Luke 1:8-57

⁸One day, when Zechariah was officiating as priest before God, during the turn of his division,

⁹it fell to him by lot, in accordance with the practise amongst the priests, to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense;

¹⁰and, as it was the Hour of Incense, the people were all praying outside.

¹¹And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right of the Altar of Incense.

¹²Zechariah was startled at the sight and was awe-struck.

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

¹⁴He will be to you a joy and a delight; and many will rejoice over his birth.

¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the very hour of his birth,

¹⁶and will reconcile many of the Israelites to the Lord their God.

¹⁷He will go before him in the spirit and with the power of Elijah, to reconcile fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and so make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

¹⁸“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”

¹⁹“I am Gabriel,” the angel answered, “who stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁰And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when this takes place, because you did not believe what I said, though my words will be fulfilled in due course.”

²¹Meanwhile the people were watching for Zechariah, wondering at his remaining so long in the Temple.

²²When he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision there. But Zechariah kept making signs to them, and remained dumb.

²³And, as soon as his term of service was finished, he returned home.

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;