Luke 1
1 Forasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a relation concerning the matters fully believed among us,
Many have taken on the work of putting together an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,
2 as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses of and attendants on the Word have delivered them to us,
just as they were passed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
3 it has seemed good to me also, accurately acquainted from the origin with all things, to write to thee with method, most excellent 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 that thou mightest know the certainty of those things in which thou hast been instructed.
so that you might know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
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 And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
They were both righteous before God, obeying all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7 And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both very old by this time.
8 And it came to pass, as he fulfilled his priestly service before God in the order of his course,
Now it came about that Zechariah was in God's presence, carrying out the priestly duties in the order of his division.
9 it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense.
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 multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense.
The whole crowd of people was praying outside at the hour when the incense was burned.
11 And an angel of [the] Lord appeared to him, standing on the right of the altar of incense.
Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him and stood at the right side of the incense altar.
12 And Zacharias was troubled, seeing [him], and fear fell upon him.
When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and fear fell on him.
13 But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, because thy supplication has been heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name 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 he shall be to thee joy and rejoicing, and many shall rejoice at his birth.
You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great before [the] Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with [the] Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
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 many of the sons of Israel shall he turn to [the] Lord their God.
Many of the people of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in [the] spirit and power of Elias, to turn hearts of fathers to children, and disobedient ones to [the] thoughts of just [men], to make ready for [the] Lord a prepared people.
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 shall I know this, for I am an old man, and my wife advanced 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 to him, I am Gabriel, who stand before God, and I have been sent to speak to thee, and to bring these glad tidings to thee;
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 and behold, thou shalt be silent and not able to speak, till the day in which these things shall take place, because thou hast not believed my words, the which shall be fulfilled in their 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 awaiting Zacharias, and they wondered at his delaying in the temple.
Now the people were waiting for Zechariah. They were surprised that he was spending so much time in the temple.
22 But when he came out he could not speak to them, and they recognised that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he was making signs to them, and continued dumb.
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 it came to pass, when the days of his service were completed, he departed to his house.
It came about that when the days of his service were over, he went to his house.
24 Now after these days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
After these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and for five months she kept herself hidden. She said,
25 Thus has [the] Lord done to me in [these] days in which he looked upon [me] to take away my reproach among 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 But in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent of God to a city of Galilee, of which [the] name [was] Nazareth,
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name [was] Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [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, Hail, [thou] favoured one! the Lord [is] with thee: [blessed art thou amongst women].
He came to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 But she, [seeing] [the angel], was troubled at his word, and reasoned in her mind what this salutation might be.
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, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God;
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 and behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
See, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. You will call his name 'Jesus.'
32 He shall be great, and shall be called Son of [the] Highest; and [the] Lord God shall give him the throne 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 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for the ages, and of his kingdom there shall not be an end. (aiōn g165)
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” (aiōn g165)
34 But Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a man?
Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen, since I have not slept with any man?”
35 And the angel answering said to her, [The] Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and power of [the] Highest overshadow thee, wherefore the holy thing also which shall be born shall be called 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 And behold, Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her that was called barren:
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 nothing shall be impossible with God.
For nothing will be impossible for God.”
38 And Mary said, Behold the bondmaid of [the] Lord; be it to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
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 And Mary, rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
Then Mary arose in those days and quickly went into the hill country, to a city in Judea.
40 and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth.
She went into the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it came to pass, as Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with [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 cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed [art] thou amongst women, and blessed the fruit of thy womb.
She raised her voice and said loudly, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
43 And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Why has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold, as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped with joy in my womb.
For see, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.
45 And blessed [is] she that has believed, for there shall be a fulfilment of the things spoken to her from [the] Lord.
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 magnifies the Lord,
Mary said, “My soul praises the Lord,
47 and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.
and my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior.
48 For he has looked upon the low estate of his bondmaid; for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
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 the Mighty One has done to me great things, and holy [is] his name;
For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and his name is holy.
50 and his mercy [is] to generations and generations to them that fear him.
His mercy lasts from generation to generation for those who fear him.
51 He has wrought strength with his arm; he has scattered haughty [ones] in the thought of their heart.
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 rulers from thrones, and exalted the lowly.
He has thrown down princes from their thrones and he has raised up those of low condition.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty.
He has filled the hungry with good things, but the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped Israel his servant, in order to remember mercy,
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 abode with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her house.
57 But the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth that she should bring forth, and she gave birth to a son.
Now the time had come for Elizabeth to deliver her baby and she gave birth to a son.
58 And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that [the] Lord had magnified his mercy with her, and they rejoiced with her.
Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 And it came to pass on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called it after the name of his father, Zacharias.
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 And his mother answering said, No; but he shall be called John.
But his mother answered and said, “No. He will be called John.”
61 And they said to her, There is no one among thy kinsfolk who is called by this 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 as to what he might wish it to be called.
They made signs to his father as to how he wanted him to be named.
63 And having asked for a writing-table, he wrote saying, John is his name. And they all wondered.
His father asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” They all were astonished at this.
64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he spake, blessing God.
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was freed. He spoke and praised God.
65 And fear came upon all who dwelt round about them; and in the whole hill-country of Judaea all these things were the subject of conversation.
Fear came on all who lived around them. All these matters were spread throughout all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then will this child be? And [the] Lord's hand 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 Zacharias his father was filled with [the] Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be [the] Lord the God of Israel, because he has visited and wrought redemption for his people,
“Praised be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to help and he has accomplished redemption for his people.
69 and raised up a horn of deliverance for us in the house of David his servant;
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70 as he spoke by [the] mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began; (aiōn g165)
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago), (aiōn g165)
71 deliverance from our enemies and out of the hand of all who hate us;
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 to fulfil mercy with our fathers and remember his holy covenant,
He will do this to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
73 [the] oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
the oath that he spoke to Abraham our father.
74 to give us, that, saved out of the hand of our enemies, we should serve him without fear
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 piety and righteousness before him all our days.
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called [the] prophet of [the] Highest; for thou shalt 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 deliverance to his people by [the] remission of their sins
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 on account of [the] bowels of mercy of our God; wherein [the] dayspring from on high has visited 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 shine upon them who were sitting in darkness and in [the] shadow of death, to guide our feet 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 grew and was strengthened in spirit; and he was in the deserts until the day of his shewing to 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.
