Luke 1:16-25

¹⁶and will reconcile many of the Israelites to the Lord their God.

¹⁷He will go before him in the spirit and with the power of Elijah, to reconcile fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and so make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

¹⁸“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”

¹⁹“I am Gabriel,” the angel answered, “who stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁰And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when this takes place, because you did not believe what I said, though my words will be fulfilled in due course.”

²¹Meanwhile the people were watching for Zechariah, wondering at his remaining so long in the Temple.

²²When he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision there. But Zechariah kept making signs to them, and remained dumb.

²³And, as soon as his term of service was finished, he returned home.

²⁴After this his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and lived in seclusion for five months.

²⁵“The Lord has done this for me,” she said, “he has shown me kindness and taken away the public disgrace of childlessness under which I have been living.”