⁸ Now ^(A)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(B)his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(C)to enter ^(D)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people ^(E)were praying ^(F)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(G)the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(H)fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(I)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(J)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(K)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(L)great before the Lord. And ^(M)he must not drink wine or strong ^(N)drink, and ^(O)he will be ^(P)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(Q)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(R)he will go before him ^(S)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(T)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(U)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(V)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

²³ And ^(A)when his time of ^(B)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^(C)to take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(D)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(E)Nazareth, ^27 (F)to a virgin betrothed^[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(G)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(H)O favored one, ^(I)the Lord is with you!”^{[b] 29} But ^(J)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(K)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(L)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(M)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(N)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(O)will give to him the throne of ^(P)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(Q)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”