1:46 And Mary 1 said, 2
“My soul exalts 3 the Lord, 4
1:47 and my spirit has begun to rejoice 5 in God my Savior,
1:48 because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant. 6
For 7 from now on 8 all generations will call me blessed, 9
1:49 because he who is mighty 10 has done great things for me, and holy is his name;
1:50 from 11 generation to generation he is merciful 12 to those who fear 13 him.
1:51 He has demonstrated power 14 with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance 15 of their hearts.
1:52 He has brought down the mighty 16 from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; 17
1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, 18 and has sent the rich away empty. 19
1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering 20 his mercy, 21
1:55 as he promised 22 to our ancestors, 23 to Abraham and to his descendants 24 forever.”
1:56 So 25 Mary stayed with Elizabeth 26 about three months 27 and then returned to her home.
1:57 Now the time came 28 for Elizabeth to have her baby, 29 and she gave birth to a son. 1:58 Her 30 neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown 31 great mercy to her, and they rejoiced 32 with her.
1:59 On 33 the eighth day 34 they came to circumcise the child, and they wanted to name 35 him Zechariah after his father. 1:60 But 36 his mother replied, 37 “No! He must be named 38 John.” 39 1:61 They 40 said to her, “But 41 none of your relatives bears this name.” 42 1:62 So 43 they made signs to the baby’s 44 father, 45 inquiring what he wanted to name his son. 46 1:63 He 47 asked for a writing tablet 48 and wrote, 49 “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. 50 1:64 Immediately 51 Zechariah’s 52 mouth was opened and his tongue 53 released, 54 and he spoke, blessing God. 1:65 All 55 their neighbors were filled with fear, and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about. 1:66 All 56 who heard these things 57 kept them in their hearts, 58 saying, “What then will this child be?” 59 For the Lord’s hand 60 was indeed with him.
1:67 Then 61 his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, 62
1:68 “Blessed 63 be the Lord God of Israel,
because he has come to help 64 and has redeemed 65 his people.
1:69 For 66 he has raised up 67 a horn of salvation 68 for us in the house of his servant David, 69
1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, 70
1:71 that we should be saved 71 from our enemies, 72
and from the hand of all who hate us.
1:72 He has done this 73 to show mercy 74 to our ancestors, 75
and to remember his holy covenant 76 –
1:73 the oath 77 that he swore to our ancestor 78 Abraham.
This oath grants 79
1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our 80 enemies,
may serve him without fear, 81
1:75 in holiness and righteousness 82 before him for as long as we live. 83
1:76 And you, child, 84 will be called the prophet 85 of the Most High. 86
For you will go before 87 the Lord to prepare his ways, 88
1:77 to give his people knowledge of salvation 89 through the forgiveness 90 of their sins.
1:78 Because of 91 our God’s tender mercy 92
the dawn 93 will break 94 upon us from on high
1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, 95
to guide our feet into the way 96 of peace.”
1:80 And the child kept growing 97 and becoming strong 98 in spirit, and he was in the wilderness 99 until the day he was revealed 100 to Israel.