¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(A)“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 ^(B)Gabriel. ^(C)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, ^(D)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 ^(E)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 ^(F)the temple. And ^(G)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³ And ^(H)when his time of ^(I)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, ^(J)to take away my reproach among people.”