

[1:22]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “dumb,” but this could be understood to mean “stupid” in contemporary English, whereas the point is that he was speechless.

[1:23]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And it happened that as the days of his service were ended.” 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.