Luke 1:39–80

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.^{* 43}And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?^{* 44}For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be^e a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise

⁴⁶And Mary^f said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,^*

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

⁴⁸for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.

Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,^*

⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name;^*

⁵⁰indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.^*

⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.^*

⁵²He has brought down the powerful from their thrones

and lifted up the lowly;^*

⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things

and sent the rich away empty.^*

⁵⁴He has come to the aid of his child Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,^*

⁵⁵according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”^*

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

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.^*

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.^{* 60}But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” ⁶¹They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” ⁶²Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.^*

Zechariah’s Prophecy

⁶⁷Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:^*

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has looked favorably on^g his people and redeemed them.^*

⁶⁹He has raised up a mighty savior^h for us

in the house of his child David,^*

⁷⁰as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,^*

⁷¹that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

⁷²Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors

and has remembered his holy covenant,^*

⁷³the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,

to grant us ⁷⁴that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,^{* 75}in holiness and righteousness

in his presence all our days.^*

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,^*

⁷⁷to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.^*

⁷⁸Because of the tender mercy of our God,

the dawn from on high will breakⁱ upon^j us,

⁷⁹to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.”^*

⁸⁰The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.^*