Luke 1:26–56

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel ^aGabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called ^bNazareth,

²⁷to ^aa virgin ¹engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, ^bof the ²descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was ³Mary.

²⁸And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, ¹favored one! The Lord ²is with you.”

²⁹But she ^awas very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

³⁰The angel said to her, “^aDo not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

³¹“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you ^ashall name Him Jesus.

³²“He will be great and will be called the Son of ^athe Most High; and the Lord God will give Him ^bthe throne of His father David;

^33aand He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ^band His kingdom will have no end.”

³⁴Mary said to the angel, “How ¹can this be, since I ²am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered and said to her, “^aThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^bthe Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason ^cthe ¹holy Child shall be called ^dthe Son of God.

³⁶“And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and ¹she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

³⁷“For ^1anothing will be impossible with God.”

³⁸And ¹Mary said, “Behold, the ²bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹Now ¹at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to ^athe 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 ^afilled 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!

⁴³“And ¹how has it happened to me, that the mother of ^amy Lord would come to me?

⁴⁴“For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

⁴⁵“And ^ablessed is she who ¹believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ²by the Lord.”

The Magnificat

⁴⁶And Mary said:

“^aMy soul ^1bexalts the Lord,

⁴⁷And ^amy spirit has rejoiced in ^bGod my Savior.

⁴⁸“For ^aHe has had regard for the humble state of His ¹bondslave;

For behold, from this time on all generations will count me ^bblessed.

⁴⁹“For the Mighty One has done great things for me;

And holy is His name.

⁵⁰“^aAnd His mercy is ¹upon generation after generation

Toward those who fear Him.

⁵¹“^aHe has done ¹mighty deeds with His arm;

He has scattered those who were proud in the ²thoughts of their heart.

⁵²“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,

And has ^aexalted those who were humble.

⁵³“^aHe has filled the hungry with good things;

And sent away the rich empty-handed.

⁵⁴“He has given help to Israel His servant,

¹In remembrance of His mercy,

^55aAs He spoke to our fathers,

^bTo Abraham and his ¹descendants forever.”

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