Luke 1
1 Inasmuch as many took it in hand to present a history concerning these things which have been fulfilled 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 being eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word have delivered unto us;
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 also, having followed carefully all things from the beginning, to write unto thee consecutively, O 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 in order that thou mayest know the certainty of the words concerning 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 Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Ahijah, 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 righteous 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 there was no child to them, as Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both very old by this time.
8 And it came to pass, while he was officiating in the order of his course 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 (according to the custom of the priesthood he was chosen by lot to offer incense), having gone into the temple of the Lord;
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 the angel of the Lord appeared unto him standing on the right hand 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 on him.
When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and fear fell on him.
13 And the angel said to him; Fear not, Zacharias; because thy prayer has been heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bring forth a son to thee, 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 there shall be 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 not drink wine and strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from the womb of his mother.
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 he will turn many of the sons of Israel 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 Him in the spirit and Power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient unto the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people made ready for 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: According to what shall I know this? for I am old and my wife advanced in her days.
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 responding said to him; I am Gabriel standing in the presence of God, and am sent to speak to you and to preach to you these things.
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 dumb and unable to speak, unto the day upon which these things may take place; because thou didst not believe my words, 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 waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering because he tarries in the temple.
Now the people were waiting for Zechariah. They were surprised that he was spending so much time in the temple.
22 And having come out he was unable to speak to them; and they recognized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he was beckoning to them and remained 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 ministry were fulfilled, he went away to his own house.
It came about that when the days of his service were over, he went to his house.
24 And 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 That the Lord so hath done unto me, in the days in which He condescended 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 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, to which was the name
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth,
27 Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man, to whom was the name Joseph of the house 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 having come to her said; Hail, thou blessed one; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.
He came to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 And she seeing was troubled over his word, and was reasoning what kind 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 didst find favor 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 and hear 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 the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David:
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 forever, and of His Kingdom there shall 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 shall this be, since I know not man?
Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen, since I have not slept with any man?”
35 And the angel responding said to her; The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, indeed, that holy thing that is begotten shall be called the 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, indeed, herself having conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month, to her who is 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 Because no word shall be impossible with God.
For nothing will be impossible for God.”
38 And Mary said; Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; may it be done unto me according to thy word. And the angel went away 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, departed into the mountainous land, with haste, into a city of Judah.
Then Mary arose in those days and quickly went into the hill country, to a city in Judea.
40 And she came into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth.
She went into the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it came to pass when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant in her womb leaped; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; and she spoke with a loud voice and said;
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 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is 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 may come unto me?
Why has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold when the voice of your salutation came into my ears, the infant in my womb leaped with joy.
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 believeth, because there shall be a perfection to those things having been spoken to her by 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 doth magnify the Lord,
Mary said, “My soul praises the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
and my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior.
48 because He looked upon the low state of his handmaiden.
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 behold from now all generations call me blessed; because the Mighty One did great things unto me, and His name is holy;
For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and his name is holy.
50 and His mercy unto generation of generations to them that fear Him.
His mercy lasts from generation to generation for those who fear him.
51 He wrought power by his own arm; he dispersed the proud 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 cast down the mighty from thrones and exalted the humble.
He has thrown down princes from their thrones and he has raised up those of low condition.
53 He filled the poor 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 delivered his son Israel, 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 remained with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her house.
57 And the time of her parturition was fulfilled unto Elizabeth and she brought forth a son.
Now the time had come for Elizabeth to deliver her baby and she gave birth to a son.
58 And the neighbors and her relatives heard, that the Lord was magnifying His mercy with her, and they continued to rejoice 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 little child; and they were calling him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
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 responding 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; That there is no one among thy kindred 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 were beckoning to his father, what he might wish to call him.
They made signs to his father as to how he wanted him to be named.
63 And having asked for a writing tablet, he wrote saying; His name is John.
His father asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” They all were astonished at this.
64 And all marveled. And his mouth immediately opened and his tongue loosed, and he continued to speak, praising God.
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was freed. He spoke and praised God.
65 And fear came upon all of those dwelling around; and all these words were spoken abroad in all the mountainous regions of Judea.
Fear came on all who lived around them. All these matters were spread throughout all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all those hearing placed them in their heart, saying; What then shall this little child be? And 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 Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied saying;
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He looked upon us and wrought redemption to His people, and raised up unto us a horn of salvation
“Praised be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to help and he has accomplished redemption for his people.
69 in the house of David His son.
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 our enemies, and from the hand of all those who hate us,
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 to execute 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 grant unto us, having been delivered out of the hand of our enemies, to 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 holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And thou, little child, shall be called a prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare 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 in remission of their sins,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 through the bowels of mercy of our God, in which the dayspring from on high looked upon 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 appear unto those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet in 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 little child continued to grow and waxed strong in spirit; and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto 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.
