Luke 1
1 My noble [friend] Theophilus, many people saw the things that [Jesus] did while he was with us, from the time when he started [MTY] [his ministry]. They served God [by teaching people] the message [about the Lord Jesus]. Many of those who heard what they taught wrote down for us accounts of the things that [Jesus did from the time when] he began [his ministry].
Forsothe for manye men enforceden to ordeyne the tellyng of thingis, whiche ben fillid in vs,
as thei that seyn atte the bigynnyng, and weren ministris of the word,
3 I myself have studied these accounts carefully. So I decided that it would be good for me also to write for you [(sg)] an accurate account of these matters.
bitaken, it is seen also to me, hauynge alle thingis diligentli bi ordre, to write to thee,
4 I want you to know the truth about what you have been taught {what others have taught you}.
thou best Theofile, that thou knowe the treuthe of tho wordis, of whiche thou art lerned.
5 When King Herod [the Great ruled] Judea [district], there was a [Jewish] priest named Zechariah. He belonged to the [group of priests called] the Abijah group. He and his wife Elizabeth were both descended from the [first priest of Israel], Aaron.
In the daies of Eroude, kyng of Judee, ther was a prest, Sakarie bi name, of the sorte of Abia, and his wijf was of the douytris of Aaron, and hir name was Elizabeth.
6 [God considered that] both of them were righteous, because they constantly completely obeyed everything that God had commanded.
And bothe weren iust bifor God, goynge in alle the maundementis and iustifiyngis of the Lord, withouten pleynt.
7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth had been unable to bear children. Furthermore, she and her husband were very old.
And thei hadden no child, for Elizabeth was bareyn, and bothe weren of grete age in her daies.
8 One day [Zechariah’s] group was doing their work [in the Temple in Jerusalem], and he was serving as a priest in God’s presence.
And it bifel, that whanne Zacarie schulde do the office of preesthod, in the ordre of his cours tofor God,
9 Following their custom, [the other priests] chose him by lot to enter the Lord’s temple and burn incense.
aftir the custome of the preesthod, he wente forth bi lot, and entride in to the temple, to encense.
10 While he was burning the incense, many people were outside [in the courtyard], praying.
And al the multitude of the puple was with outforth, and preiede in the our of encensyng.
11 Then an angel whom God had [sent] appeared to him. The angel was standing at the right side of the place [where the priests burned] incense.
And an aungel of the Lord apperide to hym, and stood on the riythalf of the auter of encense.
12 When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and became very afraid.
And Zacarie seynge was afraied, and drede fel vpon hym.
13 But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, do not be afraid! When you [(sg)] prayed [asking God for a son] (OR, [that God would send the Messiah]), God heard what you prayed. [So] your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son. You must name him John.
And the aungel seide to hym, Zacarie, drede thou not; for thi preyer is herd, and Elizabeth, thi wijf, schal bere to thee a sone, and his name schal be clepid Joon.
14 He will cause you to be very happy, and many other people will also be happy because he is born.
And ioye and gladyng schal be to thee; and many schulen `haue ioye in his natyuyte.
15 God will consider him to be very important. He must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, [in order that he will be completely dedicated to God]. He will be controlled by the Holy Spirit {The Holy Spirit will control him} from before he is born.
For he schal be greet bifor the Lord, and he schal not drynke wyn and sidir, and he schal be fulfillid with the Hooli Goost yit of his modir wombe.
16 He will [persuade] many people in Israel to turn away [from their sins and please] the Lord their God.
And he schal conuerte many of the children of Israel to her Lord God;
17 As [God’s] Spirit enables him [to preach] powerfully as [the prophet] Elijah did, he will precede [the Messiah]. He will cause parents [SYN] to act [peacefully] toward their children [again]. He will cause [many] people who do not obey [God to hear and obey] the wise things that righteous people [tell them]. He will do this in order to help [many] people to be ready when the Lord [comes].”
and he schal go bifor hym in the spirit and the vertu of Helie; and he schal turne the hertis of the fadris in to the sones, and men out of bileue to the prudence of iust men, to make redi a perfit puple to the Lord.
18 Then Zechariah said to the angel, “I am very old, and my wife is also so old [that she cannot bear a child. So] (I cannot [believe] that what you [(sg)] said [will happen]!/how can I [believe] that what you [(sg)] said [will happen]?) [RHQ]”
And Zacarie seide to the aungel, Wherof schal Y wite this? for Y am eld, and my wijf hath gon fer in to hir daies.
19 Then the angel said to him, “I am [God’s chief angel], Gabriel! [I do what God tells me, because] I constantly am in God’s presence! I was sent {[He] sent me} to tell you [(sg)] something good [that is going to happen to you].
And the aungel answeride, and seide to hym, For Y am Gabriel, that stonde niy bifor God; and Y am sent to thee to speke, and to euangelize to thee these thingis.
20 What I have told you will certainly happen at the time [God decides], but you did not believe what I told you. So now [God will make] you will be unable to talk until the day [your son is born]”!
And lo! thou schalt be doumbe, and thou schalt not mow speke til in to the dai, in which these thingis schulen be don; for thou hast not bileued to my wordis, whiche schulen be fulfillid in her tyme.
21 While [Zechariah and the angel] were talking, the people [in the courtyard] were waiting for Zechariah [to come out]. They wondered, “Why is he staying in the Temple for such a long time?”
And the puple was abidynge Zacarie, and thei wondriden, that he tariede in the temple.
22 When Zechariah came out, he was not able to speak to the people. Because he could not talk, he made motions with his hands [to try to convey what had happened]. Then they realized that he had seen (a vision [from God]/something that [God] showed him) while he was in the Temple.
And he yede out, and myyte not speke to hem, and thei knewen that he hadde seyn a visioun in the temple. And he bikenyde to hem, and he dwellide stille doumbe.
23 When Zechariah’s time to work [as a priest in the Temple] was finished, he [left Jerusalem and] returned to his home.
And it was don, whanne the daies of his office weren fulfillid, he wente in to his hous.
24 Some time later his wife Elizabeth became pregnant [EUP]. She did not leave their house for five months, [because she knew that people would laugh at her if she told them that she was pregnant].
And aftir these daies Elizabeth, his wijf, conseyuede, and hidde hir fyue monethis, and seide,
25 But she thought, “God has enabled me to become pregnant. He has pitied me and I will no longer be ashamed [because I have no children]!”
For so the Lord dide to me in the daies, in whiche he bihelde, to take awei my repreef among men.
26 When Elizabeth had been [pregnant] [EUP] [for almost] six months, the angel Gabriel was sent by God {God sent the angel Gabriel} [again].
But in the sixte moneth the aungel Gabriel was sent fro God in to a citee of Galilee, whos name was Nazareth,
27 [This time] he went to Nazareth [town] in Galilee [district], to a virgin whose name was Mary. It had been {[Her parents] had} promised that she would marry a man named Joseph, who was descended from [King] David.
to a maidyn, weddid to a man, whos name was Joseph, of the hous of Dauid; and the name of the maidun was Marie.
28 The angel greeted her and said, “(The Lord/God) is with you [(sg)] and you will be greatly blessed {[has decided to] greatly bless you}!”
And the aungel entride to hir, and seide, Heil, ful of grace; the Lord be with thee; blessid be thou among wymmen.
29 But Mary was very confused [when she heard] that. She wondered what [the angel meant] by these words.
And whanne sche hadde herd, sche was troublid in his word, and thouyte what maner salutacioun this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, “Mary, God is very pleased with you [(sg)], so do not be afraid.
And the aungel seide to hir, Ne drede thou not, Marie, for thou hast foundun grace anentis God.
31 You will become pregnant and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus.
Lo! thou schalt conceyue in wombe, and schalt bere a sone, and thou schalt clepe his name Jhesus.
32 He will become great. He will be called {[People will] call him} (the Son of God/the man who is also God). God, the Lord, will make him a king [MTY] as his ancestor [King] David was.
This schal be greet, and he schal be clepid the sone of the Hiyeste; and the Lord God schal yeue to hym the seete of Dauid, his fadir,
33 He will be the King of [the] Jews, the descendants [MTY] of [your ancestor] Jacob, forever. He will rule as king forever!” (aiōn g165)
and he schal regne in the hous of Jacob with outen ende, and of his rewme schal be noon ende. (aiōn g165)
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “I am a virgin, so how can I [have a baby]?”
And Marie seide to the aungel, On what maner schal this thing be doon, for Y knowe not man?
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come to you; the power of God [MTY/EUP] will overshadow you [and enable you to become pregnant]. So the child [you will] bear will be completely set apart {give himself completely} to obey God, and he will be called {[people] will say that he is} (the Son of God/the man who is also God).
And the aungel answeride, and seide to hir, The Hooly Goost schal come fro aboue in to thee, and the vertu of the Hiyeste schal ouerschadewe thee; and therfor that hooli thing that schal be borun of thee, schal be clepid the sone of God.
36 [I also need to tell you something else]. Your cousin Elizabeth is very old, and it was thought {[people] said} that she could not bear any children. But she has been [pregnant] [EUP] [for almost] six months, and will bear a son!
And lo! Elizabeth, thi cosyn, and sche also hath conceyued a sone in hir eelde, and this moneth is the sixte to hir that is clepid bareyn;
37 [You should not be surprised at that], because God can do everything!”
for euery word schal not be inpossible anentis God.
38 Then Mary said, “All right, I want to serve (the Lord/God), so may what you [(sg)] have said about me come true!” Then the angel left her.
And Marie seide, Lo! the handmaydyn of the Lord; be it don to me aftir thi word. And the aungel departide fro hir.
39 Very soon after that, Mary got ready and went quickly to a town in the highlands of Judea [district] where Zechariah lived.
And Marie roos vp in tho daies, and wente with haaste in to the mounteyns, in to a citee of Judee.
40 She entered his house and greeted [his wife] Elizabeth.
And sche entride in to the hous of Zacarie, and grette Elizabeth.
41 As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary greet her, the baby moved inside [Elizabeth’s] womb. The Holy Spirit took complete control of Elizabeth,
And it was don, as Elizabeth herde the salutacioun of Marie, the yong child in hir wombe gladide. And Elizabeth was fulfillid with the Hooli Goost,
42 and she said loudly [to Mary], “[God] has blessed you [more than] he has blessed [any other] woman, and [he has] blessed the child you will bear!
and criede with a greet vois, and seide, Blessid be thou among wymmen, and blessid be the fruyt of thi wombe.
43 (I am not worthy that [God would allow you] to visit me!/Why is [God allowing you] to visit me?) [RHQ] You will be the mother of my Lord!
And whereof is this thing to me, that the modir of my Lord come to me?
44 [I realize this because] as soon as I heard you greet me, the baby inside my womb moved because he was so happy [that you had come].
For lo! as the voice of thi salutacioun was maad in myn eeris, the yong child gladide in ioye in my wombe.
45 [God] is pleased with you [because] you believed that what (the Lord/God) told you would come true.”
And blessid be thou, that hast bileued, for thilke thingis that ben seid of the Lord to thee, schulen be parfitli don.
46 Then Mary [praised God by] saying/singing: “, how I [SYN] praise (the Lord/God)!
And Marie seide, Mi soule magnyfieth the Lord,
47 I am happy because God is the one who saves me.
and my spirit hath gladid in God, myn helthe.
48 I was only his lowly servant girl, but he did not forget me. So from now on, everyone will say that God was pleased with me,
For he hath biholdun the mekenesse of his handmaidun.
49 because they will hear about the things that God [MTY], the mighty one, has done for me. He [MTY] is awesome!
For lo! of this alle generaciouns schulen seie that Y am blessid. For he that is myyti hath don to me grete thingis, and his name is hooli.
50 He acts mercifully toward all those who respect him.
And his mercy is fro kynrede in to kynredes, to men that dreden hym.
51 He shows people that he [MTY] is very powerful. He scatters those who think proudly.
He made myyt in his arme, he scaterede proude men with the thouyte of his herte.
52 He does not let mighty kings rule [MTY] any more, but he honors people who are oppressed (OR, humble).
He sette doun myyti men fro sete, and enhaunside meke men.
53 He gives good things to eat to those who are hungry, but he sends away the rich people without giving them anything.
He hath fulfillid hungri men with goodis, and he hath left riche men voide.
54 And now he has remembered what he promised. So he has helped me and all the other people of [MTY] Israel who serve him.
He, hauynge mynde of his mercy, took Israel, his child;
55 He promised to Abraham and all our other ancestors who descended from him that he would act mercifully toward them forever.” (aiōn g165)
as he hath spokun to oure fadris, to Abraham and to his seed, in to worldis. (aiōn g165)
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months. Then she returned to her home.
And Marie dwellide with hir, as it were thre monethis, and turnede ayen in to hir hous.
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth to her child, she bore a son.
But the tyme of beryng child was fulfillid to Elizabeth, and sche bare a sone.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard how (the Lord/God) had greatly blessed her [by enabling her to bear a child], so they were happy along with [Elizabeth].
And the neiyboris and cosyns of hir herden, that the Lord hadde magnyfied his mercy with hir; and thei thankiden hym.
59 Seven days later they gathered together for the [ceremony for] circumcising the baby [to show that he belonged to God]. They wanted to give the baby the same name as his father, Zechariah.
And it was don in the eiyte dai, thei camen to circumcide the child; and thei clepiden hym Zacarie, bi the name of his fadir.
60 But his mother said, “No, [his name will not be Zechariah]. His name will be John!”
And his moder answeride, and seide, Nay, but he schal be clepid Joon.
61 [So] they said to her, “[John] is not the name of any of your [(dl)] relatives, [so you(dl) should not give him that name]!”
And thei seiden to hir, For no man is in thi kynrede, that is clepid this name.
62 Then they made motions with their hands to Zechariah, [for him] to indicate what name [he] wanted to be given {to give} to his son.
And thei bikeneden to his fadir, what he wolde that he were clepid.
63 [So] he signaled that they [should give him] a tablet [to write on. When they gave him one], he wrote [on it], “His name is John.” All those [who were there] were surprised!
And he axynge a poyntil, wroot, seiynge, Joon is his name.
64 Immediately Zechariah was able to speak again [MTY], and he praised God.
And alle men wondriden. And anoon his mouth was openyd, and his tunge, and he spak, and blesside God.
65 All their neighbors were amazed/awestruck! They told other people who lived all over the highlands of Judea about what had happened.
And drede was maad on alle her neiyboris, and alle these wordis weren pupplischid on alle the mounteyns of Judee.
66 Everyone who heard about it kept thinking about it. They were saying, “We wonder what will this child do [for God when] he [grows up] [RHQ]!” They wondered that because [from what had happened they were sure that] God would be helping that child [SYN] [in a powerful way].
And alle men that herden puttiden in her herte, and seiden, What maner child schal this be? For the hoond of the Lord was with hym.
67 [After] Zechariah’s [son was born], Zechariah was completely directed by the Holy Spirit {the Holy Spirit completely directed Zechariah} as he spoke these words that came from God:
And Zacarie, his fadir, was fulfillid with the Hooli Goost, and prophesiede,
68 “Praise the Lord, the God whom we(inc) people of Israel worship, because he has come to set us, his people, free from our enemies.
and seide, Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visitid, and maad redempcioun of his puple.
69 He is sending us someone who will powerfully [MTY] save us, someone who is descended from [MTY] King David, who served God well.
And he hath rerid to vs an horn of heelthe in the hous of Dauid, his child.
As he spak bi the mouth of hise hooli prophetis, that weren fro the world. (aiōn g165)
71 He will rescue us from our enemies, and he will save us from the power of all those who hate us.
Helthe fro oure enemyes, and fro the hoond of alle men that hatiden vs.
72 He will do this because he has not forgotten what he promised our ancestors; he made an agreement that he would act mercifully to us, their descendants.
To do merci with oure fadris, and to haue mynde of his hooli testament.
73 That is what he strongly promised our ancestor Abraham that he would do.
The greet ooth that he swoor to Abraham, oure fadir, to yyue hym silf to vs.
74 God told him that we would be rescued {he would rescue us} from the power of our enemies, that he would enable us to serve him without being afraid,
That we with out drede delyuered fro the hoond of oure enemyes,
75 that he would cause us to be completely dedicated to him, and enable us to live righteously all of our lives.”
serue to hym, in hoolynesse and riytwisnesse bifor hym in alle oure daies.
76 [Then Zechariah said this to] his little son: “My child, you will be called {people will say that you are} a prophet whom God [MTY/EUP] has sent; you will begin your work before (the Lord/Messiah) comes; you will prepare people so that they will be ready for him. (OR, you will begin your work before the Messiah comes).
And thou, child, schalt be clepid the prophete of the Hiyest; for thou schalt go bifor the face of the Lord, to make redi hise weies.
77 You will tell God’s people how he will forgive them and save them from being punished for their sins.
To yyue scyence of helthe to his puple, in to remyssioun of her synnes;
78 Our God will do that because he is very kind to us. Just like a new day begins when the sun rises [MET], God will do that new thing for us when the Messiah comes to us from heaven.
bi the inwardnesse of the merci of oure God, in the whiche he spryngynge vp fro an hiy hath visitid vs.
79 People who do not know God [MET] are like those who sit in the darkness. They are afraid [MTY] that they will soon die. But when the Messiah tells us God’s message, it will be like causing such people to see a bright light. He will guide us [SYN] so that we will be living peacefully.”
To yyue liyt to hem that sitten in derknessis and in schadewe of deeth; to dresse oure feet in to the weie of pees.
80 [Later], Zechariah’s son grew up and became spiritually strong. Then he lived in a desolate region until he began to preach to the Israeli people.
And the child wexide, and was coumfortid in spirit, and was in desert placis `til to the dai of his schewing to Israel.
