²⁴ But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”^(A)

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels^[a](B) of silver for them.

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples^(A) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;^(B)

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea^(A) there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah;^(B) his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.^{(C) 7} But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

⁸ Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,^{(D) 9} he was chosen by lot,^(E) according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.^{(F) 10} And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.^(G)

¹¹ Then an angel^(H) of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.^{(I) 12} When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.^{(J) 13} But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid,^(K) Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.^{(L) 14} He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,^{(M) 15} for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,^(N) and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit^(O) even before he is born.^{(P) 16} He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord,^(Q) in the spirit and power of Elijah,^(R) to turn the hearts of the parents to their children^(S) and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”^(T)

¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?^(U) I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”^(V)

¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel.^(W) I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will be silent and not able to speak^(X) until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

²¹ Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²² When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs^(Y) to them but remained unable to speak.

²³ When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴ After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ²⁵ “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace^(Z) among the people.”

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹ On the eighth day they came to circumcise^(A) the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰ but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”^(B)

⁶¹ They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶² Then they made signs^(C) to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”^{(D) 64} Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak,^(E) praising God. ⁶⁵ All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea^(F) people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.^(G)

Zechariah’s Song

⁶⁷ His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit^(H) and prophesied:^(I)

⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit^[b];^(AB) and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

²² When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,^(A) Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”^[a]),^{(B) 24} and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”^[b](C)

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.^(D) He was waiting for the consolation of Israel,^(E) and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,^{(F) 28} Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:^(K) “This child is destined to cause the falling^(L) and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

³⁶ There was also a prophet,^(M) Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[d](N) She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.^{(O) 38} Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.^(P)