Luke 1
1 As a number of attempts have been made to put together in order an account of those events which took place among us,
Many have taken on the work of putting together an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,
2 As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word,
just as they were passed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
3 It seemed good to me, having made observation, with great care, of the direction of events in their order, to put the facts in writing for you, most noble Theophilus;
So it seemed good to me also, because I have accurately investigated everything from the beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
4 So that you might have certain knowledge of those things about which you were given teaching.
so that you might know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the order of Abijah; and he had a wife of the family of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zechariah, from the division of Abijah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were upright in the eyes of God, keeping all the rules and orders of God, and doing no wrong.
They were both righteous before God, obeying all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7 And they were without children, because Elisabeth had never given birth, and they were at that time very old.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both very old by this time.
8 Now it came about that in his turn he was acting as priest before God,
Now it came about that Zechariah was in God's presence, carrying out the priestly duties in the order of his division.
9 And as was the way of the priests, he had to go into the Temple to see to the burning of perfumes.
According to the customary way of choosing which priest would serve, he had been chosen by lot to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense.
10 And all the people were offering prayers outside, at the time of the burning of perfumes.
The whole crowd of people was praying outside at the hour when the incense was burned.
11 And he saw an angel of the Lord in his place on the right side of the altar.
Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him and stood at the right side of the incense altar.
12 And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear came on him.
When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and fear fell on him.
13 But the angel said, Have no fear, Zacharias, for your prayer has come to the ears of God, and your wife Elisabeth will have a son, and his name will be John.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You will call his name John.
14 And you will be glad and have great delight; and numbers of people will have joy at his birth.
You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the Spirit of God from his birth.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb.
16 And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.
Many of the people of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning the hearts of fathers to their children, and wrongdoers to the way of righteousness; to make ready a people whose hearts have been turned to the Lord.
He will go before the face of the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be certain of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far on in years.
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is very old.”
19 And the angel, answering, said, I am Gabriel, whose place is before God; I have been sent to say these words to you and to give you this good news.
The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, to bring you this good news.
20 Now, see, you will be without voice or language till the day when these things come about, because you had not faith in my words, which will have effect at the right time.
Behold! You will be silent, unable to speak, until the day these things take place. This is because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at the right time.”
21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias and were surprised because he was in the Temple for such a long time.
Now the people were waiting for Zechariah. They were surprised that he was spending so much time in the temple.
22 And when he came out he was not able to say anything, and they saw that he had seen a vision in the Temple; and he was making signs to them without words.
But when he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized that he had seen a vision while he was in the temple. He kept on making signs to them and remained silent.
23 And when the days of his work in the Temple were ended, he went back to his house.
It came about that when the days of his service were over, he went to his house.
24 After that time, Elisabeth, being certain that she was to become a mother, kept herself from men's eyes for five months, saying,
After these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and for five months she kept herself hidden. She said,
25 The Lord has done this to me, for his eyes were on me, to take away my shame in the eyes of men.
“This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked at me with favor in order to take away my shame before people.”
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee, named Nazareth,
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin who was to be married to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary.
to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph. He belonged to the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in to her and said, Peace be with you, to whom special grace has been given; the Lord is with you.
He came to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 But she was greatly troubled at his words, and said to herself, What may be the purpose of these words?
But she was very confused by his words and she wondered what kind of greeting this could be.
30 And the angel said to her, Have no fear, Mary, for you have God's approval.
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And see, you will give birth to a son, and his name will be Jesus.
See, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. You will call his name 'Jesus.'
32 He will be great, and will be named the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his father:
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.
33 He will have rule over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. (aiōn g165)
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” (aiōn g165)
34 And Mary said to the angel, How may this be, because I have had no knowledge of a man?
Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen, since I have not slept with any man?”
35 And the angel in answer said to her, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will come to rest on you, and so that which will come to birth will be named holy, Son of God.
The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will come over you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Even now Elisabeth, who is of your family, is to be a mother, though she is old: and this is the sixth month with her who was without children.
See, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age. This is the sixth month for her, she who was called barren.
37 For there is nothing which God is not able to do.
For nothing will be impossible for God.”
38 And Mary said: I am the servant of the Lord; may it be to me as you say. And the angel went away.
Mary said, “See, I am the female servant of the Lord. Let it be for me according to your message.” Then the angel left her.
39 Then Mary got up and went quickly into the high lands, to a town of Judah;
Then Mary arose in those days and quickly went into the hill country, to a city in Judea.
40 And went into the house of Zacharias and took Elisabeth in her arms.
She went into the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And when the voice of Mary came to the ears of Elisabeth, the baby made a sudden move inside her; then Elisabeth was full of the Holy Spirit,
Now it happened that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb jumped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 And she said with a loud voice: May blessing be on you among women, and a blessing on the child of your body.
She raised her voice and said loudly, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
43 How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
Why has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, truly, when the sound of your voice came to my ears, the baby in my body made a sudden move for joy.
For see, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.
45 Happy will she be who had faith that the things which the Lord has said to her will be done.
Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were told her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said: My soul gives glory to God;
Mary said, “My soul praises the Lord,
47 My spirit is glad in God my Saviour.
and my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior.
48 For he has had pity on his servant, though she is poor and lowly placed: and from this hour will all generations give witness to the blessing which has come to me.
For he has looked at the low condition of his female servant. For see, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For he who is strong has done great things for me; and holy is his name.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and his name is holy.
50 His mercy is for all generations in whom is the fear of him.
His mercy lasts from generation to generation for those who fear him.
51 With his arm he has done acts of power; he has put to flight those who have pride in their hearts.
He has displayed strength with his arm; he has scattered those who were proud about the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree.
He has thrown down princes from their thrones and he has raised up those of low condition.
53 Those who had no food he made full of good things; the men of wealth he sent away with nothing in their hands;
He has filled the hungry with good things, but the rich he has sent away empty.
54 His help he has given to Israel, his servant, so that he might keep in mind his mercy to Abraham and his seed for ever,
He has given help to Israel his servant, so as to remember to show mercy
(as he said to our fathers) to Abraham and his descendants forever.” (aiōn g165)
56 And Mary was with her for about three months and then went back to her house.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her house.
57 Now it was time for Elisabeth to give birth, and she had a son.
Now the time had come for Elizabeth to deliver her baby and she gave birth to a son.
58 And it came to the ears of her neighbours and relations that the Lord had been very good to her, and they took part in her joy.
Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 And on the eighth day they came to see to the circumcision of the child, and they would have given him the name of Zacharias, his father's name;
Now it happened on the eighth day that they came to circumcise the child. They would have called him “Zechariah,” after the name of his father.
60 But his mother made answer and said, No, his name is John.
But his mother answered and said, “No. He will be called John.”
61 And they said, Not one of your relations has that name.
They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”
62 And they made signs to his father, to say what name was to be given to him.
They made signs to his father as to how he wanted him to be named.
63 And he sent for writing materials and put down: His name is John; and they were all surprised.
His father asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” They all were astonished at this.
64 And straight away his mouth was open and his tongue was free and he gave praise to God.
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was freed. He spoke and praised God.
65 And fear came on all those who were living round about them: and there was much talk about all these things in all the hill-country of Judaea.
Fear came on all who lived around them. All these matters were spread throughout all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all who had word of them kept them in their minds and said, What will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.
All who heard them stored them in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child become?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father, Zacharias, was full of the Holy Spirit, and with the voice of a prophet said these words:
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and made them free,
“Praised be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to help and he has accomplished redemption for his people.
69 Lifting up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago), (aiōn g165)
71 Salvation from those who are against us, and from the hands of those who have hate for us;
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 To do acts of mercy to our fathers and to keep in mind his holy word,
He will do this to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
73 The oath which he made to Abraham, our father,
the oath that he spoke to Abraham our father.
74 That we, being made free from the fear of those who are against us, might give him worship,
He swore to grant to us that we, having been delivered out of the hand of our enemies, would serve him without fear,
75 In righteousness and holy living before him all our days.
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways;
Yes, and you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his paths, to prepare people for his coming,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people, through the forgiveness of sins,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of the loving mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us,
This will happen because of the tender mercy of our God, because of which the sunrise from on high will come to help us,
79 To give light to those in dark places, and in the shade of death, so that our feet may be guided into the way of peace.
to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He will do this to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
80 And the child became tall, and strong in spirit; and he was living in the waste land till the day when he came before the eyes of Israel.
Now the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
