Luke 1:26-56

English Standard Version

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶In the sixth month the angel ^(A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(B)Nazareth, ²⁷^(C)to a virgin betrothed^[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(D)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(E)O favored one, ^(F)the Lord is with you!”^[b] ²⁹But ^(G)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 ^(H)you have found favor with God. ³¹And behold, ^(I)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(J)you shall call his name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(K)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(L)will give to him the throne of ^(M)his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(N)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?”^[c]

³⁵And the angel answered her, ^(O)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(P)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[d] will be called ^(Q)holy—^(R)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 ^(S)who was called barren. ³⁷For ^(T)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^[e] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^(U)the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(V)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 ^(W)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(X)“Blessed are you among women, and ^(Y)blessed is ^(Z)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(AA)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 ^(AB)blessed is she who believed that there would be^[f] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶And Mary said,

^(AC)“My ^(AD)soul ^(AE)magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷    ^(AF)and my ^(AG)spirit rejoices in ^(AH)God my Savior,
⁴⁸for ^(AI)he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations ^(AJ)will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for ^(AK)he who is mighty ^(AL)has done great things for me,
    and ^(AM)holy is his name.
⁵⁰And ^(AN)his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹^(AO)He has shown strength with his arm;
    ^(AP)he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²^(AQ)he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    ^(AR)and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled ^(AS)the hungry with good things,
    and the rich ^(AT)he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has ^(AU)helped ^(AV)his servant Israel,
    ^(AW)in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵^(AX)as he spoke to our fathers,
    ^(AY)to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”