The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord shad shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹And ton the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰but his mother answered, “No; uhe shall be called John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶²And vthey made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³And he asked for wa writing tablet and wrote, u“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ⁶⁴xAnd immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue yloosed, and he spoke, zblessing God. ⁶⁵And afear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all bthe hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶and all who heard them claid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For dthe hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah ewas filled with the Holy Spirit and fprophesied, saying,

⁶⁸g“Blessed be the Lord hGod of Israel,

for he has ivisited and jredeemed his people

⁶⁹and khas raised up la horn of salvation for us

min the house of his servant David,

⁷⁰nas ohe spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

⁷¹pthat we should be saved from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us;

⁷²qto show the mercy promised to our fathers

and rto remember his holy scovenant,

⁷³tthe oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

⁷⁴that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him uwithout fear,

⁷⁵vin holiness and righteousness before him wall our days.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called xthe prophet of ythe Most High;

for zyou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people

ain the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸because of the btender mercy of our God,

whereby cthe sunrise shall dvisit us8 efrom on high

⁷⁹to fgive light to gthose who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into hthe way of ipeace.”

⁸⁰jAnd the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was kin the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

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