Luke 1:57–79

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise^o the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”^p

⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶²Then they made signs^q to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”^{r 64}Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak,^s praising God. ⁶⁵All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea^t people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.^u

Zechariah’s Song

⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit^v and prophesied:^w

⁶⁸“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,^x

because he has come to his people and redeemed them.^y

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

in the house of his servant David^a

⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),^b

⁷¹salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us—

⁷²to show mercy to our ancestors^c

and to remember his holy covenant,^d

⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham:^e

⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

and to enable us to serve him^f without fear^g

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness^h before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophetⁱ of the Most High;^j

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,^k

⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,^l

⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun^m will come to us from heaven

⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness

and in the shadow of death,ⁿ

to guide our feet into the path of peace.”^o