Luke 1:57-80
New American Standard Bible
John the Baptist Is Born
57 Now the time [a]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 [b](A)displayed 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, [c]after his father. 60 And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; 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](D)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote [e]as follows, “(E)His name is John.” And they were all amazed. 64 (F)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 (G)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 (H)the hand of the Lord was 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 Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished (L)redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a (M)horn of salvation for us
In the house of (N)His servant David—
70 (O)Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (P)from ancient times—
71 [f](Q)Salvation (R)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (S)To show mercy to our fathers,
(T)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (U)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Would serve Him without fear,
75 (V)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 And you, child, also will be called the (W)prophet of (X)the Most High;
For you will go on (Y)before the Lord to (Z)prepare His ways;
77 To give His people the knowledge of salvation
[g]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 on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the (AD)way of peace.”
80 (AE)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.
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Isaiah 40:1-5
New American Standard Bible
The Greatness of God
40 “(A)Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2 “(B)Speak [a]kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her [b](C)warfare has ended,
That her [c](D)guilt has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
(E)Double for all her sins.”
3 (F)The voice of one calling out,
“(G)Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make [d]straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the uneven ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 [e]Then the (H)glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And (I)all flesh will see it together;
For the (J)mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:2 Lit to the heart of
- Isaiah 40:2 Or hard service
- Isaiah 40:2 Or penalty of guilt accepted as paid off
- Isaiah 40:3 Or smooth
- Isaiah 40:5 Or In order that the
John 1:6-9
New American Standard Bible
The Witness John the Baptist
6 A man [a]came, one sent from God, and his name was (A)John. 7 [b]He came [c](B)as a witness, to testify about the Light, (C)so that all might believe through him. 8 [d](D)He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
9 [e]This was (E)the true Light [f]that, coming into the world, enlightens every person.
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