约翰出生

⁵⁷When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. ⁶⁰But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!” ⁶¹“What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” ⁶²So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. ⁶³He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God. ⁶⁵Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. ⁶⁶Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.