1:5 During the reign ¹  of Herod ²  king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ³  the priestly division of Abijah, ⁴  and he had a wife named Elizabeth, ⁵  who was a descendant of Aaron. ⁶  1:6 They ⁷  were both righteous in the sight of God, following ⁸  all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ⁹  1:7 But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren, ¹⁰  and they were both very old. ¹¹ 

1:8 Now ¹²  while Zechariah ¹³  was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, ¹⁴  1:9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, ¹⁵  to enter ¹⁶  the holy place ¹⁷  of the Lord and burn incense. 1:10 Now ¹⁸  the whole crowd ¹⁹  of people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. ²⁰  1:11 An ²¹  angel of the Lord, ²²  standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared ²³  to him. 1:12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, ²⁴  was seized with fear. ²⁵  1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, ²⁶  and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you ²⁷  will name him John. ²⁸  1:14 Joy and gladness will come ²⁹  to you, and many will rejoice at ³⁰  his birth, ³¹  1:15 for he will be great in the sight of ³²  the Lord. He ³³  must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. ³⁴  1:16 He ³⁵  will turn ³⁶  many of the people ³⁷  of Israel to the Lord their God. 1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord ³⁸  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ³⁹  to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

1:18 Zechariah ⁴⁰  said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? ⁴¹  For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.” ⁴²  1:19 The ⁴³  angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands ⁴⁴  in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring ⁴⁵  you this good news. 1:20 And now, ⁴⁶  because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, ⁴⁷  you will be silent, unable to speak, ⁴⁸  until the day these things take place.”

1:21 Now ⁴⁹  the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder ⁵⁰  why he was delayed in the holy place. ⁵¹  1:22 When ⁵²  he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They ⁵³  realized that he had seen a vision ⁵⁴  in the holy place, ⁵⁵  because ⁵⁶  he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak. ⁵⁷  1:23 When his time of service was over, ⁵⁸  he went to his home.

1:24 After some time ⁵⁹  his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, ⁶⁰  and for five months she kept herself in seclusion. ⁶¹  She said, ⁶²  1:25 “This is what ⁶³  the Lord has done for me at the time ⁶⁴  when he has been gracious to me, ⁶⁵  to take away my disgrace ⁶⁶  among people.” ⁶⁷