Luke:1:5-44
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There was in the days of Herod ,
the king of Judaea ,
a certain priest named Zacharias ,
of the course of Abia :
and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron ,
and her name was Elisabeth .
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And they were both righteous before God ,
walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless .
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And they had no child ,
because that Elisabeth was barren ,
and they both were now well stricken in years .
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And it came to pass ,
that while he executed the priest '
s office before God in the order of his course ,
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According to the custom of the priest '
s office ,
his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord .
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And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense .
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And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense .
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And when Zacharias saw him ,
he was troubled ,
and fear fell upon him .
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But the angel said unto him ,
Fear not ,
Zacharias :
for thy prayer is heard ;
and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son ,
and thou shalt call his name John .
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And thou shalt have joy and gladness ;
and many shall rejoice at his birth .
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For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord ,
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink ;
and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost ,
even from his mother '
s womb .
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And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God .
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And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias ,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children ,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ;
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord .
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And Zacharias said unto the angel ,
Whereby shall I know this ?
for I am an old man ,
and my wife well stricken in years .
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And the angel answering said unto him ,
I am Gabriel ,
that stand in the presence of God ;
and am sent to speak unto thee ,
and to shew thee these glad tidings .
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And ,
behold ,
thou shalt be dumb ,
and not able to speak ,
until the day that these things shall be performed ,
because thou believest not my words ,
which shall be fulfilled in their season .
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And the people waited for Zacharias ,
and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple .
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And when he came out ,
he could not speak unto them :
and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple :
for he beckoned unto them ,
and remained speechless .
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And it came to pass ,
that ,
as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished ,
he departed to his own house .
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And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived ,
and hid herself five months ,
saying ,
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Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me ,
to take away my reproach among men .
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And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee ,
named Nazareth ,
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To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph ,
of the house of David ;
and the virgin '
s name was Mary .
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And the angel came in unto her ,
and said ,
Hail ,
thou that art highly favoured ,
the Lord is with thee :
blessed art thou among women .
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And when she saw him ,
she was troubled at his saying ,
and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be .
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And the angel said unto her ,
Fear not ,
Mary :
for thou hast found favour with God .
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And ,
behold ,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb ,
and bring forth a son ,
and shalt call his name JESUS .
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He shall be great ,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest :
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David :
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And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever ;
and of his kingdom there shall be no end .
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Then said Mary unto the angel ,
How shall this be ,
seeing I know not a man ?
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And the angel answered and said unto her ,
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee ,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee :
therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God .
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And ,
behold ,
thy cousin Elisabeth ,
she hath also conceived a son in her old age :
and this is the sixth month with her ,
who was called barren .
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For with God nothing shall be impossible .
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And Mary said ,
Behold the handmaid of the Lord ;
be it unto me according to thy word .
And the angel departed from her .
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And Mary arose in those days ,
and went into the hill country with haste ,
into a city of Juda ;
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And entered into the house of Zacharias ,
and saluted Elisabeth .
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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 :
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And she spake out with a loud voice ,
and said ,
Blessed art thou among women ,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb .
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And whence is this to me ,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me ?
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For ,
lo ,
as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears ,
the babe leaped in my womb for joy .