Jesus’ Birth Foretold

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel ^(A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named ^(B)Nazareth, ²⁷ to ^(C)a virgin ^[a]betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(D)of the ^[b]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was ^[c]Mary. ²⁸ And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord ^[d]is with you.” ²⁹ But she ^(E)was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “^(F)Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you ^(G)shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(H)the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him ^(I)the throne of His father David; ^33 (J)and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ^(K)and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I ^[e]am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and said to her, “^(L)The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(M)the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also ^(N)the ^[f]holy Child will be called ^(O)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and ^[g]she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For ^(P)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.