Luke 1:57–66

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth that she should give birth, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her,^l and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were wanting to name him after^m his father Zechariah. ⁶⁰And his mother answered and^* said, “No, but he will be named John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “There is no one of your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²So they made signs to his father asking what he wanted him to be named, ⁶³and he asked for a writing tablet and^* wrote, saying, “John is his name.” And they were all astonished. ⁶⁴And his mouth and his tongue were opened immediately, and he began to speak,^* praising God. ⁶⁵And fear came on all those who lived near them, and in all the hill country of Judea all these events were discussed. ⁶⁶And all those who heard kept these things^* in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be? For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him!”