Luke 1:46-79

⁴⁶Mary said, “My soul praises the Lord,

⁴⁷and my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior.

⁴⁸For he has looked at the low condition of his female servant. For see, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

⁴⁹For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and his name is holy.

⁵⁰His mercy lasts from generation to generation for those who fear him.

⁵¹He has displayed strength with his arm; he has scattered those who were proud about the thoughts of their hearts.

⁵²He has thrown down princes from their thrones and he has raised up those of low condition.

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

⁵⁴He has given help to Israel his servant, so as to remember to show mercy

⁵⁵(as he said to our fathers) to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

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

⁵⁷Now the time had come for Elizabeth to deliver her baby and she gave birth to a son.

⁵⁸Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹Now it happened on the eighth day that they came to circumcise the child. They would have called him “Zechariah,” after the name of his father.

⁶⁰But his mother answered and said, “No. He will be called John.”

⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”

⁶²They made signs to his father as to how he wanted him to be named.

⁶³His father asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” They all were astonished at this.

⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was freed. He spoke and praised God.

⁶⁵Fear came on all who lived around them. All these matters were spread throughout all the hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶All who heard them stored them in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child become?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

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

⁶⁸“Praised be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to help and he has accomplished redemption for his people.

⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David

⁷⁰(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago),

⁷¹salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

⁷²He will do this to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,

⁷³the oath that he spoke to Abraham our father.

⁷⁴He swore to grant to us that we, having been delivered out of the hand of our enemies, would serve him without fear,

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁷⁶Yes, and you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his paths, to prepare people for his coming,

⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.

⁷⁸This will happen because of the tender mercy of our God, because of which the sunrise from on high will come to help us,

⁷⁹to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He will do this to guide our feet into the path of peace.”