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Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:(A)

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has looked favorably on[a] his people and redeemed them.(B)
69 He has raised up a mighty savior[b] for us
    in the house of his child David,(C)
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,(D)
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,(E)
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,(F) 75 in holiness and righteousness
    in his presence all our days.(G)
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,(H)
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation
    by the forgiveness of their sins.(I)
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.”(J)

80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. 1.68 Or has visited
  2. 1.69 Gk a horn of salvation
  3. 1.78 Other ancient authorities read has broken
  4. 1.78 Gk will visit

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:

68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has visited and redeemed his people.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior[a]
    from the royal line of his servant David,
70 just as he promised
    through his holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies
    and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors
    by remembering his sacred covenant—
73 the covenant he swore with an oath
    to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies
    so we can serve God without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness
    for as long as we live.

76 “And you, my little son,
    will be called the prophet of the Most High,
    because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
    through forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of God’s tender mercy,
    the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,[b]
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    and to guide us to the path of peace.”

80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:69 Greek has raised up a horn of salvation for us.
  2. 1:78 Or the Morning Light from Heaven is about to visit us.