Luke 1:8-57

⁸And it came to pass, that, while he executed the priests' office before God in the order of his course,

⁹According to the custom of the priests' office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

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

¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, 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, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

¹⁷And he shall 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 just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

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

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

²⁰And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season.

²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple.

²²And when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; for he beckoned to them, and remained speechless.

²³And it came to pass, that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and secluded herself five months, saying,

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

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

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

²⁸And the angel came to her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

²⁹And when she saw him , she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

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

³¹And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

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

³³And he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

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

³⁵And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon thee, and the power of the Highest will overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

³⁶And behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren:

³⁷For with God nothing will be impossible.

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

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

⁴⁰And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

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

⁴²And she spoke 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 sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

⁴⁵And blessed is she that believed that there will be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

⁴⁶And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

⁴⁸For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for behold, from henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

⁴⁹For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name.

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

⁵¹He hath shown strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

⁵²He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

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

⁵⁴He hath sustained his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

⁵⁵As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

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

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