Luke 1:8-10 New English Translation

⁸Now^[a] while Zechariah^[b] was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,^[c] ⁹he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood,^[d] to enter^[e] the Holy Place^[f] of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰Now^[g] the whole crowd^[h] of people were praying^[i] outside at the hour of the incense offering.^[j]

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Footnotes

Luke 1:8 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.
Luke 1:8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 1:8 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.
Luke 1:9 tn Grk “according to the custom of the priesthood it fell to him by lot.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation to make it clear that the prepositional phrase κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῆς ἱερατείας (kata to ethos tēs hierateias, “according to the custom of the priesthood”) modifies the phrase “it fell to him by lot” rather than the preceding clause.
Luke 1:9 tn This is an aorist participle and is temporally related to the offering of incense, not to when the lot fell.
Luke 1:9 tn Or “temple.” Such sacrifices, which included the burning of incense, would have occurred in the holy place according to the Mishnah (m. Tamid 1.2; 3.1; 5-7). A priest would have given this sacrifice, which was offered for the nation, once in one’s career. It would be offered either at 9 a.m. or 3 p.m., since it was made twice a day.
Luke 1:10 tn Grk “And,” but “now” better represents the somewhat parenthetical nature of this statement in the flow of the narrative.
Luke 1:10 tn Grk “all the multitude.” While “assembly” is sometimes used here to translate πλῆθος (plēthos), that term usually implies in English a specific or particular group of people. However, this was simply a large group gathered outside, which was not unusual, especially for the afternoon offering.
Luke 1:10 tn The plural verb is used here on the probability that the crowd acted as individuals, each person praying on their own but at the same time. English versions are divided on how they handle this; see, e.g., NRSV, HCSB, which have the singular verb “was praying.”
Luke 1:10 tn The “hour of the incense offering” is another way to refer to the time of sacrifice.

New English Translation (NET)