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John the Baptist Is Born

57 Now the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth to [a]give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had (A)magnified His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.

59 And it happened that on (B)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after the name of his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No, but (C)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 And they (D)were making signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “(E)His name is John.” And they all marveled. 64 (F)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all those living around them, and all these matters were being talked about in all (G)the hill country of Judea. 66 And all who heard these things put them in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” For (H)the hand of the [b]Lord was indeed with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah (I)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and (J)prophesied, saying:

68 (K)Blessed be the [c]Lord God of Israel,
For He visited and accomplished (L)redemption for His people,
69 And raised up a (M)horn of salvation for us
In the house of David (N)His servant—
70 (O)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (P)from of old—
71 [d](Q)Salvation (R)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 (S)To show mercy toward our fathers,
(T)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (U)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 (V)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the (W)prophet of (X)the Most High,
For you will go on (Y)before the [e]Lord to (Z)make ready His ways,
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
[f]By (AA)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (AB)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (AC)To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To direct our feet into the (AD)way of peace.”

80 (AE)And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the desolate regions until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:57 Or bear
  2. Luke 1:66 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Ex 9:3
  3. Luke 1:68 In OT, Yahweh, cf. 1 Sam 25:32
  4. Luke 1:71 Or Deliverance
  5. Luke 1:76 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 40:1-3; Mal 3:1
  6. Luke 1:77 Or Consisting in

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise(A) the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”(B)

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

62 Then they made signs(C) to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”(D) 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak,(E) praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea(F) people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.(G)

Zechariah’s Song

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit(H) and prophesied:(I)

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,(J)
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.(K)
69 He has raised up a horn[a](L) of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David(M)
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),(N)
71 salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors(O)
    and to remember his holy covenant,(P)
73     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:(Q)
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him(R) without fear(S)
75     in holiness and righteousness(T) before him all our days.

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet(U) of the Most High;(V)
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,(W)
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,(X)
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun(Y) will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,(Z)
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”(AA)

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit[b];(AB) and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:69 Horn here symbolizes a strong king.
  2. Luke 1:80 Or in the Spirit