Jesus · c. 7 BC
Chapter 2
An Angel in the Temple
After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying,“Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”
In the days of , the king of , there lived a named . He belonged to the division of , one of the groups of priests who took turns serving in the temple. His wife, , came from the family of .
They were both righteous in God’s sight, and they kept all the Lord’s commandments and rules without blame. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was not able to have children, and both of them were very old.
Now it was the turn of Zacharias’s division to serve, and he was carrying out his duties as a priest before God. As the priests always did, they drew , and Zacharias was chosen to go into the Lord’s temple and burn .
It was the time of day when incense was burned, and the whole crowd of people was outside, praying.
An of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the of incense. Zacharias was troubled at the sight of him, and fear took hold of him.
But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son for you, and you are to give him the name .
“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice when he is born, because he will be great in the Lord’s sight. He will drink no wine or strong drink. He will be filled with the , even from his mother’s womb.
“He will turn many of the Israelites to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of , to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and to turn those who disobey to the wisdom of those who do right, and to prepare a people who are ready for the Lord.”
“How can I be sure of this?” Zacharias asked the angel. “I’m an old man, and my wife is very old too.”
The angel answered him, “I am , and I stand in God’s presence. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
“Look, you will be silent. You won’t be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you didn’t believe my words. They will come true in their proper time.”
All this time the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they were amazed that he stayed in the temple so long.
When he came out, he could not speak to them. They could tell that he had seen a vision in the temple. He went on making signs to them, and still he could not speak.
When his days of service were over, Zacharias went home.
After those days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and she hid herself away for five months. “The Lord did this for me,” she said. “In these days he looked kindly on me and took away the shame I had among people.”