LUKE
1
Introduction
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things
1Aaccomplished among us,
2 just as they were handed down to us by those who
Afrom the beginning
1were
Beyewitnesses and
2Cservants of
Dthe
3word,
3 it seemed fitting for me as well,
Ahaving
1investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write
it out for you
Bin consecutive order,
Cmost excellent
DTheophilus;
4 so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been
1Ataught.
Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 AIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named
1Zacharias, of the
Bdivision of
2Abijah; and he had a wife
3from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were both
Arighteous in the sight of God, walking
Bblamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in
1years.
8 Now it happened
that while
Ahe was performing his priestly service before God in the
appointed order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot
Ato enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer
Aoutside at the hour of the incense offering.
11 And
Aan angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw
the angel, and
Afear
1gripped him.
13 But the angel said to him, “
ADo not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and
Byou will
1give him the name John.
14 “You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will
Adrink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit
1while yet in his mother’s womb.
16 “And he will
Aturn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
17 “It is he who will
Ago
as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of
BElijah,
Cᴛo ᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛs oꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀᴛʜᴇʀs ʙᴀcᴋ ᴛo ᴛʜᴇ cʜɪʟᴅʀᴇɴ, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to
Amake ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this
for certain? For
AI am an old man and my wife is advanced in
1years.”
19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am
AGabriel, who
1Bstands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20 “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.
22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he
Akept
1making signs to them, and remained mute.
23 When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.
24 After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she
1kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,
25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked
with favor upon
me, to
Atake away my disgrace among men.”
Jesus’ Birth Foretold
26 Now in the sixth month the angel
AGabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called
BNazareth,
27 to
Aa virgin
1engaged to a man whose name was Joseph,
Bof the
2descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was
3Mary.
28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings,
1favored one! The Lord
2is with you.”
29 But she
Awas very perplexed at
this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30 The angel said to her, “
ADo not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
Ashall name Him Jesus.
32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of
Athe Most High; and the Lord God will give Him
Bthe throne of His father David;
33 Aand He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
Band His kingdom will have no end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How
1can this be, since I
2am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered and said to her, “
AThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of
Bthe Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason
Cthe
1holy Child shall be called
Dthe Son of God.
36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and
1she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
37 “For
1Anothing will be impossible with God.”
38 And Mary said, “Behold, the
1bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now
1at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to
Athe hill country, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was
Afilled with the Holy Spirit.
42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed
are you among women, and blessed
is the fruit of your womb!
43 “And
1how has it
happened to me, that the mother of
Amy Lord would come to me?
44 “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
45 “And
Ablessed
is she who
1believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her
2by the Lord.”
The Magnificat
46 And Mary said:
“
AMy soul
1Bexalts the Lord,
47 And
Amy spirit has rejoiced in
BGod my Savior.
48 “For
AHe has had regard for the humble state of His
1bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me
Bblessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 “
AAɴᴅ Hɪs ᴍᴇʀcʏ ɪs
1ᴜᴘoɴ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀᴛɪoɴ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀᴛɪoɴ
Towᴀʀᴅ ᴛʜosᴇ wʜo ꜰᴇᴀʀ Hɪᴍ.
51 “
AHe has done
1mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered
those who were proud in the
2thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has
Aexalted those who were humble.
53 “
AHᴇ ʜᴀs ꜰɪʟʟᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜɴɢʀʏ wɪᴛʜ ɢooᴅ ᴛʜɪɴɢs;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant,
1In remembrance of His mercy,
55 AAs He spoke to our fathers,
BTo Abraham and his
1descendants forever.”
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
John Is Born
57 Now the time
1had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.
58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had
1Adisplayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on
Athe eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias,
1after his father.
60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but
Ahe shall be called John.”
61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.”
62 And they
Amade signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.
63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “
AHis name is John.” And they were all astonished.
64 AAnd at once his mouth was opened and his tongue
loosed, and he
began to speak in praise of God.
65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all
Athe hill country of Judea.
66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child
turn out to be?” For
Athe hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
Zacharias’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zacharias
Awas filled with the Holy Spirit, and
Bprophesied, saying:
68 “
ABlessed
be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished
Bredemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a
Ahorn of salvation for us
In the house of David
BHis servant—
70 AAs He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets
Bfrom of old—
71 1ASalvation
Bꜰʀoᴍ oᴜʀ ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇs,
And ꜰʀoᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀɴᴅ oꜰ ᴀʟʟ wʜo ʜᴀᴛᴇ ᴜs;
72 ATo show mercy toward our fathers,
BAnd to remember His holy covenant,
73 AThe oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 AIn holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 “And you, child, will be called the
Aprophet of
Bthe Most High;
For you will go on
Cʙᴇꜰoʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ Loʀᴅ ᴛo
Dᴘʀᴇᴘᴀʀᴇ Hɪs wᴀʏs;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
1By
Athe forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which
Athe Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 ATo sʜɪɴᴇ ᴜᴘoɴ ᴛʜosᴇ wʜo sɪᴛ ɪɴ ᴅᴀʀᴋɴᴇss ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ sʜᴀᴅow oꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ,
To guide our feet into the
Bway of peace.”
80 AAnd the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.