21. The crowd was waiting for Zechariah and kept wondering why he was staying so long in the temple.
22. When he did come out, he could not speak, and they knew he had seen a vision. He motioned to them with his hands, but did not say a thing.
23. When Zechariah's time of service in the temple was over, he went home.
24. Soon after that, his wife was expecting a baby, and for five months she did not leave the house. She said to herself,
25. “What the Lord has done for me will keep people from looking down on me.”
26. One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee
27. with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David.
28. The angel greeted Mary and said, “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.”
29. Mary was confused by the angel's words and wondered what they meant.