Luke 1
1 SINCE many have been disposed to write narratives of those events, of which we have full assurance,
To his Excellency, Theophilus. Many attempts have been already made to draw up an account of those events which have reached their conclusion among us,
2 as they delivered them to us, who from the first were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word;
just as they were reported to us by those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses, and afterward became bearers of the message.
3 it seemed proper for me also, as I had examined them all accurately, to write out the whole, methodically, for thee, excellent Theophilus:
And, therefore, I also, since I have investigated all these events with great care from their very beginning, have resolved to write a connected history of them for you,
4 that thou mayest know the truth of the statements, which thou hast been taught.
in order that you may be able to satisfy yourself of the accuracy of the story which you have heard from the lips of others.
5 In the days of Herod the king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, whose name was Zachariah, of the ministration of the house of Abijah; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
In the reign of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division called after Abijah. His wife, whose name was Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron.
6 And they were both upright before God, and walked in all his commandments, and in the righteousness of the Lord, without reproach.
They were both righteous people, who lived blameless lives, guiding their steps by all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elisabeth was barren: and they were both advanced in life.
But they had no child, Elizabeth being barren; and both of them were advanced in years.
8 And it occurred, that as he performed the priestly functions in the order of his ministration before the Lord,
One day, when Zechariah was officiating as priest before God, during the turn of his division,
9 according to the usage of the priesthood, it fell to him to offer the incense. And he went into the temple of the Lord,
it fell to him by lot, in accordance with the practice among the priests, to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense;
10 and the whole multitude of the people were praying without, at the time of incense.
and, as it was the Hour of Incense, the people were all praying outside.
11 And the angel of the Lord appeared to Zachariah, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right of the Altar of Incense.
12 And when Zachariah saw him, he was agitated, and fear fell upon him.
Zechariah was startled at the sight and was awe-struck.
13 And the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachariah; for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth will bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, whom you will call by the name John.
14 And thou wilt have joy and gladness: and many will rejoice at his birth.
He will be to you a joy and a delight; and many will rejoice over his birth.
15 For he will be great before the Lord; and he will not drink wine nor strong drink, and will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the very hour of his birth,
16 And many of the children of Israel will he convert to the Lord their God.
and will reconcile many of the Israelites to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go before him, in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet, and will turn the heart of the fathers unto the children, and them that are disobedient to the knowledge of the righteous, and will prepare a perfect people for the Lord.
He will go before him in the spirit and with the power of Elijah, to reconcile fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and so make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”
18 And Zachariah said to the angel: How shall I know this? For I am old, and my wife is advanced in life.
“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”
19 The angel answered, and said to him: I am Gabriel, who stand before God; and I am sent to converse with thee, and to tell thee these things.
“I am Gabriel,” the angel answered, “who stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20 Henceforth thou wilt be dumb, and unable to speak, until the day when these things take place: because thou believedst not my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.
And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when this takes place, because you did not believe what I said, though my words will be fulfilled in due course.”
21 And the people were standing and waiting for Zachariah; and they wondered at his tarrying so long in the temple.
Meanwhile the people were watching for Zechariah, wondering at his remaining so long in the Temple.
22 And when Zachariah came forth, he could not speak with them: and they understood that he had seen a vision in the temple: and he made many signs to them, and remained speechless.
When he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision there. But Zechariah kept making signs to them, and remained dumb.
23 And when the days of his ministration were accomplished, he came to his house.
And, as soon as his term of service was finished, he returned home.
24 And it was after those days, that Elisabeth his wife conceived. And she secluded herself five months; and she said:
After this his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and lived in seclusion for five months.
25 These things hath the Lord done for me, in the days when he looked upon me to take away my reproach among men.
“The Lord has done this for me,” she said, “he has shown me kindness and taken away the public disgrace of childlessness under which I have been living.”
26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God into Galilee, to a city named Nazareth,
Six months later the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
to a maiden there who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. Her name was Mary.
28 And the angel entered the house, and said to her: Peace to thee, thou full of grace! The Lord is with thee: and blessed art thou among women.
Gabriel came into her presence and greeted her, saying, “You have been shown great favor – the Lord is with you.”
29 And when she saw him, she was agitated by his speech; and she pondered, what this salutation could mean.
Mary was much disturbed at his words, and was wondering to herself what such a greeting could mean,
30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God.
when the angel spoke again, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 For lo, thou wilt conceive in thy womb, and wilt bear a son, and wilt call his name Jesus.
And now, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will give him the name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
The child will be great and will be called ‘Son of the Most High,’ and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David,
33 And he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his reign there will be no end. (aiōn g165)
and he will reign over the descendants of Jacob for ever; And to his kingdom there will be no end.” (aiōn g165)
34 And Mary said to the angel: How can this be, as I have not known a man?
“How can this be?” Mary asked the angel. “For I have no husband.”
35 The angel replied, and said to her: The Holy Spirit will come, and the power of the Most High will overshadow thee; therefore he that is born of thee is holy, and will be called the Son of God.
“The Holy Spirit will descend on you,” answered the angel, “and the Power of the Most High will overshadow you; and therefore the child will be called ‘holy,’ and ‘Son of God.’
36 And lo, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, even she too hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who is called barren.
And Elizabeth, your cousin, is herself also expecting a son in her old age; and it is now the sixth month with her, though she is called barren;
37 Because nothing is difficult for God.
for no promise from God will fail to be fulfilled.”
38 Mary said: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me, according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
“I am the servant of the Lord,” exclaimed Mary. “Let it be with me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went hastily to the mountain district, to a city of Judaea;
Soon after this Mary set out, and made her way quickly into the hill-country, to a town in Judah;
40 and entered the house of Zachariah, and saluted Elisabeth.
and there she went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it was so, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the child leaped in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child moved within her, and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Spirit,
42 And she cried out with a loud voice, and said to Mary: Blessed art thou among women; and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
and cried aloud, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is your unborn child!
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
But how have I this honor, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For lo, as the voice of thy salutation fell upon my ears, with great joy the child leaped in my womb.
For, as soon as your greeting reached my ears, the child moved within me with delight!
45 And happy is she that believed; for there will be a fulfillment of those things that were told her by the Lord.
Happy indeed is she who believed that the promise which she received from the Lord would be fulfilled.”
46 And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord:
And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoiceth in God the author of my life.
and my spirit delights in God my Savior,
48 For he hath looked upon the humble condition of his hand maid; and lo, henceforth all generations will ascribe blessedness to me.
for he has looked with favor on his humble servant girl. From now on all generations will call me blessed!
49 And He that is mighty hath done for me great things; and holy is his name.
“For the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him, for generations and posterities.
He has mercy on those who revere him in every generation.
51 He hath wrought victory with his arm; and hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.
“Mighty are the deeds of his arm! He has scattered the self-satisfied proud,
52 He hath cast down the mighty from their thrones, and hath exalted the lowly.
he has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and he uplifts the humble,
53 The hungry hath he satisfied with good things, and the rich hath he sent away empty.
he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He hath aided Israel his servant, and remembered his mercy,
“He has stretched out his hand to his servant Israel, ever mindful of his mercy,
as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants for ever.” (aiōn g165)
56 And Mary remained with Elisabeth about three months, and returned to her home.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to her home.
57 And Elisabeth's time of bringing forth arrived; and she bore a son.
When Elizabeth’s time came, she gave birth to a son;
58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
and her neighbors and relatives, hearing of the great goodness of the Lord to her, came to share her joy.
59 And it occurred, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they called him by the name of his father, Zachariah.
A week later they met to circumcise the child, and were about to call him Zechariah after his father,
60 And his mother answered and said: Not so; but John, shall he be called.
when his mother spoke up, “No, he is to be called John.”
61 And they said to her: There is no one among thy kindred called by that name.
“You have no relation of that name!” they exclaimed;
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him named.
and they made signs to the child’s father, to find out what he wished the child to be called.
63 And he asked for a tablet, and wrote, and said: John is his name. And every one was surprised.
Asking for a writing tablet, he wrote the words – ‘His name is John.’ Everyone was surprised
64 And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue; and he spoke, and praised God.
and immediately Zechariah recovered his voice and the use of his tongue, and began to bless God.
65 And fear came upon all their neighbors; and these things were talked of in all the mountain district of Judaea.
All their neighbors were awe-struck at this, and throughout the hill-country of Judea the whole story was much talked about.
66 And all who heard, pondered them in their heart, and said: What will this child be? And the hand of the Lord was with him.
All who heard it kept it in mind, asking one another – “What can this child be destined to become?” For the Power of the Lord was with him.
67 And Zachariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, and said:
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, speaking under inspiration, said:
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath visited his people, and wrought redemption for them:
“Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who has visited his people and wrought their deliverance,
69 And hath raised up a horn of redemption for us, in the house of David his servant:
and has raised up for us the strength of our salvation in the house of his servant David –
as he promised by the lips of his holy prophets of old – (aiōn g165)
71 that he would redeem us from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.
salvation from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us,
72 And he hath exercised his mercy to our fathers, and hath remembered his holy covenants,
showing mercy to our ancestors, and mindful of his sacred covenant.
73 and the oath that he sware to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
This was the oath which he swore to our ancestor Abraham –
74 to be redeemed from the hand of our enemies; and that we should worship before him, without fear,
that we should be rescued from the hands of our enemies,
75 all our days, in rectitude and uprightness.
and should serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness, in his presence all our days.
76 And thou, child, wilt be called a prophet of the Most High; for thou wilt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his way,
And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to make ready his way,
77 that he may give the knowledge of life to his people, and forgiveness of their sins,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 through the compassion of the mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring from on high will visit us,
through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn will break on us from heaven,
79 to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death; and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit. And he was in the wilderness, until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the wilds until the time came for his appearance before Israel.
