Luke 1:8-57

⁸And it came to pass, that, while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his course,

⁹according to the custom of the priesthood the lot fell to him to go into the temple of the Lord and burn the incense.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people was praying without at the time of the incense.

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

¹²And Zachariah was troubled at the sight, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zachariah; for thy prayer was heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son; and thou shalt call his name John.

¹⁴And thou wilt have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice for his birth.

¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and will drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his very birth.

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

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

¹⁸And Zachariah said to the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife is far advanced in years.

¹⁹And the angel answering said to him, I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to thee, and to tell thee these glad tidings.

²⁰And lo! thou shalt be silent, and not able to speak, until the day when these things shall come to pass, because thou didst not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.

²¹And the people were looking for Zachariah, and wondering that he remained so long in the temple.

²²And on coming out, he was not able to speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he was beckoning to them, and remained speechless.

²³And it came to pass, when the days of his ministration were completed, that he returned to his house.

²⁴And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

²⁵Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me to take away my reproach among men.

²⁶And in her sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸And the angel came in to her and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored! the Lord is with thee.

²⁹And she was troubled at the words, and was considering what this salutation could mean.

³⁰And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God.

³¹And lo! thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and hear a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

³²He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of David his father;

³³and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

³⁴Then said Mary to the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a man?

³⁵And the angel answering said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon thee, and the power of the Most High will overshadow thee; wherefore the holy one that is to be born will be called the Son of God.

³⁶And lo! Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who is called barren.

³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.

³⁸And Mary said, Lo, the handmaid of the Lord! May it be to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

³⁹And Mary arose and went in those days into the hill-country with haste, into a city of Judah.

⁴⁰And she entered the house of Zachariah, and saluted Elizabeth.

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

⁴²and cried out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women; and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!

⁴³And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴For lo! as soon as the voice of thy salutation came to my ears, the babe leaped in my womb in exultation.

⁴⁵And blessed is she who hath believed that there will be an accomplishment of those things which were told her from the Lord.

⁴⁶And Mary said, My soul magnifieth the Lord,

⁴⁷and my spirit hath exulted in God my Saviour;

⁴⁸for he hath looked upon the low estate of his handmaiden. For lo! from this time all generations will call me blessed;

⁴⁹for the Mighty One hath done great things for me; and holy is his name;

⁵⁰and his mercy is from generation to generation on them that fear him.

⁵¹He hath wrought mightily with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the device of their heart.

⁵²He hath cast down princes from thrones, and exalted men of low degree.

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

⁵⁴He hath given help to Israel his servant, in remembrance of his mercy

⁵⁵toward Abraham and his offspring for ever, as he spoke to our fathers.

⁵⁶And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

⁵⁷Now Elizabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.