Luke 1:5-56

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

 ^5(M) In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^[a](N) of^(O) the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both^(P) righteous before God, walking^(Q) blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because^(R) Elizabeth was barren, and^(S) both were advanced in years.
 ⁸Now^(T) while he was serving as priest before God when^(U) his division was on duty, ⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot^(V) to enter^(W) the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people^(X) were praying^(Y) outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of^(Z) the altar of incense. ¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and^(AA) fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for^(AB) your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and^(AC) you shall call his name John. ¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will^(AD) rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be^(AE) great before the Lord. And^(AF) he must not drink wine or strong^(AG) drink, and^(AH) he will be^(AI) filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷and^(AJ) he will go before him^(AK) in the spirit and power of Elijah,^(AL) to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and^(AM) the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,^(AN) to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."
 ¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel,^(AO) "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." ¹⁹And the angel answered him, "I am^(AP) Gabriel.^(AQ) I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰And behold,^(AR) you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." ²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in^(AS) the temple. ²²And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in^(AT) the temple. And^(AU) he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³And^(AV) when his time of^(AW) service was ended, he went to his home.
 ²⁴After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵"Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me,^(AX) to take away my reproach among people."

Birth of Jesus Foretold

 ²⁶In the sixth month the angel^(AY) Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named^(AZ) Nazareth, ^27(BA) to a virgin betrothed^[b] to a man whose name was Joseph,^(BB) of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And he came to her and said, "Greetings,^(BC) O favored one,^(BD) the Lord is with you!"^{[c] 29}But^(BE) she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for^(BF) you have found favor with God. ³¹And behold,^(BG) you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and^(BH) you shall call his name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of^(BI) the Most High. And the Lord God^(BJ) will give to him the throne of^(BK) his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob^(BL) forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
 ³⁴And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"^[d]
 35And the angel answered her,^(BM) "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of^(BN) the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[e] will be called^(BO) holy—^(BP) the Son of God. ³⁶And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her^(BQ) who was called barren. ³⁷For^(BR) nothing will be impossible with God." ³⁸And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant^[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And^(BS) the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

 ³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into^(BT) the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth^(BU) was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry,^(BV) "Blessed are you among women, and^(BW) blessed is^(BX) the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of^(BY) my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And^(BZ) blessed is she who believed that there would be^[g] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

 ⁴⁶And Mary said,

   ^(CA) "My^(CB) soul^(CC) magnifies the Lord,
 ^47(CD) and my^(CE) spirit rejoices in^(CF) God my Savior,
⁴⁸for^(CG) he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
   For behold, from now on all generations^(CH) will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for^(CI) he who is mighty^(CJ) has done great things for me,
   and^(CK) holy is his name.
⁵⁰And^(CL) his mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation.
^51(CM) He has shown strength with his arm;
   ^(CN) he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
^52(CO) he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
   ^(CP) and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled^(CQ) the hungry with good things,
   and the rich^(CR) he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has^(CS) helped^(CT) his servant Israel,
   ^(CU) in remembrance of his mercy,
^55(CV) as he spoke to our fathers,
   ^(CW) to Abraham and to his offspring forever."
 ⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.