Luke 1:5-25 - The Prediction Of John The Baptist's Birth

⁵ In the days when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the division of Abijah. His wife was also a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ They were both upright in the sight of God, blamelessly observing all the Lord's commands and requirements. ⁷ They had no children, for Elizabeth was barren; and they were both advanced in life.

⁸ Once when he was acting as priest before God, when his division was on duty, ⁹ it fell to his lot, according to the priests' practice, to go into the sanctuary of the Lord and burn the incense, ¹⁰ while all the throng of people was outside, praying at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him he was startled and overcome with fear. ¹³ And the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John. ¹⁴ This will bring gladness and delight to you, and many will rejoice over his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink no wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with the holy Spirit from his very birth, ¹⁶ and he will turn many of Israel's descendants to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go before him with the spirit and the power of Elijah, to reconcile fathers to their children, and to bring the disobedient back to the wisdom of upright men, to make a people perfectly ready for the Lord."

¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, "How am I to know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in life."

¹⁹ The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the very presence of God. I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ Now you will keep silent and be unable to speak until the day when this happens, because you have not believed what I have said, for it will all be fulfilled in due time."

²¹ The people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondering that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. ²² But when he came out he could not speak to them, and they knew that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. For his part, he kept making signs to them, and remained dumb. ²³ And when his period of service was over, he went back to his home.

²⁴ Soon afterward his wife Elizabeth began to expect a child, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months. ²⁵ "This is what the Lord has done for me," she said, "now that he has deigned to remove the disgrace I have endured."