¹¹ Then, on the right side of the incense table, an angel of the Lord came and stood before Zechariah. ¹² When he saw the angel, Zechariah was confused and frightened. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son. You will name him John. ¹⁴ You will be very happy. Many people will be happy because of his birth. ¹⁵ John will be a great man for the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer. Even at the time John is born, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ He will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He himself will go first before the Lord. John will be powerful in spirit like Elijah. He will make peace between fathers and their children. He will bring those who are not obeying God back to the right way of thinking. He will make people ready for the coming of the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is old, too.”

¹⁹ The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand before God. God sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ Now, listen! You will not be able to talk until the day these things happen. You will lose your speech because you did not believe what I told you. But these things will really happen.”

The Birth of John

⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she had a boy. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard how good the Lord was to her, and they rejoiced.

⁵⁹ When the baby was eight days old, they came to circumcise him. They wanted to name him Zechariah because this was his father’s name. ⁶⁰ But his mother said, “No! He will be named John.”

⁶¹ The people said to Elizabeth, “But no one in your family has this name!” ⁶² Then they made signs to his father, “What would you like to name him?”

⁶³ Zechariah asked for something to write on. Then he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was surprised. ⁶⁴ Then Zechariah could talk again. He began to praise God. ⁶⁵ And all their neighbors became alarmed. In all the mountains of Judea people continued talking about all these things.