The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea^(A) there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah;^(B) his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.^(C)

¹¹ Then an angel^(A) of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.^{(B) 12} When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.^{(C) 13} But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid,^(D) Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.^{(E) 14} He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,^{(F) 15} for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,^(G) and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit^(H) even before he is born.^(I)

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel^(A) to Nazareth,^(B) a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph,^(C) a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,^(D) Mary; you have found favor with God.^{(E) 31} You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.^{(F) 32} He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.^(G) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,^{(H) 33} and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom^(I) will never end.”^(J)

³⁶ There was also a prophet,^(A) Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[a](B) She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.^{(C) 38} Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.^(D)