⁴¹When Elizabeth heard the greeting, she felt the baby kick. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²She said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child that you will have. ⁴³I feel blessed that the mother of my Lord is visiting me. ⁴⁴As soon as I heard your greeting, I felt the baby jump for joy. ⁴⁵You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

Mary Praises God

⁴⁶Mary said,

“My soul praises the Lord’s greatness!

⁴⁷My spirit finds its joy in God, my Savior,

⁴⁸because he has looked favorably on me, his humble servant.

“From now on, all people will call me blessed

⁴⁹because the Almighty has done great things to me.

His name is holy.

⁵⁰For those who fear him,

his mercy lasts throughout every generation.

⁵¹“He displayed his mighty power.

He scattered those who think too highly of themselves.

⁵²He pulled strong rulers from their thrones.

He honored humble people.

⁵³He fed hungry people with good food.

He sent rich people away with nothing.

⁵⁴“He remembered to help his servant Israel forever.

⁵⁵This is the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his descendants.”

⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

John Is Born

⁵⁷When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹When the child was eight days old, they went ⸤to the temple⸥ to circumcise him. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father. ⁶⁰But his mother spoke up, “Absolutely not! His name will be John.”

⁶¹Their friends said to her, “But you don’t have any relatives with that name.”

⁶²So they motioned to the baby’s father to see what he wanted to name the child. ⁶³Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed.

⁶⁴Suddenly, Zechariah was able to speak, and he began to praise God.

⁶⁵All their neighbors were filled with awe. Throughout the mountain region of Judea, people talked about everything that had happened. ⁶⁶Everyone who heard about it seriously thought it over and asked, “What does the future hold for this child?” It was clear that the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

⁶⁸“Praise the Lord God of Israel!

He has come to take care of his people

and to set them free.

⁶⁹He has raised up a mighty Savior for us

in the family of his servant David.

⁷⁰He made this promise through his holy prophets long ago.

⁷¹He promised to save us from our enemies

and from the power of all who hate us.

⁷²He has shown his mercy to our ancestors

and remembered his holy promise,^b

⁷³the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham.

⁷⁴He promised to rescue us from our enemies’ power

so that we could serve him without fear

⁷⁵by being holy and honorable as long as we live.

⁷⁶“You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High.

You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way.

⁷⁷You will make his people know that they can be saved

through the forgiveness of their sins.

⁷⁸A new day will dawn on us from above

because our God is loving and merciful.

⁷⁹He will give light to those who live in the dark

and in death’s shadow.

He will guide us into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰The child John grew and became spiritually strong. He lived in the desert until the day he appeared to the people of Israel.

Read in Logos

Luke 1:45: “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Footnotes

b 1:72 Or “covenant.”