¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(A)the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(B)fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(C)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(D)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(E)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(F)great before the Lord. And ^(G)he must not drink wine or strong ^(H)drink, and ^(I)he will be ^(J)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(K)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(L)he will go before him ^(M)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(N)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(O)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(P)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(Q)“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 ^(R)Gabriel. ^(S)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, ^(T)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.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(B)Nazareth, ^27 (C)to a virgin betrothed^[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(D)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(E)O favored one, ^(F)the Lord is with you!”^[b]