¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.^{(A) 14} You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,^{(B) 15} for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.^{(C) 16} He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.^{(D) 17} With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”^(E)

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,^{(A) 27} to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.^(B)