Luke 1:67-80

Contemporary English Version

Zechariah Praises the Lord

⁶⁷The Holy Spirit came upon Zechariah, and he began to speak:

⁶⁸Praise the Lord,
    the God of Israel!
He has come
    to save his people.
⁶⁹Our God has given us
    a mighty Savior^[a]
from the family
    of David his servant.
⁷⁰Long ago the Lord promised
by the words
    of his holy prophets
⁷¹to save us from our enemies
and from everyone
    who hates us.
⁷²God said he would be kind
to our people and keep
    his sacred promise.
⁷³He told our ancestor Abraham
⁷⁴that he would rescue us
    from our enemies.
Then we could serve him
    without fear,
⁷⁵by being holy and good
    as long as we live.

⁷⁶^(A) You, my son, will be called
    the prophet of God Most High.
You will go ahead of the Lord
to get everything ready
    for him.
⁷⁷You will tell his people
    that they can be saved
when their sins
    are forgiven.
⁷⁸God's love and kindness
    will shine upon us
like the sun that rises
    in the sky.^[b]
⁷⁹^(B) On us who live
in the dark shadow
    of death
this light will shine
to guide us
    into a life of peace.

⁸⁰As John grew up, God's Spirit gave him great power. John lived in the desert until the time he was sent to the people of Israel.

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Footnotes

1.69 a mighty Savior: The Greek text has “a horn of salvation.” In the Scriptures animal horns are often a symbol of great strength.
1.78 like the sun that rises in the sky: Or “like the Messiah coming from heaven.”