And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, was seized with fear.

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.

And he will go as forerunner before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!”

So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!

Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.

“And look, your relative Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son in her old age—although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month!

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

She exclaimed with a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child in your womb!

and my spirit has begun to rejoice in God my Savior,

He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts.

he has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich away empty.

So Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home.

Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

All their neighbors were filled with fear, and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about.

All who heard these things kept them in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the Lord’s hand was indeed with him.

Zechariah’s Praise and Prediction

Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, may serve him without fear,

And the child kept growing and becoming strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he was revealed to Israel.

He went to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, and who was expecting a child.

Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!”

The Prophecy of Simeon

Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was righteous and devout, looking for the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.