Luke 1:21–37

²¹Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. ²²When he did come out, he could not speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was making signs to them^ac and remained speechless. ²³When the days of his ministry were completed, he went back home.

²⁴After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived and kept herself in seclusion for five months. She said, ²⁵“The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor in these days to take away my disgrace^ad among the people.”

GABRIEL PREDICTS JESUS’S BIRTH

²⁶In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel^ae was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,^{af 27}to a virgin engaged^Aag to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.^ah The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”^{B 29}But she was deeply troubled^ai by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. ³⁰Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary,^aj for you have found favor with God.^{ak 31}Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.^{al 32}He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High,^a and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.^{b 33}He will reign over the house of Jacob^c forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”^d

³⁴Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?”^C

³⁵The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,^e and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.^{f 36}And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. ³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.”^g