Luke 1:11-25

English Standard Version

¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(A)the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(B)fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(C)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(D)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(E)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(F)great before the Lord. And ^(G)he must not drink wine or strong ^(H)drink, and ^(I)he will be ^(J)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(K)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(L)he will go before him ^(M)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(N)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(O)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(P)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(Q)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel answered him, “I am ^(R)Gabriel. ^(S)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, ^(T)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(U)the temple. ²² And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^(V)the temple. And ^(W)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³ And ^(X)when his time of ^(Y)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^(Z)to take away my reproach among people.”