Luke 1:39–80

³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

⁴⁶And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

⁴⁸for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;

⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

⁵⁰And his mercy is on 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 put down the mighty from their thrones,

and exalted those of low degree;

⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent empty away.

⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”

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

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰but his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your kindred is called by this name.” ⁶²And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. ⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all marveled. ⁶⁴And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; ⁶⁶and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has visited and redeemed his people,

⁶⁹and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David,

⁷⁰as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

⁷¹that we should be saved from our enemies,

and from the hand of all who hate us;

⁷²to perform the mercy promised to our fathers,

and to remember his holy covenant,

⁷³the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, ⁷⁴to grant us

that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

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 knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸through the tender mercy of our God,

when the day shall dawn upon us from on high

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

to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.