Luke 1:5-10

During the reign of King Herod the Great of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah who served in the temple as part of the priestly order of Abijah. His wife, Elizabeth, was also from a family of priests, and was a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous before God, living virtuously and following the commandments of the Lord blamelessly. But they were childless since Elizabeth was barren, and now they both were quite old. One day, Zechariah’s priestly order was on duty and he was serving as priest. He was chosen by the casting of lots (according to the custom of the priesthood) so the honor fell upon Zechariah to enter the Holy Place and burn incense before the Lord. A large crowd of worshipers had gathered to pray outside the temple at the hour when incense was being offered.