Luke 1:4–22

⁴so that you may know the certainty about the things you have been ^1ataught.

John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold

^5aIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the ^bdivision of ¹Abijah, and he had a wife ²from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶And they were both ^arighteous in the sight of God, walking ^bblamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the ¹Lord.

⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in ¹years.

⁸Now it happened that while ^ahe was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division,

⁹according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ^ato enter the ¹sanctuary of the ²Lord and burn incense.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying ^aoutside at the hour of the incense offering.

¹¹And ^aan angel of the ¹Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and ^afear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “^aDo not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will ¹bear you a son, and ^byou will call his name ²John.

¹⁴“And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵“^aFor he will be great in the sight of the ¹Lord; and ^ahe will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ²while yet in his mother’s womb.

¹⁶“And he will ^aturn many of the sons of Israel back to the ¹Lord their God.

¹⁷“And he will ^ago before Him in the spirit and power of ^bElijah, ^cto turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to ^dmake ready a people prepared for the ¹Lord.”

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For ^aI am an old man and my wife is advanced in ¹years.”

¹⁹And the angel answered and said to him, “I am ^aGabriel, who ^bstands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁰“And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary.

²²But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he ^akept ¹making signs to them, and remained mute.