Luke 1: 5 -
25
|
| 5 |
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there
was a priest named Zechari'ah, of the division of Abi'jah; and he had a wife of
the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. |
| 6 |
And they were both righteous before God,
walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
|
| 7 |
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was
barren, and both were advanced in years. |
| 8 |
Now while he was serving as priest before
God when his division was on duty, |
| 9 |
according to the custom of the priesthood,
it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
|
| 10 |
And the whole multitude of the people were
praying outside at the hour of incense. |
| 11 |
And there appeared to him an angel of the
Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. |
| 12 |
And Zechari'ah was troubled when he saw him,
and fear fell upon him. |
| 13 |
But the angel said to him, "Do not be
afraid, Zechari'ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear
you a son, and you shall call his name John. |
| 14 |
And you will have joy and gladness, and many
will rejoice at his birth; |
| 15 |
for he will be great before the Lord, and he
shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy
Spirit, even from his mother's womb. |
| 16 |
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel
to the Lord their God, |
| 17 |
and he will go before him in the spirit and
power of Eli'jah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people
prepared." |
| 18 |
And Zechari'ah said to the angel, "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 Gabriel,
who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring
you this good news. |
| 20 |
And behold, you will be silent and unable to
speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe
my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." |
| 21 |
And the people were waiting for Zechari'ah,
and they wondered at his delay in the temple. |
| 22 |
And when he came out, he could not speak to
them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made
signs to them and remained dumb. |
| 23 |
And when his time of service was ended, he
went to his home. |
| 24 |
After these days his wife Elizabeth
conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, |
| 25 |
"Thus the Lord has done to me in the days
when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men." |
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