⁵ In the days when Herod was king of Judea there was a certain priest whose name was Zachariah, ^[a]of the daily service (the division) of Abia; and his wife was also a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶ And they both were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

⁷ But they had no child, for Elizabeth was barren; and both were ^[b]far advanced in years.

⁸ Now while on duty, serving as priest before God in the order of his division,

⁹ As was the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter [the ^[c]sanctuary of] the temple of the Lord and burn incense.^(A)

¹⁰ And all the throng of people were praying outside [in the court] at the hour of incense [burning].

¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

¹² And when Zachariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear took possession of him.

¹³ But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zachariah, because your petition ^[d]was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must call his name John [God is favorable].

¹⁴ And you shall have joy and exultant delight, and many will rejoice over his birth,

¹⁵ For he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord. And he must drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit even ^[e]in and from his mother’s womb.^(B)

¹⁶ And he will turn back and cause to return many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,

¹⁷ And he will [himself] go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient and incredulous and unpersuadable to the wisdom of the upright [which is ^[f]the knowledge and holy love of the will of God]—in order to make ready for the Lord a people [perfectly] prepared [in spirit, ^[g]adjusted and disposed and placed in the right moral state].^(C)

¹⁸ And Zachariah said to the angel, By what shall I know and be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.

¹⁹ And the angel replied to him, I am Gabriel. I stand in the [very] presence of God, and I have been sent to talk to you and to bring you this good news.^(D)

²⁰ Now behold, you will be and ^[h]will continue to be silent and not able to speak till the day when these things take place, because you have not believed what I told you; but my words are ^[i]of a kind which will be fulfilled in the appointed and proper time.

²¹ Now the people kept waiting for Zachariah, and they wondered at his delaying [so long] in the ^[j]sanctuary.

²² But when he did come out, he was unable to speak to them; and they [^[k]clearly] perceived that he had seen a vision in the ^[l]sanctuary; and he kept making signs to them, still he remained dumb.

²³ And when his time of performing priestly functions was ended, he returned to his [own] house.

²⁴ Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself ^[m]entirely, saying, [I have hid myself]

^25 [n]Because thus the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He deigned to look on me to take away my reproach among men.^(E)

⁵⁷ Now the time that Elizabeth should be delivered came, and she gave birth to a son.

⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy on her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹ And it occurred that on the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were intending to call him Zachariah after his father,^(A)

⁶⁰ But his mother answered, Not so! But he shall be called John.

⁶¹ And they said to her, None of your relatives is called by that name.

⁶² And they inquired with signs to his father [as to] what he wanted to have him called.

⁶³ Then Zachariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, His name is John. And they were all astonished.

⁶⁴ And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, blessing and praising and thanking God.

⁶⁵ And awe and reverential fear came on all their neighbors; and all these things were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶ And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, Whatever will this little boy be then? For the hand of the Lord was [^[a]so evidently] with him [protecting and aiding him].

⁶⁷ Now Zachariah his father was filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸ Blessed (praised and extolled and thanked) be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and brought deliverance and redemption to His people!

⁶⁹ And He has raised up a Horn of salvation [a mighty and valiant Helper, the Author of salvation] for us in the house of David His servant—

⁷⁰ This is as He promised by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times [in the memory of man]—

⁷¹ That we should have deliverance and be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who detest and pursue us with hatred;

⁷² To make true and show the mercy and compassion and kindness [promised] to our forefathers and to remember and carry out His holy covenant [to bless, which is ^[b]all the more sacred because it is made by God Himself],

⁷³ That covenant He sealed by oath to our forefather Abraham:

⁷⁴ To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our foes, might serve Him fearlessly

⁷⁵ In holiness (divine consecration) and righteousness [in accordance with the everlasting principles of right] within His presence all the days of our lives.

⁷⁶ And you, little one, shall be called a prophet of the Most High; for you shall go on before the face of the Lord to make ready His ways,^(B)

⁷⁷ To bring and give the knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness and remission of their sins.

⁷⁸ Because of and through the heart of tender mercy and loving-kindness of our God, a Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit [us]^(C)

⁷⁹ To shine upon and give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace.^(D)

⁸⁰ And the little boy grew and became strong in spirit; and he was in the deserts (wilderness) until the day of his appearing to Israel [the commencement of his public ministry].