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In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, there was a priest [there was some priest], Zacharias by name, of the sort of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

And [they] both were just before God, going in all the commandments and justifyings of the Lord, without plaint.

And they had no child, for [that] Elisabeth was barren, and both were of great age in their days [and both had gone far in their days].

And it befell [Soothly it was done], that when Zacharias should do the office of priesthood, in the order of his course before God,

after the custom of the priesthood, he went forth by lot [by sort he went forth], and entered into the temple [of the Lord], to incense.

10 And all the multitude of the people was withoutforth, and prayed in the hour of incensing [praying in the hour of incense].

11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, and stood on the right half of the altar of incense [standing on the right half of the altar of incense].

12 And Zacharias seeing was afraid [And Zacharias seeing was distroubled], and dread fell upon him.

13 And the angel said to him, Zacharias, dread thou not; for thy prayer is heard, and Elisabeth, thy wife, shall bear to thee a son, and his name shall be called John.

14 And joy and gladding shall be to thee; and many shall have joy in his nativity, or birth.

15 For he shall be great before the Lord, and he shall not drink wine nor cider, and he shall be full-filled with the Holy Ghost [and he shall be filled of the Holy Ghost] yet from his mother's womb.

16 And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to their Lord God; [And he shall convert many of the sons of Israel to the Lord God of them;]

17 and he shall go before him in the spirit and virtue of Elias; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers into the sons [and shall turn the hearts of the fathers into the sons], and men out of belief to the prudence of just men, to make ready a perfect people to the Lord.

18 And Zacharias said to the angel, Whereof shall I know this? for I am old, and my wife hath gone far in her days.

19 And the angel answered, and said to him [And the angel answering said to him], For I am Gabriel, that stand nigh before God; and I am sent to thee to speak, and to evangelize to thee these things [and to evangelize, or tell, to thee these things].

20 And lo! thou shalt be dumb, and thou shalt not be able to speak till into the day, in which these things shall be done; for thou hast not believed to my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.

21 And the people was abiding Zacharias, and they wondered, that he tarried in the temple.

22 And he went out, and might not speak to them, and they knew that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he beckoned to them, and dwelled still dumb.

23 And it was done, when the days of his office were fulfilled, he went into his house.

24 And after these days Elisabeth, his wife, conceived, and hid her(self) five months, and said [saying],

25 For so the Lord did to me in the days, in which he beheld, to take away my reproof among men.

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There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the shift of Abijah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were perfect before God, and walked in all the laws and observances of the Lord, and no man could find fault with them. And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were well stricken in age.

And it came to pass as he executed the priest’s office before God, when his shift came according to the custom of the priest’s office, the lot fell to him to burn incense. And he went into the temple of the Lord, 10 and the whole host of the people were outside in prayer while the incense was a-burning. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was startled, and fear came on him.

13 And the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard. And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to their Lord God. 17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the unbelievers to the wisdom of the just men: to make the people ready for the Lord.

18 And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be sure of this, seeing that I am old, and my wife well stricken in years?

19 And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God, and have been sent to speak to you and to show you these glad tidings. 20 And behold, you shall be dumb and not able to speak until the time that these things are performed, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.

21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and wondered that he was so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them, whereby they perceived that he had seen some vision in the temple. And he gestured to them and remained speechless.

23 And eventually, as soon as the time of his ministration was up, he departed home to his own house. 24 And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus has God dealt with me in the days when he looked on me, to take from me the disgrace that I suffered among men.

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In [a]the [b]time of [c]Herod King of Judea, there was a certain Priest named Zacharias, of the (A)[d]course of Abijah: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Both were [e]just before God, and [f]walked in all the [g]commandments and ordinances of the Lord, [h]without reproof.

And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren: and both were well stricken in age.

And it came to pass, as he executed the Priest’s office before God, as his course came in order,

(B)According to the custom of the Priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense, when he went into the [i]Temple of the Lord.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were without in prayer, (C)while the incense was burning.

11 Then appeared unto him an Angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the Altar of incense.

12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the Angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth.

15 For he shall be great in the [j]sight of the Lord, and shall neither drink wine, nor [k]strong drink: and he shall be filled with the holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

16 (D)And many of the children of Israel shall he [l]turn to their Lord God.

17 (E)For he shall go [m]before him [n]in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the [o]hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the [p]wisdom of the just men, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

18 Then Zacharias said unto the Angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife is of a great age.

19 And the Angel answered, and said unto him, I am Gabriel [q]that stand in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these good tidings.

20 And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not be able to speak, until the day that these things be done, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

21 Now the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the Temple.

22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: then they perceived that he had seen a vision in the Temple: for he made signs unto them, and remained dumb.

23 And it came to pass, when the days of his office were fulfilled, that he departed to his own house.

24 And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me, in the days wherein he looked on me, to take from me my rebuke among men.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:5 John who was another Elijah, and appointed to be herald of Christ, coming of the stock of Aaron, and of two famous and blameless parents, hath showed in his conception, which was against the course of nature, a double miracle, to the end that men should be more readily stirred up to the hearing of his preaching, according to the forewarning of the Prophets.
  2. Luke 1:5 Word for word, in the days: so speak the Hebrews, giving us to understand, how short and frail a thing the power of princes is.
  3. Luke 1:5 Herod the great.
  4. Luke 1:5 For the posterity of Aaron was divided into courses.
  5. Luke 1:6 The true mark of righteousness is, to be liked and allowed of in the judgment of God.
  6. Luke 1:6 Lived, so speak the Hebrews, for our life is as a way, wherein we must walk, until we come to the mark.
  7. Luke 1:6 In all the moral and ceremonial law.
  8. Luke 1:6 Whom no man could justly reprove: now so it is, that the fruits of justification are set forth here, and not the cause, which is faith only, and nothing else.
  9. Luke 1:9 The Temple was one, and the Court another, for Zacharias went out of the Court or outward room, where all the people were, and therefore are said to be without, into the temple.
  10. Luke 1:15 So speak the Hebrews when it signified a rare kind of excellency: so is it said of Nimrod, Gen. 10:9. He was a valiant hunter before God.
  11. Luke 1:15 Any drink that may make drunken.
  12. Luke 1:16 Shall be a means to bring many to repentance, and turn themselves to the Lord from whom they fell.
  13. Luke 1:17 As they used to go before kings, and when you see them, you know the king is not far off.
  14. Luke 1:17 This is spoken by the figure Metonymy, taking the spirit, for the gift of the spirit, as you would say, the cause, for that that cometh of the cause.
  15. Luke 1:17 By this figure Synecdoche, he showeth that he shall take away all kinds of enmities, which used to breed great troubles and turmoils amongst men.
  16. Luke 1:17 Wisdom and goodness are two of the chiefest causes which make men to reverence and honor their fathers.
  17. Luke 1:19 That appears, for so the Hebrews use this word (to stand) meaning that they are ready to do his commandment.

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. 23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

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