66. All those who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will he be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67. His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,for He has visited and redeemed His people,
69. and has raised up a horn of salvation for usin the house of His servant David,
70. as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago,
71. that we should be saved from our enemiesand from the hand of all who hate us,
72. to perform the mercy promised to our fathersand to remember His holy covenant,
73. the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
74. to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,might serve Him without fear,
75. in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
76. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77. to give knowledge of salvation to His peopleby the remission of their sins,
78. through the tender mercy of our God,whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us;
79. to give light to those who sit in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he remained in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to Israel.