Luke 1:10-32

¹⁰The whole crowd of people was praying outside at the hour when the incense was burned.

¹¹Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him and stood at the right side of the incense altar.

¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and fear fell on him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You will call his name John.

¹⁴You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb.

¹⁶Many of the people of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.

¹⁷He will go before the face of the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

¹⁸Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is very old.”

¹⁹The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, to bring you this good news.

²⁰Behold! You will be silent, unable to speak, until the day these things take place. This is because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at the right time.”

²¹Now the people were waiting for Zechariah. They were surprised that he was spending so much time in the temple.

²²But when he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized that he had seen a vision while he was in the temple. He kept on making signs to them and remained silent.

²³It came about that when the days of his service were over, he went to his house.

²⁴After these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and for five months she kept herself hidden. She said,

²⁵“This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked at me with favor in order to take away my shame before people.”

²⁶In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph. He belonged to the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸He came to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹But she was very confused by his words and she wondered what kind of greeting this could be.

³⁰The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

³¹See, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. You will call his name 'Jesus.'

³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.