Luke 1:8

Now ¹  while Zechariah ²  was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, ³ 

Ex 28:1,41; Ex 29:1,9,44; Ex 30:30; Nu 18:7; 1Ch 24:2; 1Ch 24:19; 2Ch 8:14; 2Ch 11:14; 2Ch 31:2,19; Ezr 6:18; Lu 1:5

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.