Luke 1:57-80

English Standard Version

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 ^(A)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹And ^(B)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; ^(C)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶²And ^(D)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³And he asked for ^(E)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(F)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ⁶⁴^(G)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(H)loosed, and he spoke, ^(I)blessing God. ⁶⁵And ^(J)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(K)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶and all who heard them ^(L)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^(M)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah ^(N)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(O)prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸^(P)“Blessed be the Lord ^(Q)God of Israel,
    for he has ^(R)visited and ^(S)redeemed his people
⁶⁹and ^(T)has raised up ^(U)a horn of salvation for us
    ^(V)in the house of his servant David,
⁷⁰^(W)as ^(X)he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
⁷¹^(Y)that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
⁷²^(Z)to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and ^(AA)to remember his holy ^(AB)covenant,
⁷³^(AC)the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
⁷⁴    that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him ^(AD)without fear,
⁷⁵    ^(AE)in holiness and righteousness before him ^(AF)all our days.
⁷⁶And you, child, will be called ^(AG)the prophet of ^(AH)the Most High;
    for ^(AI)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    ^(AJ)in the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸because of the ^(AK)tender mercy of our God,
    whereby ^(AL)the sunrise shall ^(AM)visit us^[a] ^(AN)from on high
⁷⁹to ^(AO)give light to ^(AP)those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into ^(AQ)the way of ^(AR)peace.”