Jesus’ Birth Foretold

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel ^(A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named ^(B)Nazareth, ²⁷ to ^(C)a virgin ^[a]betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(D)of the ^[b]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was ^[c]Mary. ²⁸ And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord ^[d]is with you.” ²⁹ But she ^(E)was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “^(F)Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you ^(G)shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(H)the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him ^(I)the throne of His father David; ^33 (J)and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ^(K)and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I ^[e]am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and said to her, “^(L)The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(M)the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also ^(N)the ^[f]holy Child will be called ^(O)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and ^[g]she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For ^(P)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ Now ^[h]at this time Mary set out and went in a hurry to ^(Q)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 ^(R)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 ^[i]how has it happened to me that the mother of ^(S)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 ^(T)blessed is she who ^[j]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ^[k]by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song: The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

John the Baptist Is Born

⁵⁷ Now the time ^[s]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had ^[t](AG)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

⁵⁹ And it happened that on ^(AH)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, ^[u]after his father. ⁶⁰ And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; but ^(AI)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 ^[v](AJ)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. ⁶³ And he asked for a tablet and wrote ^[w]as follows, “^(AK)His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ^64 (AL)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God. ⁶⁵ And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in ^(AM)the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed ^(AN)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(AO)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(AP)prophesied, saying:

^80 (BK)Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, ^(A)the ^[a]virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him ^[b](B)Immanuel.

^9 (A)The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but ^(B)is patient toward you, ^(C)not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.