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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 1 V1 V4 V7 V10 V13 V16 V19 V22 V25 V28 V31 V34 V37 V40 V43 V46 V49 V52 V55 V58 V61 V64 V67 V70 V73 V76 V79
OET (OET-LV) And an_messenger of_the_master was_seen to_him, having_stood on the_right of_the altar of_the incense.
OET (OET-RV) At that moment, a messenger from God appeared to Zekaryah, standing right there at the right of the incense altar.
An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah while he was working in the temple as a priest. The angel told him that his wife Elizabeth would become pregnant and have a baby, and that he must name him John. Zechariah and Elizabeth were old, and Elizabeth was not able to have children. So Zechariah did not believe the angel. Because he did not believe that what the angel said would happen, the angel made him unable to speak. But later, Elizabeth became pregnant.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:
The Birth of John the Baptist is Announced (GNT)
The angel Gabriel predicts the birth of John the Baptizer
The angel Gabriel announces/prophesies to Zechariah that his wife will have a son
In this paragraph, Luke began to tell the main events of this section after he gave the background information in 1:5–10. Introduce this paragraph in a natural way in your language.
Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah,
¶ Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared to Zechariah.
¶ As Zechariah was in the temple, suddenly an angel was also there, and Zechariah could see him.
Just then: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Just then here introduces the first event that happened when Zechariah was in the temple. The text does not explicitly state that Zechariah had entered the temple, but this is implied. In some languages it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:
While Zechariah was in the sanctuary (NLT)
an angel of the Lord: The phrase an angel of the Lord refers here to an angel whom the Lord sent. Some other ways to translate this are:
an angel who came from the Lord God
an angel who was sent by the Lord
angel: The Greek word that the BSB translates as angel means “messenger.” It refers here to a spirit being who serves God. God sent this angel to tell Zechariah a message. Some ways to translate this term are:
Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:
messenger from God/heaven
holy spirit-being
Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning.
In some areas the churches may already be using a borrowed term or a transliterated word for “angel.” Be sure that this term fits the biblical meaning. If some people do not understand the right meaning from this term, you may need to indicate the meaning in some way. For example:
an angelos messenger from God
a sacred angelos spirit
Be sure that your term for “angel” is different from your terms for “prophet” and “apostle.” See angel, Meaning 1, in the Glossary. See also the chart in the Glossary that shows the differences between these three terms.
the Lord: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the Lord refers here to God. This same word occurs in 1:6b.
appeared to Zechariah: The Greek word that the BSB translates as appeared indicates here that the angel arrived and became visible to Zechariah. Suddenly he was there where Zechariah could see him. This does not imply that Zechariah saw him only in a vision. The angel was really there. However, the context implies that the angel came in a supernatural way. He probably did not walk in; rather, he just appeared in front of Zechariah.
standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
The angel was standing at the right side of the altar for burning incense.
The angel stood on the right side of the altar on which priests burned the incense.
standing at the right side of the altar of incense: This part of the verse indicates that the angel was standing at the right side of the altar. Your translation should not imply that it was Zechariah who was standing there.
The angel was standing near the altar, and he was facing Zechariah. The right side of the altar probably refers to the right side from the angel’s point of view. The right side implies a place of honor.
altar of incense: The altar of incense was the place where the priest burned incense for the Lord. The altar was a table made of wood and covered with gold. On top there was a charcoal fire. The priest threw the powdered incense onto the burning charcoal. The priests did not sacrifice animals on this altar. See the drawing below:
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-time-simultaneous
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὤφθη Δέ αὐτῷ ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἑστώς ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τοῦ θυμιάματος)
The word Then indicates that the event it introduces took place at the same time as the event the story has just related. If it would be helpful in your language, you could show this relationship by using a phrase such as “right at that time.”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ὤφθη & αὐτῷ
˓was˒_seen & ˱to˲_him
When Luke says that the angel appeared, this does not mean that Zechariah simply saw the angel in a vision. Rather, this expression indicates that the angel was actually present with Zechariah. Alternate translation: [suddenly was there with Zechariah]
OET (OET-LV) And an_messenger of_the_master was_seen to_him, having_stood on the_right of_the altar of_the incense.
OET (OET-RV) At that moment, a messenger from God appeared to Zekaryah, standing right there at the right of the incense altar.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.