Luke 1:39–80

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,^{x 40}where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.^{y 42}In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women,^z and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord^a should come to me? ⁴⁴As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

1:46–53pp—1Sa 2:1–10

⁴⁶And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord^b

⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,^c

⁴⁸for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.^d

From now on all generations will call me blessed,^e

⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things^f for me—

holy is his name.^g

⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.^h

⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;ⁱ

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.^j

⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.^k

⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things^l

but has sent the rich away empty.

⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful^m

⁵⁵to Abraham and his descendantsⁿ forever,

just as he promised our ancestors.”

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

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

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit^d;^p and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.