But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”
and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means “beloved of the Lord”), as the Lord had commanded.
Then I slept with my wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.
“What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.”
He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.”
