Luke 1:28-2:7

New King James Version

²⁸And having come in, the angel said to her, ^(A)“Rejoice, highly favored one, ^(B)the Lord is with you; ^[a]blessed are you among women!”

²⁹But ^[b]when she saw him, ^(C)she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found ^(D)favor with God. ³¹^(E)And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and ^(F)shall call His name Jesus. ³²He will be great, ^(G)and will be called the Son of the Highest; and ^(H)the Lord God will give Him the ^(I)throne of His ^(J)father David. ³³^(K)And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I ^[c]do not know a man?”

³⁵And the angel answered and said to her, ^(L)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called ^(M)the Son of God. ³⁶Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷For ^(N)with God nothing will be impossible.”

³⁸Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, ^(O)to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was ^(P)filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, ^(Q)“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵^(R)Blessed is she who ^[d]believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

The Song of Mary

⁴⁶And Mary said:

^(S)“My soul ^[e]magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷And my spirit has ^(T)rejoiced in ^(U)God my Savior.
⁴⁸For ^(V)He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth ^(W)all generations will call me blessed.
⁴⁹For He who is mighty ^(X)has done great things for me,
And ^(Y)holy is His name.
⁵⁰And ^(Z)His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
⁵¹^(AA)He has shown strength with His arm;
^(AB)He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
⁵²^(AC)He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
⁵³He has ^(AD)filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped His ^(AE)servant Israel,
^(AF)In remembrance of His mercy,
⁵⁵^(AG)As He spoke to our ^(AH)fathers,
To Abraham and to his ^(AI)seed forever.”

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

Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. ⁵⁸When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they ^(AJ)rejoiced with her.

Circumcision of John the Baptist

⁵⁹So it was, ^(AK)on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. ⁶⁰His mother answered and said, ^(AL)“No; he shall be called John.”

⁶¹But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. ⁶⁵Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶And all those who heard them ^(AM)kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And ^(AN)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias’ Prophecy

⁶⁷Now his father Zacharias ^(AO)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸“Blessed^(AP) is the Lord God of Israel,
For ^(AQ)He has visited and redeemed His people,
⁶⁹^(AR)And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
⁷⁰^(AS)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been ^(AT)since the world began,
⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷²^(AU)To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
⁷³^(AV)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might ^(AW)serve Him without fear,
⁷⁵^(AX)In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

⁷⁶“And you, child, will be called the ^(AY)prophet of the Highest;
For ^(AZ)you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
⁷⁷To give ^(BA)knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the ^[f]Dayspring from on high ^[g]has visited us;
⁷⁹^(BB)To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To ^(BC)guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰So ^(BD)the child grew and became strong in spirit, and ^(BE)was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Christ Born of Mary^(BF)

2 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²^(BG)This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

⁴Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to ^(BH)the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, ^(BI)because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵to be registered with Mary, ^(BJ)his betrothed ^[h]wife, who was with child. ⁶So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷And ^(BK)she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a ^[i]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.