John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold

^5 (A)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the ^(B)division of ^[a]Abijah; and he had a wife ^[b]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ They were both ^(C)righteous in the sight of God, walking ^(D)blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. ⁷ And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in ^[c]years.

⁸ Now it happened that while ^(E)he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ^(F)to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer ^(G)outside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹ Now ^(H)an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and ^(I)fear ^[d]gripped him.