"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably
on his people and redeemed them,
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the
mouth of his holy
prophets from of old,
that we would be saved
from our enemies and
from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the
mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we ,being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without
fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
And you,child, will be called
the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the
Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of
salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will
break upon us.
to give light to those who sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."**