When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and gripped with fear.
Parallel translations
- WEB Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
- KJV And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
- NKJV And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
- NASB Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
- NLT Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Zacharias was startled and gripped with fear at the sight. Encountering the holy provokes awe.
Overview
Fear is a common human response to angelic and divine encounters throughout Scripture. Zacharias' reaction underscores the reality and weight of the moment. God graciously meets such fear with reassurance, as the next verse shows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Judg 13:22“We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!”
- Judg 6:22When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
- Acts 10:4Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.
- Luke 2:9–10Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
- Rev 1:17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,
- Dan 10:7Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but a great terror fell upon them, and they ran and hid themselves.
- Mark 16:5When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
- Luke 1:29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
- Job 4:14–15fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 1:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.