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The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled while he delayed in the temple.
Verse Takeaways
1
A Dangerous Delay
Commentators explain that the people's 'marveling' was more than simple impatience. Jewish tradition, noted by scholars like John Gill, taught that a priest who lingered too long in the sanctuary might have been struck dead by God for unworthiness. Therefore, the crowd's wonder was mixed with genuine fear for Zechariah's life, heightening the drama of the divine encounter taking place inside.
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Luke
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7
18th Century
Presbyterian
The people waited. That is, beyond the usual time.
Marvelled. Wondered. The priest, it is said, was not accustomed to rema…
Were waiting (ην προσδοκων). Periphrastic imperfect again. An old Greek verb for expecting. Appears in papyri and inscriptions. It…
19th Century
Baptist
By the signs he made, he impressed them with the fact that something extraordinary had happened.
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The element of suspense during the unusually long prayer-time contributes to the vividness of Luke’s narrative. The worshipers, who had been prayin…
16th Century
Protestant
And the people were waiting, Luke now relates that the people were witnesses of this vision. Zacharias had stayed in the temple longer tha…
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
And the people waited for Zacharias That were without, in the court of the Israelites, praying there, while he was o…
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The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners, as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were distingui…
