Luke 1:57-80
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.(A)
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.(B) 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.(C)
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:(D)
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on[a] his people and redeemed them.(E)
69 He has raised up a mighty savior[b] for us
in the house of his child David,(F)
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,(G)
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,(H)
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,(I) 75 in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.(J)
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,(K)
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.(L)
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.”(M)
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.(N)
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Philippians 1:3-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians
3 I thank my God for every remembrance of you, 4 always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy 5 for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.(A) 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete[a] it until the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart,[b] for all of you are my partners in God’s grace,[c] both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.(B) 8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the tender affection of Christ Jesus.(C) 9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight(D) 10 to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11 having produced the harvest[d] of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
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