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| 5 In the days of Herod,
king of Judea, there was7 a certain
priest named Zacharias,8 of the
division of Abijah;9 and he had
a wife from10 the daughters of
Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous in the
sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements
of the Lord. 7 And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and
they were both advanced in years.11
8 Now it came about, while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear gripped12 him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give13 him the name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while14 yet in his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 18 And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this for certain? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."15 19 And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands16 in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their proper time." 21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making17 signs to them, and remained mute. 23 And it came about, when the days of his priestly service were ended, that he went back home. 24 And after these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant; and she kept18 herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 "This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men." FOOTNOTES: F7: Lit., came into being F8: I.e., Zechariah F9: Gr., Abia F10: I.e., of priestly descent F11: Lit., days F12: Or, fell upon F13: Lit., call his name F14: Lit., even from F15: Lit., days F16: Lit., stand beside F17: Or, beckoning to or nodding to F18: Lit., was hidden |
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." |
5 It all begins with a Jewish
priest, Zechariah, who lived when Herod was king of Judea. Zechariah was
a member of the priestly order of Abijah. His wife, Elizabeth, was also
from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous
in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's commandments and regulations.
7 They had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and now they were
both very old.
8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary and burn incense in the Lord's presence. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. 11 Zechariah was in the sanctuary when an angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was overwhelmed with fear. 13 But the angel said, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice with you at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or hard liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.2 16 And he will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet of old. He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept godly wisdom."3 18 Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I know this will happen? I'm an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years." 19 Then the angel said, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 And now, since you didn't believe what I said, you won't be able to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time." 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn't speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple sanctuary. 23 He stayed at the Temple until his term of service was over, and then he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 "How kind the Lord is!" she exclaimed. "He has taken away my disgrace of having no children!" FOOTNOTES: F2: Or even from birth. F3: See Mal 4:5-6. |
5 In the days of Herod,
king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the order
of Abijah; and he had a wife of the family of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 They were upright in the eyes of God, keeping all the rules and orders
of God, and doing no wrong. 7 And they were without children, because Elisabeth
had never given birth, and they were at that time very old.
8 Now it came about that in his turn he was acting as priest before God, 9 and as was the way of the priests, he had to go into the Temple to see to the burning of perfumes. 10 And all the people were offering prayers outside, at the time of the burning of perfumes. 11 And he saw an angel of the Lord in his place on the right side of the altar. 12 And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear came on him. 13 But the angel said, Have no fear, Zecharias, for your prayer has come to the ears of God, and your wife Elisabeth will have a son, and his name will be John. 14 And you will be glad and have great delight; and numbers of people will have joy at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the Spirit of God from his birth. 16 And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning the hearts of fathers to their children, and wrongdoers to the way of righteousness; to make ready a people whose hearts have been turned to the Lord. 18 And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be certain of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far on in years. 19 And the angel, answering, said, I am Gabriel, whose place is before God; I have been sent to say these words to you and to give you this good news. 20 Now, see, you will be without voice or language till the day when these things come about, because you had not faith in my words, which will have effect at the right time. 21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias and were surprised because he was in the Temple for such a long time. 22 And when he came out he was not able to say anything, and they saw that he had seen a vision in the Temple; and he was making signs to them without words. 23 And when the days of his work in the Temple were ended, he went back to his house. 24 After that time, Elisabeth, being certain that she was to become a mother, kept herself from men's eyes for five months, saying, 25 The Lord has done this to me, for his eyes were on me, to take away my shame in the eyes of men. |
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