But they had no children, because Elizabeth was unable to bear offspring due to their both being very old.

And Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is [also] very old."

Now the people who waited [outside] for Zacharias were very surprised that he was staying in the Temple so long.

But she became very troubled by what he said and wondered what such a greeting could mean.

[Suddenly] an angel from the Lord [was seen] standing near them and the glorious presence of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid.

And there was a woman prophet named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher [i.e., she was a descendant of one of Jacob's son]. (She was very old, having lived with her husband for [only] seven years after being married,

She came forward at that very time and thanked God [in prayer] and spoke about the child [Jesus] to everyone [in the Temple area] who was expecting the redemption of the people of Jerusalem [i.e., their liberation from sin].

When His parents [finally] saw Him, they were very surprised and His mother asked Him, "Son, why have you treated us this way? Look, your [step-] father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

and the Holy Spirit came down on Him in a physical form, as a dove, and a voice spoke out of heaven [saying], "You are my dearly loved Son. I am very pleased with you."

During the forty days He was being put to the test by the devil, He did not eat anything; then after it was over He was [very] hungry.

Now when the Lord saw her, He felt very sorry for her and said to her, "Do not cry."

At that very time Jesus was healing many people from diseases, those plagued with serious illnesses and those dominated by evil spirits. He [also] restored sight to many blind people.

Now Peter and those with him [i.e., James and John] had been very sleepy, but became wide awake when they saw the splendor of Jesus and the two men standing with Him.

At that very time Jesus rejoiced in [the power of] the Holy Spirit, and said [in prayer], "I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you concealed these things [i.e., His divine revelations] from those [claiming to be] wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babies [i.e., to simple, sincere, common people]. Yes, Father, this was pleasing to you.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say at that very time."

"Consider how [wild] lilies grow; they do not work or weave, yet I tell you, even Solomon, clothed in his very finest royal robes, was never dressed [as luxuriously] as one of these [flowers].

Now there were some there at that very time who told Jesus about some people from Galilee whose blood Pilate [the Roman governor] had mixed with their sacrifices [i.e., he had them murdered while they were offering their sacrifices].

At that very time certain Pharisees came to Jesus saying, "Get out of here and go someplace else, for King Herod wants to kill you."

"The person who is trustworthy in regard to very small matters, [such as material possessions] is also [likely to be] trustworthy in regard to large matters, [such as spiritual values], and the person who does not do what is right in very small matters is also not [likely] to do what is right in large ones.

I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly. However, will the Son of man find [very many] believing people on the earth when He returns?"

And the ruler replied, "I have [already] been observing all of these commandments since I was [very] young."

But when the ruler heard these words, he became very sad for he was extremely rich.

And the gentleman replied, 'Well done, you are a good slave. Because you have proven trustworthy over a [relatively] very small matter, you will [now] have charge over ten towns.'

And they were very pleased, so agreed to give him money.

Now Herod was very pleased when he saw Jesus for he had wanted to see Him for a long time. He had heard [things] about Jesus and [now] hoped to see Him perform a miracle.

So, Herod and Pilate became mutual friends that very day. (Now before this they had been enemies).