Lukas 1:11-22

1:11 An ¹  angel of the Lord, ²  standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared ³  to him. 1:12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, ⁴  was seized with fear. ⁵  1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, ⁶  and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you ⁷  will name him John. ⁸  1:14 Joy and gladness will come ⁹  to you, and many will rejoice at ¹⁰  his birth, ¹¹  1:15 for he will be great in the sight of ¹²  the Lord. He ¹³  must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. ¹⁴  1:16 He ¹⁵  will turn ¹⁶  many of the people ¹⁷  of Israel to the Lord their God. 1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord ¹⁸  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ¹⁹  to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

1:18 Zechariah ²⁰  said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? ²¹  For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.” ²²  1:19 The ²³  angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands ²⁴  in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring ²⁵  you this good news. 1:20 And now, ²⁶  because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, ²⁷  you will be silent, unable to speak, ²⁸  until the day these things take place.”

1:21 Now ²⁹  the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder ³⁰  why he was delayed in the holy place. ³¹  1:22 When ³²  he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They ³³  realized that he had seen a vision ³⁴  in the holy place, ³⁵  because ³⁶  he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak. ³⁷ 

Lukas 1:59-64

1:59 On ³⁸  the eighth day ³⁹  they came to circumcise the child, and they wanted to name ⁴⁰  him Zechariah after his father. 1:60 But ⁴¹  his mother replied, ⁴²  “No! He must be named ⁴³  John.” ⁴⁴  1:61 They ⁴⁵  said to her, “But ⁴⁶  none of your relatives bears this name.” ⁴⁷  1:62 So ⁴⁸  they made signs to the baby’s ⁴⁹  father, ⁵⁰  inquiring what he wanted to name his son. ⁵¹  1:63 He ⁵²  asked for a writing tablet ⁵³  and wrote, ⁵⁴  “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁵⁵  1:64 Immediately ⁵⁶  Zechariah’s ⁵⁷  mouth was opened and his tongue ⁵⁸  released, ⁵⁹  and he spoke, blessing God.

[1:11]  ¹ tn Grk “And an angel.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.

[1:11]  ² tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

[1:11]  ³ sn This term is often used to describe a supernatural appearance (24:34; Acts 2:3; 7:2, 30, 35; 9:17; 13:31; 16:9; 26:16).

[1:12]  ⁴ tn The words “the angel” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:12]  ⁵ tn Or “and he was afraid”; Grk “fear fell upon him.” Fear is common when supernatural agents appear (1:29-30, 65; 2:9; 5:8-10; 9:34; 24:38; Exod 15:16; Judg 6:22-23; 13:6, 22; 2 Sam 6:9).

[1:13]  ⁶ tn The passive means that the prayer was heard by God.

[1:13]  sn Your prayer has been heard. Zechariah’s prayer while offering the sacrifice would have been for the nation, but the answer to the prayer also gave them a long hoped-for child, a hope they had abandoned because of their old age.

[1:13]  ⁷ tn Grk “a son, and you”; καί (kai) has not been translated. Instead a semicolon is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:13]  ⁸ tn Grk “you will call his name John.” The future tense here functions like a command (see ExSyn 569-70). This same construction occurs in v. 31.

[1:13]  sn “Do not be afraid…you must call his name John.” This is a standard birth announcement (see Gen 16:11; Isa 7:14; Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31).

[1:14]  ⁹ tn Grk “This will be joy and gladness.”

[1:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “because of.”

[1:14]  ¹¹ tn “At his birth” is more precise as the grammatical subject (1:58), though “at his coming” is a possible force, since it is his mission, as the following verses note, that will really bring joy.

[1:15]  ¹² tn Grk “before.”

[1:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “and he”; because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun in the translation.

[1:15]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “even from his mother’s womb.” While this idiom may be understood to refer to the point of birth (“even from his birth”), Luke 1:41 suggests that here it should be understood to refer to a time before birth.

[1:15]  sn He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. This is the language of the birth of a prophet (Judg 13:5, 7; Isa 49:1; Jer 1:5; Sir 49:7); see 1:41 for the first fulfillment.

[1:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:16]  ¹⁶ sn The word translated will turn is a good summary term for repentance and denotes John’s call to a change of direction (Luke 3:1-14).

[1:16]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “sons”; but clearly this is a generic reference to people of both genders.

[1:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “before him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹⁹ sn These two lines cover all relationships: Turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children points to horizontal relationships, while (turn) the disobedient to the wisdom of the just shows what God gives from above in a vertical manner.

[1:18]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And Zechariah.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:18]  ²¹ tn Grk “How will I know this?”

[1:18]  ²² tn Grk “is advanced in days” (an idiom for old age).

[1:19]  ²³ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:19]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the one who is standing before God.”

[1:19]  ²⁵ tn Grk “to announce these things of good news to you.”

[1:20]  ²⁶ tn Grk “behold.”

[1:20]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[1:21]  ³⁰ tn The imperfect verb ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[1:21]  ³¹ tn Or “temple.” See the note on the phrase “the holy place” in v. 9.

[1:22]  ³² tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:22]  ³³ tn Grk “and they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:22]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Or “temple.” See the note on the phrase “the holy place” in v. 9.

[1:22]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and,” but the force is causal or explanatory in context.

[1:22]  ³⁷ tn Grk “dumb,” but this could be understood to mean “stupid” in contemporary English, whereas the point is that he was speechless.

[1:59]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And 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. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:59]  ³⁹ sn They were following OT law (Lev 12:3) which prescribed that a male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day.

[1:59]  ⁴⁰ tn This could be understood as a conative imperfect, expressing an unrealized desire (“they were trying to name him”). It has been given more of a voluntative nuance in the translation.

[1:60]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “And,” but with clearly contrastive emphasis in context.

[1:60]  ⁴² tn Grk “his mother answering, said.” The combination of participle and finite verb is redundant in English and has been simplified to “replied” in the translation.

[1:60]  ⁴³ tn This future passive indicative verb has imperatival force and thus has been translated “he must be named.”

[1:60]  ⁴⁴ sn “No! He must be named John.” By insisting on the name specified by the angel, Elizabeth (v. 60) and Zechariah (v. 63) have learned to obey God (see Luke 1:13).

[1:61]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:61]  ⁴⁶ tn The word “but” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:61]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “There is no one from your relatives who is called by this name.”

[1:62]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action described.

[1:62]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the baby) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:62]  ⁵⁰ sn The crowd was sure there had been a mistake, so they appealed to the child’s father. But custom was not to be followed here, since God had spoken. The fact they needed to signal him (made signs) shows that he was deaf as well as unable to speak.

[1:62]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “what he might wish to call him.”

[1:63]  ⁵² tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:63]  ⁵³ sn The writing tablet requested by Zechariah would have been a wax tablet.

[1:63]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “and wrote, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

[1:63]  ⁵⁵ sn The response, they were all amazed, expresses a mixture of surprise and reflection in this setting where they were so certain of what the child’s name would be.

[1:64]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “And immediately.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:64]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:64]  ⁵⁸ sn The mention of both mouth and tongue here is a figure called zeugma and emphasizes that the end of the temporary judgment came instantly and fully upon Zechariah’s expression of faith in naming the child. He had learned to trust and obey God during his short period of silence. He had learned from his trial.

[1:64]  ⁵⁹ tn “Released” is implied; in the Greek text both στόμα (stoma) and γλῶσσα (glwssa) are subjects of ἀνεῴχθη (anewcqh), but this would be somewhat redundant in English.