Luke 1:17–25

¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord,^x in the spirit and power of Elijah,^y to turn the hearts of the parents to their children^z and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”^a

¹⁸Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?^b I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”^c

¹⁹The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel.^d I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and not able to speak^e until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

²¹Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²²When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs^f to them but remained unable to speak.

²³When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ²⁵“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace^g among the people.”