The Birth of John And Jesus

⁵ In the days of Herod^[a], king of Judea:

There Was a Priest Named Zechariah Whose Wife Elizabeth Was Barren

There was a certain priest— Zechariah by name, from the division of Abijah— and a wife for him from the daughters of Aaron. And her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous ones in the sight of God, walking in all the commandments and regulations of the Lord as blameless^[b] ones. ⁷ And there was not a child for them, because Elizabeth was barren. And they were both advanced in their days.

During His Temple Service, an Angel Tells Him Elizabeth Will Bear a Son

⁸ And it came about during his serving-as-priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹ that according to the custom^[c] of the priestly-office, he obtained-by-lot that he might offer-incense^[d], [after] having entered into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ And the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the offering of incense. ¹¹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And having seen him, Zechariah was frightened, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be fearing, Zechariah, because your prayer was heard. And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And there will be joy and gladness for you. And many will rejoice over his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will never drink wine and fermented-drink^[e], and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still of ^[f] his mother’s womb, ¹⁶ and he will turn-back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go-ahead before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn-back^[g] the hearts of fathers to their children, and to turn back disobedient ones with^[h] the understanding^[i] of righteous ones, to prepare a people having been made-ready for the Lord”. ¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, “Based-on what shall I know this? For I am an old-man, and my wife is advanced in her days”. ¹⁹ And having responded, the angel said to him, “I am Gabriel, the one standing in the presence of God. And I was sent forth to speak to you, and to announce these things as-good-news to you. ²⁰ And behold— you shall be silent and not able to speak until which day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper-time”. ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah. And they were wondering during his delaying in the temple. ²² And having come out, he was not able to speak to them. And they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he was motioning to them and continuing to be mute.

Elizabeth Conceives And Hides It For Five Months

²³ And it came about that when the days of his service were fulfilled, he went to his house. ²⁴ And after these days, Elizabeth his wife conceived. And she was concealing herself for five months, saying ²⁵ that “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days in which He looked-upon me to take-away my reproach among people”.