Luke 1:39–80

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, ^pto a city of Judah, ⁴⁰and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was ^qfilled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, ^r“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ^45sBlessed is she who ⁸believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

⁴⁶And Mary said:

^t“My soul ⁹magnifies the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit has ^urejoiced in ^vGod my Savior.

⁴⁸For ^wHe has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth ^xall generations will call me blessed.

⁴⁹For He who is mighty ^yhas done great things for me,

And ^zholy is His name.

⁵⁰And ^aHis mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

^51bHe has shown strength with His arm;

^cHe has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

^52dHe has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

⁵³He has ^efilled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

⁵⁴He has helped His ^fservant Israel,

^gIn remembrance of His mercy,

^55hAs He spoke to our ⁱfathers,

To Abraham and to his ^jseed forever.”

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

Elizabeth Gives Birth to John

⁵⁷Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. ⁵⁸When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they ^krejoiced with her.

⁵⁹So it was, ^lon the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. ⁶⁰His mother answered and said, ^m“No; he shall be called John.”

⁶¹But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. ⁶⁵Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶And all those who heard them ⁿkept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And ^othe hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias Prophesies of John’s Ministry

⁶⁷Now his father Zacharias ^pwas filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸“Blessed ^qis the Lord God of Israel,

For ^rHe has visited and redeemed His people,

^69sAnd has raised up a horn of salvation for us

In the house of His servant David,

^70tAs He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

Who have been ^usince the world began,

⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies

And from the hand of all who hate us,

^72vTo perform the mercy promised to our fathers

And to remember His holy covenant,

^73wThe oath which He swore to our father Abraham:

⁷⁴To grant us that we,

Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

Might ^xserve Him without fear,

^75yIn holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

⁷⁶“And you, child, will be called the ^zprophet of the Highest;

For ^ayou will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

⁷⁷To give ^bknowledge of salvation to His people

By the remission of their sins,

⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God,

With which the ¹Dayspring from on high ²has visited us;

^79cTo give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

To ^dguide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰So ^ethe child grew and became strong in spirit, and ^fwas in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.