Luke 1:24-62

²⁴After this his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and lived in seclusion for five months.

²⁵“The Lord has done this for me,” she said, “he has shown me kindness and taken away the public disgrace of childlessness under which I have been living.”

²⁶Six months later the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

²⁷to a maiden there who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. Her name was Mary.

²⁸Gabriel came into her presence and greeted her, saying, “You have been shown great favour - the Lord is with you.”

²⁹Mary was much disturbed at his words, and was wondering to herself what such a greeting could mean,

³⁰when the angel spoke again, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.

³¹And now, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will give him the name Jesus.

³²The child will be great and will be called ‘Son of the Most High,’ and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David,

³³and he will reign over the descendants of Jacob for ever; And to his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴“How can this be?” Mary asked the angel. “For I have no husband.”

³⁵“The Holy Spirit will descend on you,” answered the angel, “and the Power of the Most High will overshadow you; and therefore the child will be called ‘holy,’ and ‘Son of God.’

³⁶And Elizabeth, your cousin, is herself also expecting a son in her old age; and it is now the sixth month with her, though she is called barren;

³⁷for no promise from God will fail to be fulfilled.”

³⁸“I am the servant of the Lord,” exclaimed Mary; “let it be with me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

³⁹Soon after this Mary set out, and made her way quickly into the hill-country, to a town in Judah;

⁴⁰and there she went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child moved within her, and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Spirit,

⁴²and cried aloud, “Blessed are you amongst women, and blessed is your unborn child!

⁴³But how have I this honour, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴For, as soon as your greeting reached my ears, the child moved within me with delight!

⁴⁵Happy indeed is she who believed that the promise which she received from the Lord would be fulfilled.”

⁴⁶And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,

⁴⁷and my spirit delights in God my Saviour,

⁴⁸for he has looked with favour on his humble servant girl. From now on all generations will call me blessed!

⁴⁹“For the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

⁵⁰He has mercy on those who revere him in every generation.

⁵¹“Mighty are the deeds of his arm; he has scattered the self-satisfied proud,

⁵²he has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and he uplifts the humble,

⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

⁵⁴“He has stretched out his hand to his servant Israel, ever mindful of his mercy,

⁵⁵as he promised to our ancestors for Abraham and his descendants for ever.”

⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to her home.

⁵⁷When Elizabeth's time came, she gave birth to a son;

⁵⁸and her neighbours and relatives, hearing of the great goodness of the Lord to her, came to share her joy.

⁵⁹A week later they met to circumcise the child, and were about to call him Zechariah after his father,

⁶⁰when his mother spoke up, “No, he is to be called John.”

⁶¹“You have no relation of that name!” they exclaimed;

⁶²and they made signs to the child's father, to find out what he wished the child to be called.