Luke 1:13 (LSB)

Passage

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John.

Nearby Context

Luke 1:11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

Luke 1:12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear fell upon him.

Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John.

Luke 1:14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

Luke 1:15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "angel", "said", "afraid", "zechariah", "prayer", "been", "heard", and "wife". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "angel" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "And Zechariah was troubled when he saw..." into verse 14's "And you will have joy and gladness...", so "angel" and "said" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "angel" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.