Luke 1:4–22

⁴so that you may know the certainty concerning the things about which you were taught.

The Prediction of John the Baptist’s Birth

⁵It happened that in the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest, Zechariah by name, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife^a from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both righteous in the sight of God, living blamelessly in all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. ⁷And they did not have^b a child, because Elizabeth was barren. And they were both advanced in years.^c

⁸And it happened that while^* he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹according to the custom of the priesthood he was chosen by lot to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense. ¹⁰And the whole crowd of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²And Zechariah was terrified when he^* saw the angel,^* and fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him,

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah,

because your prayer has been heard,

and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,

and you will call his name John.

¹⁴And you will experience joy and exultation,^d

and many will rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord,

and he must never drink wine or beer,

and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit

while he is^* still in his mother’s womb.

¹⁶And he will turn many of the sons of Israel

to the Lord their God.

¹⁷And he will go on before him

in the spirit and power of Elijah,

to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,

and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous,

to prepare for the Lord a people made ready.”

¹⁸And 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. ²⁰And 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.”

²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and began to wonder^* when^* he was delayed in the temple. ²²And 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.