Study Desk

When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.

Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

On the eighth day they came to circumcise^(bq) the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,

but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."^(br)

They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."

Then they made signs^(bs) to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.

He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John."^(bt)

Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak,^(bu) praising God.

All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea^(bv) people were talking about all these things.

Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.^(bw)

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit^(bx) and prophesied:^(by)

"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,^(bz) because he has come to his people and redeemed them.^(ca)

He has raised up a horn^[c](cb) of salvation for us in the house of his servant David^(cc)

(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),^(cd)

salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—

to show mercy to our ancestors^(ce) and to remember his holy covenant,^(cf)

the oath he swore to our father Abraham:^(cg)

to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him^(ch) without fear^(ci)

in holiness and righteousness^(cj) before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet^(ck) of the Most High;^(cl) for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,^(cm)

to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,^(cn)

because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun^(co) will come to us from heaven

to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death,^(cp) to guide our feet into the path of peace."^(cq)

And the child grew and became strong in spirit^[d];^(cr) and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.