Luke 1:8-20

⁸Now it happened, as he was officiating as priest before God in the order of his division,

⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, that his lot was to burn incense, upon entering the sanctuary of the Lord;

¹⁰and the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.

¹¹Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense;

¹²and upon seeing him Zacharias was shaken, and a fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, because your prayer was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

¹⁴And you will have joy and exultation, and many will rejoice over his birth.

¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must not drink either wine or strong drink; indeed, he will be filled with Holy Spirit already from his mother's womb.

¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God;

¹⁷in fact he himself will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of fathers to children’ and the disobedient to the mindset of the righteous, to prepare a people made ready for the Lord.”

¹⁸But Zacharias said to the angel: “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

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

²⁰Now look, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day in which these things happen, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”