¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(A)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(B)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(C)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(D)great before the Lord. And ^(E)he must not drink wine or strong ^(F)drink, and ^(G)he will be ^(H)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(I)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(A)the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^(B)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(C)“Blessed are you among women, and ^(D)blessed is ^(E)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(F)my Lord should come to me?

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.

^80 (A)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(B)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

²⁵ Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over ^(A)purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, ^(B)“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, ^(C)to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and ^(D)all are going to him.” ²⁷ John answered, ^(E)“A person cannot receive even one thing ^(F)unless it is given him ^(G)from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ^(H)‘I am not the Christ, but ^(I)I have been sent before him.’ ^29 (J)The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. ^(K)The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, ^(L)rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. ^30 (M)He must increase, but I must decrease.”^[a]