5 In the ^fdays of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,¹ of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was ^gbarren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his ^hdivision was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by ⁱlot to enter the temple of the Lord and ^jburn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the ^kaltar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was ^ltroubled when he saw him, ^mand fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. ⁿAnd he must not ^odrink wine or strong drink, ^pand he will be ^qfilled with the Holy Spirit, even ^rfrom his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^sto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”