of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary to the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing who shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah;
40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elisabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit:
42 And she spoke with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 And blessed is she that believed: that there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. [1]
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 He hath shown strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent away empty.
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard that the Lord had shown great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60 And his mother answered and said, Not so ; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said to her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marvelled.
64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, and praised God.
65 And fear came on all that dwelt around them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. [2]
66 And all they that had heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
70 As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began:
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
73 The oath which he swore to our father Abraham,
74 That he would grant to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins, [3]
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; with which the dayspring from on high hath visited us, [4] [5]
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing to Israel.
CHAP. 2.
