67-79 Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
    he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
    and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago
    through the preaching of his holy prophets:
Deliverance from our enemies
    and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers,
    as he remembers to do what he said he’d do,
What he swore to our father Abraham—
    a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,
    made holy before him as long as we live.

And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,”
    will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
    the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
    God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
    those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
    down the path of peace.

80 The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.

Read full chapter

Zacharias’ Prophecy

67 Now Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him, and he prophesied, saying,

68 
“Blessed (praised, glorified) be the Lord, the God of Israel,
Because He has visited us and brought redemption to His people,
69 
And He has raised up a [a]horn of salvation [a mighty and valiant Savior] for us
In the house of David His servant—
70 
Just as He promised by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times—
71 
Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;(A)
72 
To show mercy [as He promised] to our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant [the promised blessing],
73 
The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 
To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 
In holiness [being set apart] and righteousness [being upright] before Him all our days.
76 
“And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord (the Messiah) to prepare His ways;(B)
77 
To give His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
78 
Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise (the Messiah) from on high will dawn and visit us,(C)
79 
To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
To guide our feet [in a straight line] into the way of peace and serenity.”(D)

80 The child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel [as John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah].

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:69 In the OT a symbol of strength.

67 When Zacharias’s voice was restored to him, he sang from the fullness of the Spirit a prophetic blessing.

68 Zacharias: May the Lord God of Israel be blessed indeed!
        For God’s intervention has begun,
        and He has moved to rescue us, the people of God.
69     And the Lord has raised up a powerful sign of liberation for us
        from among the descendants of God’s servant, King David.
70     As was prophesied through the mouths of His holy prophets in ancient times:
71     God will liberate us from our enemies
        and from the hand of our oppressors![a]

72-74     God will show mercy promised to our ancestors,
        upholding the abiding covenant He made with them,
    Remembering the original vow He swore to Abraham,
        from whom we are all descended.
    God will rescue us from the grasp of our enemies
        so that we may serve Him without fear all our days
75     In holiness and justice, in the presence of the Lord.

76     And you, my son, will be called the prophet of the Most High.
        For you will be the one to prepare the way for the Lord[b]
77     So that the Lord’s people will receive knowledge of their freedom
        through the forgiveness of their sins.

78     All this will flow from the kind and compassionate mercy of our God.
        A new day is dawning:
        the Sunrise from the heavens will break through in our darkness,
79     And those who huddle in night,
        those who sit in the shadow of death,
    Will be able to rise and walk in the light,[c]
        guided in the pathway of peace.

80 And John grew up and became strong in spirit. He lived in the wilderness, outside the cities, until the day came for him to step into the public eye in Israel.

Read full chapter

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:(A)

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has looked favorably on[a] his people and redeemed them.(B)
69 He has raised up a mighty savior[b] for us
    in the house of his child David,(C)
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,(D)
71     that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors
    and has remembered his holy covenant,(E)
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74     that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,(F) 75 in holiness and righteousness
    in his presence all our days.(G)
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,(H)
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation
    by the forgiveness of their sins.(I)
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
    the dawn from on high will break[c] upon[d] us,
79 to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”(J)

80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.(K)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1.68 Or has visited
  2. 1.69 Gk a horn of salvation
  3. 1.78 Other ancient authorities read has broken
  4. 1.78 Gk will visit

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:

68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has visited and redeemed his people.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior[a]
    from the royal line of his servant David,
70 just as he promised
    through his holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies
    and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors
    by remembering his sacred covenant—
73 the covenant he swore with an oath
    to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies
    so we can serve God without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness
    for as long as we live.

76 “And you, my little son,
    will be called the prophet of the Most High,
    because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
    through forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of God’s tender mercy,
    the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,[b]
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    and to guide us to the path of peace.”

80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:69 Greek has raised up a horn of salvation for us.
  2. 1:78 Or the Morning Light from Heaven is about to visit us.