And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, was seized with fear.

Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

During the reign of Herod king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and he had a wife named Elizabeth, who was a descendant of Aaron.

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.”