The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth that she should give birth, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her,^[a] and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were wanting to name him after^[b] his father Zechariah. ⁶⁰ And his mother answered and^[c] said, “No, but he will be named John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “There is no one of your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶² So they made signs to his father asking what he wanted him to be named, ⁶³ and he asked for a writing tablet and^[d] wrote, saying, “John is his name.” And they were all astonished. ⁶⁴ And his mouth and his tongue were opened immediately, and he began to speak,^[e] praising God. ⁶⁵ And fear came on all those who lived near them, and in all the hill country of Judea all these events were discussed. ⁶⁶ And all those who heard kept these things^[f] in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be? For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him!”