Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 zIn the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin abetrothed1 to a man whose name was Joseph, bof the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, cO favored one, dthe Lord is with you!”2 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, eyou will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 fHe will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the gthrone of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be hno end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”3
35 And the angel answered her, i“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born4 will be called holy—the jSon of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For knothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant5 of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your lwomb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be6 a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said,
m“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me nblessed;
49 for he who is mighty has odone great things for me,
and pholy is his name.
50 And his qmercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has rscattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has sfilled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has thelped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
uto Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.1
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an sangel of the Lord appeared to them, and the tglory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, u“Fear not, for behold, I bring you vgood news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 wFor xunto you is born this day yin the city of David a zSavior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a asign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the bhighest,
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, dglorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
