Luke 1
1 As a number of attempts have been made to put together in order an account of those events which took place among us,
Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to arrange in order a narration about the deeds that have been brought to fullness among us,
2 As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word,
just as they delivered them to us, who became from the beginning eyewitnesses and servants of the word,
3 It seemed good to me, having made observation, with great care, of the direction of events in their order, to put the facts in writing for you, most noble Theophilus;
it occurred to me also, having followed closely from the beginning all things accurately, to write to thee in order, eminent Theophilus,
4 So that you might have certain knowledge of those things about which you were given teaching.
so that thou might know the certainty of the declarations about which thou were instructed.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the order of Abijah; and he had a wife of the family of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
It came to pass in the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest, named Zacharias, from the division of Abijah, and his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were upright in the eyes of God, keeping all the rules and orders of God, and doing no wrong.
And they were both righteous before God, going in all the commandments and righteous things of the Lord blameless.
7 And they were without children, because Elisabeth had never given birth, and they were at that time very old.
And there was no child to them because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in their days.
8 Now it came about that in his turn he was acting as priest before God,
But it came to pass during his service as a priest in the course of his division in the presence of God,
9 And as was the way of the priests, he had to go into the Temple to see to the burning of perfumes.
that, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to burn incense after entering into the temple of the Lord.
10 And all the people were offering prayers outside, at the time of the burning of perfumes.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 And he saw an angel of the Lord in his place on the right side of the altar.
And an agent of the Lord became visible to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear came on him.
And Zacharias having seen, was shaken, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said, Have no fear, Zacharias, for your prayer has come to the ears of God, and your wife Elisabeth will have a son, and his name will be John.
But the agent said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, because thy plea was heard, and thy wife Elizabeth will bear a son for thee. And thou shall call his name John.
14 And you will be glad and have great delight; and numbers of people will have joy at his birth.
And there will be joy and exultation for thee, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the Spirit of God from his birth.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he should, no, not drink wine and strong drink. And he will be filled of the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's belly.
16 And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.
And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning the hearts of fathers to their children, and wrongdoers to the way of righteousness; to make ready a people whose hearts have been turned to the Lord.
And he will go ahead, in front of him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward children, and the disobedient in a mentality of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be certain of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far on in years.
And Zacharias said to the agent, How will I know this? For I am aged, and my wife is advanced in her days.
19 And the angel, answering, said, I am Gabriel, whose place is before God; I have been sent to say these words to you and to give you this good news.
And having answered, the agent said to him, I am Gabriel who stand in the presence of God. And I was sent to speak to thee, and to announce these good news to thee.
20 Now, see, you will be without voice or language till the day when these things come about, because you had not faith in my words, which will have effect at the right time.
And behold, thou will be mute, and not able to speak until that day these things will come to pass, because thou did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.
21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias and were surprised because he was in the Temple for such a long time.
And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they wondered during his delay in the temple.
22 And when he came out he was not able to say anything, and they saw that he had seen a vision in the Temple; and he was making signs to them without words.
And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they recognized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he was beckoning to them, and remained speechless.
23 And when the days of his work in the Temple were ended, he went back to his house.
And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.
24 After that time, Elisabeth, being certain that she was to become a mother, kept herself from men's eyes for five months, saying,
And after these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she concealed herself five months, saying,
25 The Lord has done this to me, for his eyes were on me, to take away my shame in the eyes of men.
Thus the Lord has done to me during the days in which he looked, to take away my shame among men.
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee, named Nazareth,
Now in the sixth month the agent Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin who was to be married to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary.
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in to her and said, Peace be with you, to whom special grace has been given; the Lord is with you.
And the agent having come in near her, he said, Hail, thou who are highly favored. The Lord is with thee, thou who are blessed among women.
29 But she was greatly troubled at his words, and said to herself, What may be the purpose of these words?
But having seen, she was perplexed at his saying, and was pondering what kind of greeting this might be.
30 And the angel said to her, Have no fear, Mary, for you have God's approval.
And the agent said to her, Fear not, Mary, for thou have found favor with God.
31 And see, you will give birth to a son, and his name will be Jesus.
And behold, thou will conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son. And thou shall call his name JESUS.
32 He will be great, and will be named the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his father:
This man will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.
33 He will have rule over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. (aiōn g165)
And he will reign over the house of Jacob into the ages. And of his kingdom there will be no end. (aiōn g165)
34 And Mary said to the angel, How may this be, because I have had no knowledge of a man?
And Mary said to the agent, How will this be, since I know not a man?
35 And the angel in answer said to her, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will come to rest on you, and so that which will come to birth will be named holy, Son of God.
And having answered, the agent said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon thee, and the power of the Most High will overshadow thee. Therefore also the holy thing that is begotten will be called the Son of God.
36 Even now Elisabeth, who is of your family, is to be a mother, though she is old: and this is the sixth month with her who was without children.
And behold, Elizabeth thy kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37 For there is nothing which God is not able to do.
For no word from God will be impossible.
38 And Mary said: I am the servant of the Lord; may it be to me as you say. And the angel went away.
And Mary said, Behold the maid-servant of the Lord. May it happen to me according to thy word. And the agent departed from her.
39 Then Mary got up and went quickly into the high lands, to a town of Judah;
And having risen in these days, Mary went with haste into the hill country, into a city of Judah,
40 And went into the house of Zacharias and took Elisabeth in her arms.
and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And when the voice of Mary came to the ears of Elisabeth, the baby made a sudden move inside her; then Elisabeth was full of the Holy Spirit,
And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her belly. And Elizabeth was filled of the Holy Spirit,
42 And she said with a loud voice: May blessing be on you among women, and a blessing on the child of your body.
and she exclaimed in a great voice, and said, Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy belly.
43 How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
And why is this to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
44 For, truly, when the sound of your voice came to my ears, the baby in my body made a sudden move for joy.
For lo, when the voice of thy greeting happened in my ears, the babe leaped with joy in my belly.
45 Happy will she be who had faith that the things which the Lord has said to her will be done.
And blessed is she who believed, because there will be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord.
46 And Mary said: My soul gives glory to God;
And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 My spirit is glad in God my Saviour.
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 For he has had pity on his servant, though she is poor and lowly placed: and from this hour will all generations give witness to the blessing which has come to me.
because he has looked upon the lowliness of his bondmaid. For behold, from henceforth all generations will regard me blessed,
49 For he who is strong has done great things for me; and holy is his name.
because the Mighty has done great things to me. And his name is holy.
50 His mercy is for all generations in whom is the fear of him.
And his mercy is for generations of generations to those who fear him.
51 With his arm he has done acts of power; he has put to flight those who have pride in their hearts.
He did a mighty work by his arm. He scattered the proud in the mentality of their heart.
52 He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree.
He brought down potentates from thrones, and raised up lowly men.
53 Those who had no food he made full of good things; the men of wealth he sent away with nothing in their hands;
He filled those who are hungry with good things, and those who are rich he sent away empty.
54 His help he has given to Israel, his servant, so that he might keep in mind his mercy to Abraham and his seed for ever,
He helped his boy Israel to be reminded of mercy,
just as he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and his seed into the age. (aiōn g165)
56 And Mary was with her for about three months and then went back to her house.
And Mary dwelt with her about three months, and returned to her house.
57 Now it was time for Elisabeth to give birth, and she had a son.
Now the time for Elizabeth was fulfilled for her to give birth, and she brought forth a son.
58 And it came to the ears of her neighbours and relations that the Lord had been very good to her, and they took part in her joy.
And her neighbors and her kinfolk heard that the Lord magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 And on the eighth day they came to see to the circumcision of the child, and they would have given him the name of Zacharias, his father's name;
And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child, and they were calling it by the name of his father Zacharias.
60 But his mother made answer and said, No, his name is John.
And his mother having answered, said, No, but he will be called John.
61 And they said, Not one of your relations has that name.
And they said to her, There is no man among thy relatives who is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, to say what name was to be given to him.
And they made signs to his father, whatever he wanted to call him.
63 And he sent for writing materials and put down: His name is John; and they were all surprised.
And having asked for a writing tablet, he wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marveled.
64 And straight away his mouth was open and his tongue was free and he gave praise to God.
And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue, and he spoke, praising God.
65 And fear came on all those who were living round about them: and there was much talk about all these things in all the hill-country of Judaea.
And fear developed in all who dwell around them. And all these sayings were talked about in the entire hill country of Judea.
66 And all who had word of them kept them in their minds and said, What will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.
And all who heard stored up in their heart, saying, What then will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father, Zacharias, was full of the Holy Spirit, and with the voice of a prophet said these words:
And his father Zacharias was filled of the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and made them free,
Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he came to help, and made ransom for his people.
69 Lifting up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
And he raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his boy David,
just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, (aiōn g165)
71 Salvation from those who are against us, and from the hands of those who have hate for us;
salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To do acts of mercy to our fathers and to keep in mind his holy word,
to do mercy with our fathers, and his holy covenant to be remembered,
73 The oath which he made to Abraham, our father,
the oath that he swore to Abraham our father, to give to us,
74 That we, being made free from the fear of those who are against us, might give him worship,
without fear from the hand of our enemies, having been saved to serve him
75 In righteousness and holy living before him all our days.
in piety and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76 And you, child, will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways;
And thou, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High. For thou will go ahead, before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people, through the forgiveness of sins,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the remission of their sins,
78 Because of the loving mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us,
because of the bowels of mercy of our God, by which the dayspring from on high came to help us,
79 To give light to those in dark places, and in the shade of death, so that our feet may be guided into the way of peace.
to give light to those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into a way of peace.
80 And the child became tall, and strong in spirit; and he was living in the waste land till the day when he came before the eyes of Israel.
And the child grew, and became strong in spirit. And he was in the desolate regions until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
