¹¹ And the angel of the Lord said to her,

God Hears Israel's Groaning

^23 (A)During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel ^(B)groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. ^(C)Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. ²⁴ And ^(D)God heard their groaning, and God ^(E)remembered his covenant with ^(F)Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

⁷ Then the Lord said, ^(A)“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their ^(B)taskmasters. I know their sufferings,

¹⁴ Therefore the ^(A)Lord himself will give you a sign. ^(B)Behold, the ^(C)virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name ^(D)Immanuel.^[a]

²⁰ And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”^[a]

⁵¹ Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.”^{[a] 52} The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has ^(A)made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”^[b]

¹⁹ God said, “No, but ^(A)Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name ^(B)Isaac.^[a] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

⁶³ And he asked for ^(A)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(B)“His name is John.” And they all wondered.