Luke 1:39–80

MARY’S VISIT TO ELIZABETH

³⁹In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah ⁴⁰where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.^{h 42}Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed!^{D 43}How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!”

MARY’S PRAISE

⁴⁶And Mary said:

My soul magnifies ^C the Lord,ⁱ

⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices^j in God my Savior,^k

⁴⁸because he has looked with favor

on the humble condition of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations

will call me blessed,^l

⁴⁹because the Mighty One^m

has done great things for me,ⁿ

and his name^o is holy.

⁵⁰His mercy is from generation to generation^p

on those who fear him.

⁵¹He has done a mighty deed with his arm;^q

he has scattered the proud

because of the thoughts of their hearts;^r

⁵²he has toppled the mighty from their thrones

and exalted the lowly.^s

⁵³He has satisfied the hungry with good things^t

and sent the rich away empty.

⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering his mercy

⁵⁵to Abraham and his descendants^A forever,^u

just as he spoke to our ancestors.

⁵⁶And Mary stayed with her about three months; then she returned to her home.

THE BIRTH AND NAMING OF JOHN

⁵⁷Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son. ⁵⁸Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her his great mercy,^v and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day,^w they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. ⁶⁰But his mother responded, “No. He will be called John.”^x

⁶¹Then they said to her, “None of your relatives has that name.” ⁶²So they motioned to his father^y to find out what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened^z and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard about him^aa took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.

ZECHARIAH’S PROPHECY

⁶⁷Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit^ab and prophesied:^ac

⁶⁸Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,^ad

because he has visited

and provided redemption for his people.^ae

⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us^af

in the house of his servant David,^a

⁷⁰just as he spoke by the mouth

of his holy prophets in ancient times;^b

⁷¹salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of those who hate us.

⁷²He has dealt mercifully with our ancestors^c

and remembered his holy covenant^d—

⁷³the oath that he swore to our father Abraham.^e

He has given us the privilege,

⁷⁴since we have been rescued

from the hand of our enemies,

to serve him without fear

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness

in his presence all our days.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called

a prophet of the Most High,^f

for you will go before the Lord

to prepare his ways,^g

⁷⁷to give his people knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins.^h

⁷⁸Because of our God’s merciful compassion,

the dawn from on highⁱ will visit us

⁷⁹to shine on those who live in darkness

and the shadow of death,^j

to guide our feet into the way of peace.

⁸⁰The child grew up and became strong in spirit,^A and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.