Luke 1:39-56
New American Standard Bible
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now [a]at this time Mary set out and went in a hurry to (A)the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was (B)filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And [b]how has it happened to me that the mother of (C)my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And (D)blessed is she who [c]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her [d]by the Lord.”
Mary’s Song: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said:
“(E)My soul [e](F)exalts the Lord,
47 And (G)my spirit has rejoiced in (H)God my Savior.
48 For (I)He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant;
For behold, from now on all generations will [f]call me (J)blessed.
49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 (K)And His mercy is to generation [g]after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 (L)He has done [h]mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the [i]thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has (M)exalted those who were humble.
53 (N)He has filled the hungry with good things,
And sent the rich away empty-handed.
54 He has given help to His servant Israel,
[j]In remembrance of His mercy,
55 (O)Just as He spoke to our fathers,
(P)To Abraham and his [k]descendants forever.”
56 Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
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Luke 1:39-56
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.(A) 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?(B) 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
Mary’s Song of Praise
46 And Mary[b] said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,(C)
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,(D)
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,(E)
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;(F)
50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.(G)
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.(H)
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;(I)
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.(J)
54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,(K)
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(L)
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
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Luke 1:39-56
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
39 And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda.
40 And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
45 And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.
46 And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord.
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
51 He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
55 As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
56 And Mary abode with her about three months; and she returned to her own house.
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Luke 1:39-56
The Message
Blessed Among Women
39-45 Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You’re so blessed among women,
and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed every word would come true!
46-55 And Mary said,
I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson