Chapter II

MARYS VISIT TO ELIZABETH, AND THE BIRTH OF JOHN.

1 [1:39]AND Mary arose in those days and went in haste to the mountainous country, to the city of Juda. [1:40]And she went unto the house of Zachariah and saluted Elizabeth. [1:41]And when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, [1:42]and cried with a loud voice, and said, Blessed are you among women! and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [1:43]And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord has come to me? [1:44]For, behold, when the voice of your salutation came to my ears, the babe leaped in my womb with exultation. [1:45] And blessed is she that believed; for there shall be an accomplishment of the words spoken to her by the Lord.

2 [1:46]And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, [1:47]and my spirit exults in God my Saviour; [1:48]for he has looked on the low condition of his servant; for, behold, from this time all generations shall call me blessed, [1:49] because the mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; [1:50]and his mercy is to generations and generations of them that fear him. [1:51]He has made strong his arm; he has scattered the proud with the thought of their hearts; [1:52]he has brought down the mighty from thrones, and exalted the humble; [1:53]he has filled the hungry with goods, and sent the rich away empty. [1:54]He has helped Israel his servant, and remembered his mercy, [1:55] as he said to our fathers, to Abraham and his posterity forever. [1:56]And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

3 [1:57]And when Elizabeth's time to bear had fully come, she bore a son; [1:58]and her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy to her, and congratulated her. [1:59]And they came on the eighth day to circumcise the little child, and called it by the name of its father, Zachariah. [1:60]And his mother answered and said, No; but he shall be called John. [1:61] And they said to her, There is no one of your relations who is called by this name; [1:62]and they made signs to his father, what he wished it to be called. [1:63]And asking for a writing-tablet, he wrote, saying, His name is John. And all wondered. [1:64]And his mouth was immediately opened, and his tongue [loosed], and he spoke and blessed God. [1:65]And fear came on all living around them. All these things were talked of in all the mountainous country of Judea. [1:66]And all who heard laid them to heart, saying, What then is this child to be? For the hand of the Lord was also with him.

4 [1:67]And Zachariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, [1:68]Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people, [1:69]and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant; [1:70]as he said by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old; [1:71]A salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us, [1:72]to perform his mercy with our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, [1:73]the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, [1:74]to grant us without fear, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, to serve him [1:75]in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. [1:76]And you, little child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High; for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, [1:77]to give a knowledge of salvation to his people, with a forgiveness of sins, [1:78]on account of the compassionate mercies of our God, by which a morning from on high has visited us, [1:79]to illuminate those sitting in darkness and the shade of death, to direct our feet in the way of peace. [1:80]And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.