57. When it was time for Elizabeth
to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
58. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great
mercy, and they shared her joy.
59. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were
going to name him after his father Zechariah,
60. but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
67. His father Zechariah was
filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68. "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come
and has redeemed his people.
69. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant
David
70. (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71. salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us--
72. to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
73. the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74. to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve
him without fear
75. in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for
you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77. to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness
of their sins,
78. because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will
come to us from heaven
79. to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to
guide our feet into the path of peace."
18. This is how the birth
of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married
to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child
through the Holy Spirit.
19. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to
expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to
him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from
the Holy Spirit.
21. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."