Chapter 4: The Lord’s Promise

1And look! An angel of the Lord stood nearby and said to her, “Anna, Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer. You will conceive and give birth, and your offspring will be spoken of throughout the whole world.”

2Anna said, “As the Lord God lives, whether I give birth to a boy or a girl, I’ll bring the child as a gift to the Lord my God, and the child will minister to him all the days of its life.”

3And look! Two angels came and said to her, “Look, your husband Joachim is coming with his flocks.” For an angel of the Lord had gone down to Joachim and said, “Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down from here. Look, your wife Anna has conceived in her womb.”

4Joachim immediately went down and called the shepherds, saying to them, “Bring me ten lambs without spot or blemish, and the ten lambs will be for the Lord God. Bring me twelve tender calves for the priests and elders, and a hundred male goats for all the people.”

5And look! Joachim came with his flocks, and Anna stood at the gate. When she saw Joachim coming with his flocks, she immediately ran and flung herself around his neck, saying, “Now I know that the Lord God has greatly blessed me. For look! The widow is no longer a widow, and look! The woman without a child in her womb has conceived.”

6Joachim rested in his house for the first day.