Luke 1:26-80

26Now in the sixth month the angel 1Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called 2Nazareth, 27to 3a virgin 4engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, 5of the 6descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was 7Mary. 28And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, 8favored one! The Lord 9is with you.” 29But she 10was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30The angel said to her, “11Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you 12shall name Him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of 13the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him 14the throne of His father David; 3315and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, 16and His kingdom will have no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How 17can this be, since I 18am a virgin?” 35The angel answered and said to her, “19The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of 20the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason 21the 22holy Child shall be called 23the Son of God. 36And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and 24she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37For 2526nothing will be impossible with God.” 38And Mary said, “Behold, the 27bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

39Now 28at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to 29the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was 30filled with the Holy Spirit. 42And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And 31how has it happened to me, that the mother of 32my Lord would come to me? 44For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45And 33blessed is she who 34believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her 35by the Lord.”

46And Mary said: “36My soul 3738exalts the Lord,47And 39my spirit has rejoiced in 40God my Savior.48For 41He has had regard for the humble state of His 42bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me 43blessed.49For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.5044And His mercy is 45upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.5146He has done 47mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the 48thoughts of their heart.52He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has 49exalted those who were humble.5350He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed.54He has given help to Israel His servant, 51In remembrance of His mercy,5552As He spoke to our fathers, 53To Abraham and his 54descendants forever.”

56And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

57Now the time 55had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had 5657displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

59And it happened that on 58the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, 59after his father. 60But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but 60he shall be called John.” 61And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62And they 61made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “62His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 6463And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all 64the hill country of Judea. 66All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For 65the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

67And his father Zacharias 66was filled with the Holy Spirit, and 67prophesied, saying:68“68Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished 69redemption for His people,69And has raised up a 70horn of salvation for us In the house of David 71His servant--7072As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets 73from of old--717475Salvation 76from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us;7277To show mercy toward our fathers, 78And to remember His holy covenant,7379The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,74To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,7580In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.76And you, child, will be called the 81prophet of 82the Most High; For you will go on 83before the Lord to 84prepare His ways;77To give to His people the knowledge of salvation 85By 86the forgiveness of their sins,78Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which 87the Sunrise from on high will visit us,7988To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the 89way of peace.”

8090And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.