Luke 1:39-66

English Standard Version

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(A)the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^(B)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(C)“Blessed are you among women, and ^(D)blessed is ^(E)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(F)my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And ^(G)blessed is she who believed that there would be^[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶And Mary said,

^(H)“My ^(I)soul ^(J)magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷    ^(K)and my ^(L)spirit rejoices in ^(M)God my Savior,
⁴⁸for ^(N)he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations ^(O)will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for ^(P)he who is mighty ^(Q)has done great things for me,
    and ^(R)holy is his name.
⁵⁰And ^(S)his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹^(T)He has shown strength with his arm;
    ^(U)he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²^(V)he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    ^(W)and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled ^(X)the hungry with good things,
    and the rich ^(Y)he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has ^(Z)helped ^(AA)his servant Israel,
    ^(AB)in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵^(AC)as he spoke to our fathers,
    ^(AD)to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^(AE)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹And ^(AF)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰but his mother answered, “No; ^(AG)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶²And ^(AH)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³And he asked for ^(AI)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(AJ)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ⁶⁴^(AK)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(AL)loosed, and he spoke, ^(AM)blessing God. ⁶⁵And ^(AN)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(AO)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶and all who heard them ^(AP)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^(AQ)the hand of the Lord was with him.