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,
Whereas many have undertaken to compose a narrative of the things, which have been fully certified among us;
2 As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word,
as they delivered them to us, who were from the beginning eye-witnesses of them, and ministers 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 seemed good to me also, having thoroughly traced them all from the very first, to write an account of them in order to thee,
4 So that you might have certain knowledge of those things about which you were given teaching.
most excellent Theophilus, that thou mayst know the certainty of the things wherein thou hast been 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.
There was in the days of Herod king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the family of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
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 in the sight of God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances 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 they had no child, for Elisabeth was barren; and they were both far advanced in years.
8 Now it came about that in his turn he was acting as priest before God,
And it came to pass, while he was in the order of his course performing the priest's office before God,
9 And as was the way of the priests, he had to go into the Temple to see to the burning of perfumes.
according to the custom of dividing the office of the priests, that it fell to his lot to burn incense, entring into the temple of the Lord:
10 And all the people were offering prayers outside, at the time of the burning of perfumes.
and all the people were praying without at the time of offering incense.
11 And he saw an angel of the Lord in his place on the right side of the altar.
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right hand of the altar of incense.
12 And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear came on him.
And when Zacharias saw him, he was startled and struck with fear:
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 angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt 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 he shall be a joy and transport to thee, yea, many shall rejoice on account of his birth; for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,
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.
and he shall drink neither wine nor any other strong liquor; and he shall be filled with the holy Spirit even from his birth;
16 And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.
and many of the children of Israel shall he convert unto 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 shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to prepare for the Lord a people well-disposed.
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 unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife far advanced in years.
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 the angel answering said to him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God, and I am sent to speak to thee, and to tell thee this good news:
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 now shalt thou be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass; because thou believedst not my words, which shall be fulfilled at their season.
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 wondered at his staying so long 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.
but when he came out he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them, and continued speechless:
23 And when the days of his work in the Temple were ended, he went back to his house.
and as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own 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 Elisabeth conceived, and retired five months,
25 The Lord has done this to me, for his eyes were on me, to take away my shame in the eyes of men.
saying, the Lord hath thus dealt with me in the days wherein he looked upon me to take away my reproach among men.
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee, named Nazareth,
But in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee called 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 who was betrothed to a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the virgin 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 when the angel came in to the room to her, he said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured; the Lord is with thee;
29 But she was greatly troubled at his words, and said to herself, What may be the purpose of these words?
blessed art thou among women! and when she saw him, she was confused at what he said, and pondered in her mind what sort of salutation this could be.
30 And the angel said to her, Have no fear, Mary, for you have God's approval.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God:
31 And see, you will give birth to a son, and his name will be Jesus.
and behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and shalt 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:
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of David his father,
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 shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall 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?
Then said Mary to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin?
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 the angel answered and said unto her, The holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, and therefore thine holy offspring shall be called the Son of God: and lo,
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.
thy cousin Elisabeth also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren;
37 For there is nothing which God is not able to do.
for nothing is impossible with God.
38 And Mary said: I am the servant of the Lord; may it be to me as you say. And the angel went away.
Then Mary said, Behold the servant of the Lord, may it be unto me according to thy word. So the angel departed from her.
39 Then Mary got up and went quickly into the high lands, to a town of Judah;
Then Mary arose and went with speed into the hill-country, to a city of Juda,
40 And went into the house of Zacharias and took Elisabeth in her arms.
and came into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
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 as soon as Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the child leaped in her womb, and Elisabeth was filled with 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 cried out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb:
43 How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
and whence is this honor to me, that the mother of my Lord should 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 behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation reached my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy:
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 that believed; for there shall be a performance of the things that were told her from the Lord.
46 And Mary said: My soul gives glory to God;
And Mary said, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour;
47 My spirit is glad in God my Saviour.
for He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaid:
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.
for behold, from henceforth shall all generations call me blessed:
49 For he who is strong has done great things for me; and holy is his name.
for He that is mighty hath done great things for me,
50 His mercy is for all generations in whom is the fear of him.
and his name is holy, and his mercy is on them that fear Him, unto all generations.
51 With his arm he has done acts of power; he has put to flight those who have pride in their hearts.
He hath wrought powerfully with his arm; He hath confounded those that were proud in the imagination of their heart.
52 He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree.
He hath cast down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the humble.
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 hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath 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 hath supported Israel his servant,
in remembrance of his mercy (even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed, ) for ever." (aiōn g165)
56 And Mary was with her for about three months and then went back to her house.
And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her own house.
57 Now it was time for Elisabeth to give birth, and she had a son.
Now when Elisabeth's time for her delivery was fully come, 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 neighbours and kindred heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they congratulated 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 on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child: and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father:
60 But his mother made answer and said, No, his name is John.
but his mother said, No, but he shall be called John:
61 And they said, Not one of your relations has that name.
and they said to her, There is none of thy relations of 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, what name he would have him called by.
63 And he sent for writing materials and put down: His name is John; and they were all surprised.
And he called for a writing-tablet, and wrote upon it, His name is John: and they all wondered.
64 And straight away his mouth was open and his tongue was free and he gave praise to God.
And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake and praised 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 an awe fell upon all that dwelt round about them; and all these things were divulged through the whole 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 that heard them, laid them up in their hearts, saying, What a child will this be? And 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 with the holy Spirit,
68 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and made them free,
and prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,
69 Lifting up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us,
in the house of his servant David, as He spake by the mouth of his holy prophets from the beginning, (aiōn g165)
71 Salvation from those who are against us, and from the hands of those who have hate for us;
even salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us,
72 To do acts of mercy to our fathers and to keep in mind his holy word,
to display his mercy towards our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant,
73 The oath which he made to Abraham, our father,
according to the oath which He sware to Abraham our father,
74 That we, being made free from the fear of those who are against us, might give him worship,
to grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him,
75 In righteousness and holy living before him all our days.
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, my child, shalt be called the prophet of the most High; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people, through the forgiveness of sins,
to make known salvation to his people,
78 Because of the loving mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us,
in the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-spring hath visited us from on high,
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 enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the 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 deserts till the time of his being manifested to Israel.
