1:8 Now 1 while Zechariah 2 was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 3 1:9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, 4 to enter 5 the holy place 6 of the Lord and burn incense. 1:10 Now 7 the whole crowd 8 of people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. 9 1:11 An 10 angel of the Lord, 11 standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared 12 to him. 1:12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, 13 was seized with fear. 14 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, 15 and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you 16 will name him John. 17 1:14 Joy and gladness will come 18 to you, and many will rejoice at 19 his birth, 20 1:15 for he will be great in the sight of 21 the Lord. He 22 must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 23 1:16 He 24 will turn 25 many of the people 26 of Israel to the Lord their God. 1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord 27 in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, 28 to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”
1:18 Zechariah 29 said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? 30 For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.” 31 1:19 The 32 angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands 33 in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring 34 you this good news. 1:20 And now, 35 because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, 36 you will be silent, unable to speak, 37 until the day these things take place.”
1:21 Now 38 the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder 39 why he was delayed in the holy place. 40 1:22 When 41 he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They 42 realized that he had seen a vision 43 in the holy place, 44 because 45 he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak. 46 1:23 When his time of service was over, 47 he went to his home.