Luke 1:8-42

⁸So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,

⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, he was selected to burn incense when he entered into the temple of the Lord.

¹⁰And all the multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

¹¹Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, because your prayer has been heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you shall call his name John.

¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵For he shall be great before the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, while still in his mother's womb.

¹⁶And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.

¹⁷And he himself will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

¹⁹And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to proclaim the good news to you of these things.

²⁰But behold, you shall be silent and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which shall be fulfilled in their season.”

²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and they marveled at his delaying in the temple.

²²But having come out, he was unable to speak to them; and they recognized that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he was making signs to them and remained speechless.

²³And it happened, as soon as the days of his service were fulfilled, that he went away to his house.

²⁴Now after those days Elizabeth his wife conceived; and stayed in seclusion five months, saying,

²⁵“Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.”

²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

²⁹But when she saw him, she was greatly perplexed by his saying, and she wondered what sort of greeting this was.

³⁰Then the angel said to her, “Do not fear, Mary, for you have found grace with God.

³¹And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS.

³²He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.

³³And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”

³⁴Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

³⁵And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you; therefore, also, that holy child which is to be born shall be called the Son of God.

³⁶And behold, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for she who was called barren.

³⁷For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

³⁸Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! May it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

³⁹Now Mary rose up in those days and traveled into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,

⁴⁰and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴²Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!