¹⁵ for he will be ^(A)great before the Lord. And ^(B)he must not drink wine or strong ^(C)drink, and ^(D)he will be ^(E)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(F)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(G)he will go before him ^(H)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(I)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(J)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(K)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(L)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel answered him, “I am ^(M)Gabriel. ^(N)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, ^(O)you 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.” ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(P)the temple. ²² And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^(Q)the temple. And ^(R)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³ And ^(S)when his time of ^(T)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴ After 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, ^(U)to take away my reproach among people.”