15God further said to Abraham: As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.^* 16I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. Her also will I bless; she will give rise to nations, and rulers of peoples will issue from her.^j 17Abraham fell face down and laughed^* as he said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at ninety?”^k 18So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael could live in your favor!” 19God replied: Even so, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. It is with him that I will maintain my covenant as an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him.^l 20Now as for Ishmael, I will heed you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation.^m 21But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year.ⁿ 22When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God departed from him.

Hannah’s Prayer. 9Hannah rose after one such meal at Shiloh, and presented herself before the LORD; at the time Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the doorpost of the LORD’s temple. 10In her bitterness she prayed to the LORD, weeping freely, 11and made this vow: “O LORD of hosts, if you look with pity on the hardship of your servant, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life. No razor shall ever touch his head.”^{* f} 12As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth, 13for Hannah was praying silently; though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli, thinking she was drunk, 14said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Sober up from your wine!” 15“No, my lord!” Hannah answered. “I am an unhappy woman. I have had neither wine nor liquor; I was only pouring out my heart to the LORD. 16Do not think your servant a worthless woman; my prayer has been prompted by my deep sorrow and misery.” 17Eli said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have requested.”

The Power of God’s Promise.^* 3His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him^a who called us by his own glory and power.^* 4Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.^b 5^* For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge,^c 6knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, 7devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love. 8If these are yours and increase in abundance, they will keep you from being idle or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9^d Anyone who lacks them is blind and shortsighted, forgetful of the cleansing of his past sins. 10^* Therefore, brothers, be all the more eager to make your call and election firm, for, in doing so, you will never stumble. 11For, in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

Announcement of the Birth of John. 5In the days of Herod, King of Judea,^* there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.^c 6Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. 7But they had no child,^* because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.^d 8Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, 9according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.^e 10Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, 11the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. 12Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. 13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid,^* Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.^f 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.^* He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,^g 16and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah^* to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”^h 18Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel,^* who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.ⁱ 20But now you will be speechless and unable to talk^* until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”^j

21Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. 22But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. 23Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. 24After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, 25“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”^k