18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “By what will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced ⌊in years⌋!”e 19 And the angel answered and* said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day these things take place, ⌊because⌋f you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and began to wonder* when* he was delayed in the temple. 22 And when he* came out he was not able to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them, and remained unable to speak. 23 And it happened that when the days of his service came to an end, he went away to his home.

24 Now after these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days in which he has concerned himself with me,* to take away my disgrace among people.”