Luke 1:57-80

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

⁵⁹And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after his father. ⁶⁰And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. ⁶³And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁶⁴And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God. ⁶⁵And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:

68“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

69And has raised up a horn of salvation for us

In the house of His servant David—

70Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times—

71Salvation from our enemies,

And from the hand of all who hate us;

72To show mercy to our fathers,

And to remember His holy covenant,

73The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,

74To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,

Would serve Him without fear,

75In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

76“And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High;

For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;

77To give His people the knowledge of salvation

By the forgiveness of their sins,

78Because of the tender mercy of our God,

With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

79To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.