What Does Luke 1:21 Mean in the King James?
And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verb for “tarried” grows from χρόνος (chronos), “time,” turning Zacharias’s delay into a collision between his duration and the crowd’s expectation.
THE MEANING
When your time in one place stretches beyond what others expect, their waiting can become wonder. This verse holds both sides together: Zacharias remains in the temple while the people wait and marvel. The delay is visible; its cause remains unspoken.
THE ROOT
χρονίζειν
chronizein
GROWS FROM
χρον-
chron-
The time stem from χρόνος (chronos), meaning “time” or “duration.”
“tarried” in this verse is chronizein. The verb carries the time-word inside it: Zacharias is spending time in the temple, while the people experience that duration as a wait. The text makes the length itself the point of wonder, without naming why he remains.
ALSO GROWS
chronos: Time; a span or duration.
χρόνος
This is the time-word within “tarried,” making the passing interval central to the verse.
chronizō: To spend time, linger, or delay.
χρονίζω
This verb names Zacharias’s prolonged stay and connects his time inside the temple to the people’s waiting.
chronios: Long-lasting; lasting over time.
χρόνιος
This related form echoes the verse’s emphasis on how long the interval feels to those waiting.
THE PATTERN
When one person’s time exceeds the expectation of those waiting, the interval itself becomes visible.
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.THE THREAD
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.Both verses use χρονίζω (chronizō), meaning “to linger” or “delay.” Luke makes the length of Zacharias’s stay felt through the crowd’s wait; Hebrews uses the same word to say that the awaited one will not delay.
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