\v 2 We heard about these things from people who saw them happen, from the time everything first started happening. These people taught others about God's message.
\v 3 I myself have carefully studied everything that these people wrote and taught. So I decided that it would also be good for me to write for you, noble Theophilus, an accurate account of these matters.
\v 4 I am doing this so that you may know that what you have been taught about these things is true.
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\v 5 When King Herod ruled the province of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He belonged to the group of priests called the Abijah group. He and his wife Elizabeth were both descended from Aaron.
\v 6 God considered that both of them were righteous, because they always obeyed without fault everything that God had commanded.
\v 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was unable to bear children. Furthermore, she and her husband were very old.
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\v 8 One day Zechariah was serving as a priest in the temple in Jerusalem during his group's regular time of service there.
\v 9 Following their custom, the priests chose him by lot to go into the Lord's temple and burn incense.
\v 13 But the angel said to him, "Zechariah, do not be afraid! When you prayed, the Lord heard your request. So your wife Elizabeth will bear a son for you. You must name him John.
\v 14 You will be very happy, and many other people will also be happy because he is born.
\v 15 God will consider him to be very important. He must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink. He will be empowered by the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
\v 17 Your son will go in advance of the Lord as his forerunner and will be powerful in his spirit like the prophet Elijah was. He will cause parents to love their children again. He will cause many people who do not obey God to live wisely and to obey him as righteous people do. He will do this in order to cause many people to be ready when the Lord comes."
\v 18 Then Zechariah said to the angel, "I am very old, and my wife is also very old. So how can I believe that the things you said will really happen?"
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\v 19 Then the angel said to him, "I am Gabriel! I stand in God's presence! I was sent to tell you this good news about what will happen to you.
\v 20 What I have told you will certainly happen at the time God has decided, but you did not believe my words. So now God will cause you to be unable to talk until the day your son is born!"
\v 21 While Zechariah and the angel were talking in the temple, the people in the courtyard were waiting for Zechariah to come out. They wondered why he was staying in the temple for such a long time.
\v 22 When he came out, he was not able to speak to them. Because he could not talk, he made motions with his hands to try to explain what had happened. Then they realized that he had seen a vision from God while he was in the temple.
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\v 23 When Zechariah's time to work as a priest in the temple was finished, he left Jerusalem and went to his home.
\v 24 Some time after this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, but she did not go out in public for five months.
\v 25 She said to herself, "The Lord has enabled me to become pregnant. In this way, he had compassion on me and has taken away the reason that people looked down on me!"
\v 27 He went there to speak to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, who was a descendent of King David. The virgin's name was Mary.
\v 34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this happen, since I am a virgin?"
\v 35 The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come to you and the power of God will cover you. So the baby you will bear will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
\v 36 And listen to this. Your relative Elizabeth is pregnant with a son, even though she is very old. And though people thought that she could not bear children, she has now been pregnant for almost six months.
\v 41 As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary greet her, the baby leaped inside Elizabeth's womb. Immediately the Holy Spirit guided Elizabeth to start praising God.
\v 59 On the eighth day after this, people gathered together for the ceremony to circumcise the baby. Since his father's name was Zechariah, they wanted to give the baby the same name.
\v 60 But his mother said, "No, his name must be John!"
\v 62 Then they made motions with their hands to his father, for him to indicate what name he wanted to be given to his son.
\v 63 So he signaled that they should give him a tablet to write on. When they gave him one, he wrote on it, "His name is John." All those who were there were surprised!
\v 64 Immediately Zechariah was able to speak again, and he began praising God.
\v 65 Everyone who lived nearby was completely awed by what God had done. They told many other people about what had happened and the news spread all over the highlands of Judea.
\v 66 Everyone who heard it kept thinking about it. They were saying, "We wonder what work this child will do when he grows up!" Because of everything that had happened, they were sure that God would be helping him in a powerful way.
\v 80 Over time, Zechariah and Elizabeth's baby boy grew up and became spiritually strong. Then he lived in a desolate region and was still living there when he began to preach publicly to God's people, Israel.
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