39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

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 shewed 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 empty away.

54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

55 As he spake 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 how the Lord had shewed 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 unto 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 table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

66 And all they that 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 Ghost, 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 spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which 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 sware to our father Abraham,

74 That he would grant unto 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 unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

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 waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

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39 [a]And Mary arose in those days, and went into the [b]hill country with haste to a [c]city of Judah,

40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth.

41 And it came to pass, as Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe [d]sprang in her belly, and Elizabeth was filled with the holy Ghost.

42 And she cried with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, because [e]the fruit of thy womb is blessed.

43 And whence cometh this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe sprang in my belly for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed: for those things shall be performed, which were told her from the Lord.

46 [f]Then Mary said, My soul magnifieth the Lord,

47 And my spirit rejoiceth in God my Savior.

48 For he hath [g]looked on the [h]poor degree of his servant: for behold, from henceforth shall all ages call me blessed,

49 Because he that is mighty hath done for me great things, and holy is his Name.

50 And his mercy is from generation to generation on them [i]that fear him.

51 (A)He that showed strength with his [j]arm: (B)he hath [k]scattered the proud in the [l]imagination of their hearts.

52 (C)He hath [m]put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of [n]low degree.

53 (D)He hath filled the [o]hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty.

54 [p](E)He hath upholden Israel his servant to be mindful of his mercy,

55 ((F)As he hath [q]spoken to our fathers, to wit, to Abraham and his seed) forever.

56 ¶ And Mary abode with her about three months: after, she returned to her own house.

57 [r]Now Elizabeth’s time was fulfilled, that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son.

58 And her neighbors and cousins heard tell how the Lord had showed his great mercy upon her, and they (G)rejoiced with her.

59 And it was so that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the babe, and called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

60 But his mother answered, and said, Not so, but he shall be called John.

61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is named with this name.

62 Then they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

63 So he asked for writing tablets, and wrote, saying, His name is John, and they marveled all.

64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, [s]and he spake and praised God.

65 Then fear came on all them that dwelt near unto them, and all [t]these words were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea.

66 And all they that heard them, [u]laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner child shall this be! and the [v]hand of the Lord was with him.

67 [w]Then his father Zacharias was filled with the holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he hath [x]visited (H)and [y]redeemed his people,

69 (I)And hath raised up the [z]horn of salvation unto us, in the house of his servant David,

70 (J)As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, which were since the world began, saying,

71 That he would send us deliverance from our enemies, and from the hands of all that hate us,

72 That he might show mercy towards our fathers: and [aa]remember his holy covenant,

73 (K)And the oath, which he sware to our father Abraham.

74 Which was, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, should serve him without fear,

75 All the days of our life, in (L)holiness and righteousness [ab]before him.

76 And thou, [ac]babe, shalt be called the Prophet of the most High: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,

77 And to [ad]give knowledge of salvation unto his people, by the [ae]remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby (M)the [af]dayspring from on high hath visited us,

79 To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of [ag]peace.

80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness, till the day came that he should show himself unto Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:39 Elizabeth being great with child with John, and Mary with Christ, by the inspiration of the holy Ghost, do rejoice each for other.
  2. Luke 1:39 Which is on the South side of Jerusalem.
  3. Luke 1:39 That is to say, Hebron: which was in times past called Kirjath Arba, which was one of the towns, that was given to the Levites, in the tribe of Judah, and is said to be in the mountains of Judah, Josh. 14:15 and 21:11.
  4. Luke 1:41 This was no ordinary nor usual kind of moving.
  5. Luke 1:42 Christ is blessed in respect of his humanity.
  6. Luke 1:46 Christ the redeemer of the afflicted, and revenger of the proud, of long time promised to the fathers, is now at length exhibited indeed.
  7. Luke 1:48 Hath freely and graciously loved.
  8. Luke 1:48 Word for word, My baseness, that is, my base estate: so that the Virgin vaunteth not her deserts, but the grace of God.
  9. Luke 1:50 To them that live godly and religiously, so speak the Hebrews.
  10. Luke 1:51 That is, an heaping up of words more than needed, which the Hebrews use very much, and the arm is taken for strength.
  11. Luke 1:51 Even as the wind doth the chaff.
  12. Luke 1:51 He hath scattered them, and the imagination of their hearts; or by and through the imagination of their own hearts: so that their wicked counsel turned to their own destruction.
  13. Luke 1:52 The mighty and rich men.
  14. Luke 1:52 Such as none account is made of, and are vile in men’s eyes, which are indeed the poor in spirit, that is, such as challenge nothing to themselves in the sight of God.
  15. Luke 1:53 Them that are brought to extreme poverty.
  16. Luke 1:54 He hath holpen up Israel with his arm, being clean cast down.
  17. Luke 1:55 Promised.
  18. Luke 1:57 John’s nativity is set out with new miracles.
  19. Luke 1:64 was restored to its former state, is read in some copies.
  20. Luke 1:65 All this that was said and done.
  21. Luke 1:66 Thought upon them diligently and earnestly, and as it were, printed them in their hearts.
  22. Luke 1:66 That is, the present favor of God, and a singular kind of virtue appeared in him.
  23. Luke 1:67 John scarce born, by the authority of the holy Ghost, is appointed to his office.
  24. Luke 1:68 That he hath showed himself mindful of his people, insomuch that he came down from heaven himself, to visit us in person, and to redeem us.
  25. Luke 1:68 Hath paid the ransom, that is to say, the price of our redemption.
  26. Luke 1:69 This word Horn in the Hebrew tongue signifieth might, and it is a Metaphor, taken from beasts, that fight with their horns: and by raising up the might of Israel, is meant, that the kingdom of Israel was defended, and the enemies thereof laid on the ground, even then when the strength of Israel seemed to be utterly decayed.
  27. Luke 1:72 Declared indeed that he was mindful.
  28. Luke 1:75 To God’s good liking.
  29. Luke 1:76 Though thou be at this present never so little.
  30. Luke 1:77 Open the way.
  31. Luke 1:77 Forgiveness of sins, is the means whereby God saveth us, Rom. 4:7.
  32. Luke 1:78 Or bud, or branch; he alludeth unto the places in Jer. 23:5; Zech. 3:8 and 6:12, and he is called a bud from on high, that is, sent from God unto us, and not as other buds which bud out of the earth.
  33. Luke 1:79 Into the way which leadeth us to true happiness.