In the time of Herod, the king of Judea, there was a certain priest, named Zacharias, of the family of Abia, whose wife; nam'd Elizabeth, was of the race of Aaron: they were both of them sincerely pious; observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord; with unspotted reputation. read more.
they had no children, because Elizabeth was steril, and they were both advanced in years. now Zachary was to officiate in divine service, in the order of his family, and according to the custom of distributing the parts, it fell to his lot to burn incense in the sanctuary. and all the congregation of the people stood praying without, at the time of offering incense, when there appear'd to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the incense-altar. Zacharias startled at the sight and was seized with fear. but the angel said to Zacharias, don't be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard: and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, whom you shall name John: he shall be your joy and transport, and numbers shall rejoice at his birth. he shall appear as a divine messenger. he shall drink neither wine, nor any other strong liquor: he shall be filled with the holy spirit, even from his infancy: he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. and he shall march before him, in the spirit and power of Elias, to reconcile parents and children together, and the unruly to the practice of justice, that the people may be duly dispos'd to receive the Lord. But Zacharias said to the angel, by what sign shall I know this? for I am old, and my wife is of a great age. the angel replied, I am Gabriel, who attend in the presence of God, and am sent to communicate to you this agreeable message. you shall now become dumb and not recover your speech, till the very day when these things shall happen; because you distrusted my words, which in due time shall have their effect. In the mean time the people were waiting for Zacharias, and wonder'd at his tarrying so long in the temple. but when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; for he intimated it to them by signs, and continued dumb. and the time of his officiating being ended, he departed to his own house. Some time after, Elizabeth his wife was pregnant, and went into retirement for five months. it is the Lord, said she, who has thus favour'd me, at the time when he took care to remove the reproach I was under among men. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin contracted to a man; whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. and the virgin's name was Mary. the angel, upon his arrival, said to her; "Hail, favorite of heaven, the Lord is with thee: thou happiest of thy sex." Mary was surpriz'd at the voice of such an appearance, and wonder'd what the meaning of this salutation should be. but the angel said to her, "Mary, be not afraid: for you are the object of divine favour. you shall be now pregnant, and be delivered of a son, whom you shall name JESUS. he shall be great, he shall be the son of the most high. the Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David. he shall reign over the house of Jacob, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Then said Mary to the angel, what shall this be without any intercourse with man? the angel answered her, "the holy spirit shall descend upon thee, and the power of the most high shall over-shadow thee: wherefore thy holy offspring shall be called the son of God. even your cousin Elizabeth, as old as she is, is become pregnant with a son: she, who was stiled barren, is now in her sixth month; for nothing is impossible to God." then said Mary, "behold the servant of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word." upon which the angel disappeared. Soon after this, Mary departed, and made an expeditious journey to a city of Juda, in the mountains: