The Coming Birth of John the Baptist

⁵ Herod was king of Judea. During the time he was ruling, there was a priest named Zechariah. He belonged to a group of priests named after Abijah. His wife Elizabeth also came from the family line of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them did what was right in the sight of God. They obeyed all the Lord’s commands and rules faithfully. ⁷ But they had no children, because Elizabeth was not able to have any. And they were both very old.

⁸ One day Zechariah’s group was on duty. He was serving as a priest in God’s temple. ⁹ He happened to be chosen, in the usual way, to go into the temple of the Lord. There he was supposed to burn incense. ¹⁰ The time came for this to be done. All who had gathered to worship were praying outside.

¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. The angel was standing at the right side of the incense altar. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was amazed and terrified. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will have a child. It will be a boy, and you must call him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you. His birth will make many people very glad. ¹⁵ He will be important in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or other such drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will prepare the way for the Lord. He will have the same spirit and power that Elijah had. He will bring peace between parents and their children. He will teach people who don’t obey to be wise and do what is right. In this way, he will prepare a people who are ready for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is old too.”

¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I serve God. I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will have to be silent. You will not be able to speak until after John is born. That’s because you did not believe my words. They will come true at the time God has chosen.”

²¹ During that time, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the temple. They wondered why he stayed there so long. ²² When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple. They knew this because he kept gesturing to them. He still could not speak.

²³ When his time of service was over, he returned home. ²⁴ After that, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. She stayed at home for five months. ²⁵ “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days, he has been kind to me. He has taken away my shame among the people.”

John the Baptist Is Born

⁵⁷ The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby. She gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her. They shared her joy.

⁵⁹ On the eighth day, they came to have the child circumcised. They were going to name him Zechariah, like his father. ⁶⁰ But his mother spoke up. “No!” she said. “He must be called John.”

⁶¹ They said to her, “No one among your relatives has that name.”

⁶² Then they motioned to his father. They wanted to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³ He asked for something to write on. Then he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed. ⁶⁴ Right away Zechariah could speak again. Right away he praised God. ⁶⁵ All his neighbors were filled with fear and wonder. Throughout Judea’s hill country, people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it. And because the Lord was with John, they asked, “What is this child going to be?”

Zechariah’s Song

⁶⁷ John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit. He prophesied,

⁸⁰ The child grew up, and his spirit became strong. He lived in the desert until he appeared openly to Israel.