Since as is well known many have undertaken to compile an orderly account of the things which have been ^afulfilled among us by God, 2 exactly as they were handed down to us by those with personal experience who ^afrom the beginning of Christ’s ministry were ^beyewitnesses and ^cministers of ^dthe word that is, of the teaching concerning salvation through faith in Christ, 3 it seemed fitting for ¹me as well, and so I have decided after ^ahaving carefully searched out and investigated all the events accurately, from the very beginning, to write ^ban orderly account for you, ^cmost excellent ^dTheophilus; Acts 1:1 4 so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been ^1ataught that is, the history and doctrine of the faith.

5 ^aIn the days of Herod the Great, king of Judea, there was a certain priest whose name was ¹Zacharias, of ^2bthe division of Abijah. His wife was ³a descendant of Aaron the first high priest of Israel, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They both were ^arighteous (approved) in the sight of God, walking ^bblamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they were childless, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both far advanced in years.

8 Now it happened while Zacharias was ^aserving as priest before God in the appointed order of his priestly division, 9 as was the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^ato enter the sanctuary of the temple of the Lord and ¹burn incense on the altar of incense. Ex 30:7 10 And all the congregation was praying ^aoutside in the court of the temple at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And ^aan angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zacharias saw the angel, he was troubled and ^aovercome with fear. 13 But the angel said to him, “^aDo not be afraid, Zacharias, because your petition in prayer was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^byou will name him ¹John. 14 You will have great joy and delight, and many will rejoice over his birth, 15 for he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord; and will never ^adrink wine or liquor, and he will be filled with and empowered to act by the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. Num 6:3 16 He will ^aturn many of the sons of Israel back from sin to love and serve the Lord their God. 17 It is he who will ^ago as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of ^bElijah, ^cTO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous which is to seek and submit to the will of God—in order to ^dmake ready a people perfectly prepared spiritually and morally for the Lord.” Is 40:3; Mal 4:5, 6

18 And Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I be certain of this? For ^aI am an old man and my wife is advanced in age.” 19 The angel replied and said to him, “I am ^aGabriel; I ^bstand and minister in the very presence of God, and I have been sent by Him to speak to you and to bring you this good news. Dan 8:16; 9:21 20 ¹Listen carefully, you will be continually silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe what I told you; but my words will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

21 The people outside in the court were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering about his long delay in the temple. 22 But when he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. They realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he ^akept making signs to them, and remained mute. 23 When his time of priestly service was finished, he returned to his home.

24 Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself completely, saying, 25 “This is how the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor on me, to ^atake away my ¹disgrace among men.” Gen 30:23; Is 4:1

26 Now in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy the angel ^aGabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called ^bNazareth, 27 to ^aa virgin ¹betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, ^ba descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, the angel said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she ^awas greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was. 30 The angel said to her, “^aDo not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you ^ashall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of ^athe Most High; and the Lord God will give Him ^bthe throne of His father David; 33 ^aand He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, ^band of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Is 9:6, 7; Dan 2:44 34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?” 35 Then the angel replied to her, “^aThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^bthe Most High will overshadow you like a cloud; for that reason ^cthe holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called ^dthe Son of God. Ex 40:34; Is 7:14 36 And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For with God ^anothing is or ever shall be impossible.” 38 Then Mary said, “¹Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.

39 Now at this time Mary arose and hurried to ^athe hill country, to a city of Judah (Judea) , 40 and she entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was ^afilled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him. 42 And she exclaimed loudly, “Blessed worthy to be praised are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And how has it happened to me, that the mother of ^amy Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And ^ablessed spiritually fortunate and favored by God is she who believed and confidently trusted that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her by the angel sent from the Lord.”

46 And Mary said,“^aMy soul ^bmagnifies and exalts the Lord,

56 And Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then returned to her home.

57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had ^ashown His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.

59 It happened that on ^athe eighth day they came to circumcise the child as required by the Law, and they intended to name him Zacharias, after his father; Gen 17:12; Lev 12:3 60 but his mother answered, “No indeed; instead ^ahe will be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by that name.” 62 Then they ^amade signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote as follows, “^aHis name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64 ^aAt once Zacharias’ mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking, praising and blessing and thanking God. 65 Then fear came on all their neighbors; and all these things were discussed throughout ^athe hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard these things kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this little boy turn out to be?” For ^athe hand of the Lord was certainly with him to bring about his birth.

67 Now Zacharias his father ^awas filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him, and he ^bprophesied, saying,

80 ^aThe child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel as John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah.