aaSee Matt. 11:14
Luke 1:5-25
Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 aIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, ▼▼Greek Zacharias
cof dthe division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6And they were both erighteous before God, walking fblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7But they had no child, because gElizabeth was barren, and hboth were advanced in years. 8Now iwhile he was serving as priest before God when jhis division was on duty, 9according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot kto enter lthe temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And the whole multitude of the people mwere praying noutside at the hour of incense. 11And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of othe altar of incense. 12And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and pfear fell upon him. 13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for qyour prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ryou shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will srejoice at his birth, 15for he will be tgreat before the Lord. And uhe must not drink wine or strong vdrink, and whe will be xfilled with the Holy Spirit, yeven from his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17and zhe will go before him aain the spirit and power of Elijah, abto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and acthe disobedient to the wisdom of the just, adto make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18And Zechariah said to the angel, ae“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19And the angel answered him, “I am afGabriel. agI stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20And behold, ahyou will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in aithe temple. 22And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ajthe temple. And akhe kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23And alwhen his time of amservice was ended, he went to his home.
24After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, anto take away my reproach among people.”
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