Luke 1:35-80

35The angel answered and said to her, “1The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of 2the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason 3the 4holy Child shall be called 5the Son of God. 36And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and 6she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37For 78nothing will be impossible with God.” 38And Mary said, “Behold, the 9bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

39Now 10at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to 11the 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 12filled 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 13how has it happened to me, that the mother of 14my 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 15blessed is she who 16believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her 17by the Lord.”

46And Mary said: “18My soul 1920exalts the Lord,47And 21my spirit has rejoiced in 22God my Savior.48For 23He has had regard for the humble state of His 24bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me 25blessed.49For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.5026And His mercy is 27upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.5128He has done 29mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the 30thoughts of their heart.52He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has 31exalted those who were humble.5332He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed.54He has given help to Israel His servant, 33In remembrance of His mercy,5534As He spoke to our fathers, 35To Abraham and his 36descendants forever.”

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

57Now the time 37had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had 3839displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

59And it happened that on 40the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, 41after his father. 60But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but 42he shall be called John.” 61And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62And they 43made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “44His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 6445And 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 46the hill country of Judea. 66All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For 47the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

67And his father Zacharias 48was filled with the Holy Spirit, and 49prophesied, saying:68“50Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished 51redemption for His people,69And has raised up a 52horn of salvation for us In the house of David 53His servant--7054As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets 55from of old--715657Salvation 58from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us;7259To show mercy toward our fathers, 60And to remember His holy covenant,7361The 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,7562In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.76And you, child, will be called the 63prophet of 64the Most High; For you will go on 65before the Lord to 66prepare His ways;77To give to His people the knowledge of salvation 67By 68the forgiveness of their sins,78Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which 69the Sunrise from on high will visit us,7970To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the 71way of peace.”

8072And 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.