The Magnificat

46 And Mary said:

(A)My soul [a](B)exalts the Lord,
47 And (C)my spirit has rejoiced in (D)God my Savior.
48 “For (E)He has had regard for the humble state of His [b]bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me (F)blessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 (G)And His mercy is [c]upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 (H)He has done [d]mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the [e]thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has (I)exalted those who were humble.
53 (J)He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant,
[f]In remembrance of His mercy,
55 (K)As He spoke to our fathers,
(L)To Abraham and his [g]descendants forever.”

56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

John Is Born

57 Now the time [h]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had [i](M)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

59 And it happened that on (N)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, [j]after his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but (O)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62 And they (P)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “(Q)His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64 (R)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all (S)the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For (T)the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

Zacharias’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zacharias (U)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and (V)prophesied, saying:

68 (W)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished (X)redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a (Y)horn of salvation for us
In the house of David (Z)His servant—
70 (AA)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (AB)from of old—
71 [k](AC)Salvation (AD)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (AE)To show mercy toward our fathers,
(AF)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (AG)The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 (AH)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 “And you, child, will be called the (AI)prophet of (AJ)the Most High;
For you will go on (AK)before the Lord to (AL)prepare His ways;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
[l]By (AM)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (AN)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (AO)To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the (AP)way of peace.”

80 (AQ)And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:46 Lit makes great
  2. Luke 1:48 I.e. female slave
  3. Luke 1:50 Lit unto generations and generations
  4. Luke 1:51 Lit might
  5. Luke 1:51 Lit thought, attitude
  6. Luke 1:54 Lit So as to remember
  7. Luke 1:55 Lit seed
  8. Luke 1:57 Lit was fulfilled
  9. Luke 1:58 Lit magnified
  10. Luke 1:59 Lit after the name of
  11. Luke 1:71 Or Deliverance
  12. Luke 1:77 Or Consisting in

Mary’s Song(A)

46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord(B)
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,(C)
48 for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.(D)
From now on all generations will call me blessed,(E)
49     for the Mighty One has done great things(F) for me—
    holy is his name.(G)
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.(H)
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;(I)
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.(J)
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.(K)
53 He has filled the hungry with good things(L)
    but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful(M)
55 to Abraham and his descendants(N) forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

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(O) 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.”(P)

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

62 Then they made signs(Q) to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”(R) 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak,(S) praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea(T) people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.(U)

Zechariah’s Song

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit(V) and prophesied:(W)

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,(X)
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.(Y)
69 He has raised up a horn[a](Z) of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David(AA)
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),(AB)
71 salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors(AC)
    and to remember his holy covenant,(AD)
73     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:(AE)
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him(AF) without fear(AG)
75     in holiness and righteousness(AH) before him all our days.

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet(AI) of the Most High;(AJ)
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,(AK)
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,(AL)
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun(AM) will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,(AN)
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”(AO)

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit[b];(AP) and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:69 Horn here symbolizes a strong king.
  2. Luke 1:80 Or in the Spirit

12 For (A)the word of God is (B)living and (C)active and sharper than any two-edged (D)sword, and piercing as far as the division of (E)soul and (F)spirit, of both joints and marrow, and (G)able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

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12 For the word of God(A) is alive(B) and active.(C) Sharper than any double-edged sword,(D) it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.(E)

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