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.”

sn Zechariah’s division would be on duty twice a year for a week at a time.

⁴ sn The phrases that we…might serve him…in holiness and righteousness from Luke 1:74-75 well summarize a basic goal for a believer in the eyes of Luke. Salvation frees us up to serve God without fear through a life full of ethical integrity.

⁵ tn Grk “all our days.”

⁶ tn Grk “And whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁷ tn Or “city.” Jesus now speaks of the town as a whole, as he will in vv. 10-12.

⁸ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ sn Pilate was the Roman prefect (procurator) in charge of collecting taxes and keeping the peace. His immediate superior was the Roman governor (proconsul) of Syria, although the exact nature of this administrative relationship is unknown. Pilate’s relations with the Jews had been rocky (v. 12). Here he is especially sensitive to them.