²⁶During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. ²⁸The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.”

²⁹But Mary was very startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean.

³⁰The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace. ³¹Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. ³³He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Now Elizabeth, your relative, is also pregnant with a son though she is very old. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. ³⁷God can do anything!”

³⁸Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hills of Judea. ⁴⁰She came to Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²She cried out in a loud voice, “God has blessed you more than any other woman, and he has blessed the baby to which you will give birth. ⁴³Why has this good thing happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴When I heard your voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy. ⁴⁵You are blessed because you believed that what the Lord said to you would really happen.”

Mary Praises God

⁴⁶Then Mary said,

“My soul praises the Lord;

⁴⁷my heart rejoices in God my Savior,

⁴⁸because he has shown his concern for his humble servant girl.

From now on, all people will say that I am blessed,

⁴⁹because the Powerful One has done great things for me.

His name is holy.

⁵⁰God will show his mercy forever and ever

to those who worship and serve him.

⁵¹He has done mighty deeds by his power.

He has scattered the people who are proud

and think great things about themselves.

⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones

and raised up the humble.

⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things

and sent the rich away with nothing.

⁵⁴He has helped his servant, the people of Israel,

remembering to show them mercy

⁵⁵as he promised to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his children forever.”

⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

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