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Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

In the days of Herod [the Great], king of Judea, there was a certain priest whose name was [a]Zacharias, of [b]the division of Abijah. His wife was [c]a descendant of Aaron [the first high priest of Israel], and her name was Elizabeth. They both were righteous (approved) in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. But they were childless, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both far advanced in years.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:5 I.e. Zechariah. The spelling is different because a Greek word cannot end with an “h,” and in place of “ah” the common Greek ending “-as” was substituted.
  2. Luke 1:5 King David organized the priests into 24 groups or divisions, each headed by a president. A division served twice a year for a week at a time (1 Chr 24:1-19).
  3. Luke 1:5 Lit from the daughters of.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

In the time of Herod king of Judea(A) there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah;(B) his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.(C) But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

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