Luke 1
1 Forasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a relation concerning the matters fully believed among us,
Seeing that many have attempted to draw up a narrative of the facts which are received with full assurance among us
2 as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses of and attendants on the Word have delivered them to us,
on the authority of those who were from the beginning eye-witnesses and were devoted to the service of the divine Message,
3 it has seemed good to me also, accurately acquainted from the origin with all things, to write to thee with method, most excellent Theophilus,
it has seemed right to me also, after careful investigation of the facts from their commencement, to write for you, most noble Theophilus, a connected account,
4 that thou mightest know the certainty of those things in which thou hast been instructed.
that you may fully know the truth of the things which you have been taught by word of mouth.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
There was in the time of Herod, the king of Judaea, a priest of the name of Zechariah, belonging to the class of Abijah. He had a wife who was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
They were both of them upright before God, blamelessly obeying all the Lord's precepts and ordinances.
7 And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren; and both of them were far advanced in life.
8 And it came to pass, as he fulfilled his priestly service before God in the order of his course,
Now while he was doing priestly duty before God in the prescribed course of his class,
9 it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense.
it fell to his lot--according to the custom of the priesthood--to go into the Sanctuary of the Lord and burn the incense;
10 And all the multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense.
and the whole multitude of the people were outside praying, at the hour of incense.
11 And an angel of [the] Lord appeared to him, standing on the right of the altar of incense.
Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense;
12 And Zacharias was troubled, seeing [him], and fear fell upon him.
and Zechariah on seeing him was agitated and terrified.
13 But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, because thy supplication has been heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your petition has been heard: and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call his name John.
14 And he shall be to thee joy and rejoicing, and many shall rejoice at his birth.
Gladness and exultant joy shall be yours, and many will rejoice over his birth.
15 For he shall be great before [the] Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with [the] Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; no wine or fermented drink shall he ever drink; but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the very hour of his birth.
16 And many of the sons of Israel shall he turn to [the] Lord their God.
Many of the descendants of Israel will he turn to the Lord their God;
17 And he shall go before him in [the] spirit and power of Elias, to turn hearts of fathers to children, and disobedient ones to [the] thoughts of just [men], to make ready for [the] Lord a prepared people.
and he will be His forerunner in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn fathers' hearts to the children, and cause the rebellious to walk in the wisdom of the upright, to make a people perfectly ready for the lord."
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, How shall I know this, for I am an old man, and my wife advanced in years?
"By what proof," asked Zechariah, "shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far advanced in years."
19 And the angel answering, said to him, I am Gabriel, who stand before God, and I have been sent to speak to thee, and to bring these glad tidings to thee;
"I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God," answered the angel, "and I have been sent to talk with you and tell you this good news.
20 and behold, thou shalt be silent and not able to speak, till the day in which these things shall take place, because thou hast not believed my words, the which shall be fulfilled in their time.
And now you will be dumb and unable to speak until the day when this has taken place; because you did not believe my words--words which will be fulfilled at their appointed time."
21 And the people were awaiting Zacharias, and they wondered at his delaying in the temple.
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were surprised that he stayed so long in the Sanctuary.
22 But when he came out he could not speak to them, and they recognised that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he was making signs to them, and continued dumb.
When, however, he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they knew that he must have seen a vision in the Sanctuary; but he kept making signs to them and continued dumb.
23 And it came to pass, when the days of his service were completed, he departed to his house.
When his days of service were at an end, he went to his home;
24 Now after these days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
and in course of time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and kept herself secluded five months.
25 Thus has [the] Lord done to me in [these] days in which he looked upon [me] to take away my reproach among men.
"Thus has the Lord dealt with me," she said, "now that He has graciously taken away my reproach among men."
26 But in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent of God to a city of Galilee, of which [the] name [was] Nazareth,
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name [was] Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary.
to a maiden betrothed to a man of the name of Joseph, a descendant of David. The maiden's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, [thou] favoured one! the Lord [is] with thee: [blessed art thou amongst women].
So Gabriel went into the house and said to her, "Joy be to you, favoured one! the Lord is with you."
29 But she, [seeing] [the angel], was troubled at his word, and reasoned in her mind what this salutation might be.
She was greatly agitated at his words, and wondered what such a greeting meant.
30 And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God;
But the angel said, "Do not be frightened, Mary, for you have found favour with God.
31 and behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
You will conceive in your womb and bear a son; and you are to call His name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called Son of [the] Highest; and [the] Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father;
He will be great and He will be called 'Son of the Most High.' And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His forefather David;
33 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for the ages, and of his kingdom there shall not be an end. (aiōn g165)
and He will be King over the House of Jacob for the Ages, and of His Kingdom there will be no end." (aiōn g165)
34 But Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a man?
"How can this be," Mary replied, "seeing that I have no husband?"
35 And the angel answering said to her, [The] Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and power of [the] Highest overshadow thee, wherefore the holy thing also which shall be born shall be called Son of God.
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for this reason your holy offspring will be called 'the Son of God.'
36 And behold, Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her that was called barren:
And see, your relative Elizabeth--she also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37 for nothing shall be impossible with God.
For no promise from God will be impossible of fulfilment."
38 And Mary said, Behold the bondmaid of [the] Lord; be it to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
"I am the Lord's maidservant," Mary replied; "may it be with me in accordance with your words!" And then the angel left her.
39 And Mary, rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
Not long after this, Mary rose up and went in haste into the hill country to a town in Judah.
40 and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth.
Here she came to the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth;
41 And it came to pass, as Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with [the] Holy Spirit,
and as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe leapt within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
42 and cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed [art] thou amongst women, and blessed the fruit of thy womb.
and uttered a loud cry of joy. "Blest among women are you," she said, "and the offspring of your body is blest!
43 And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
But why is this honour done me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold, as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped with joy in my womb.
For, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the babe within me leapt for joy.
45 And blessed [is] she that has believed, for there shall be a fulfilment of the things spoken to her from [the] Lord.
And blessed is she who has believed, for the word spoken to her from the Lord shall be fulfilled."
46 And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,
Then Mary said: "My soul extols the Lord,
47 and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.
And my spirit triumphs in God my Saviour;
48 For he has looked upon the low estate of his bondmaid; for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because He has not turned from His maidservant in her lowly position; For from this time forward all generations will account me happy,
49 For the Mighty One has done to me great things, and holy [is] his name;
Because the mighty One has done great things for me--Holy is His name!--
50 and his mercy [is] to generations and generations to them that fear him.
And His compassion is, generation after generation, Upon those who fear Him.
51 He has wrought strength with his arm; he has scattered haughty [ones] in the thought of their heart.
He has manifested His supreme strength. He has scattered those who were haughty in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has put down rulers from thrones, and exalted the lowly.
He has cast monarchs down from their thrones, And exalted men of low estate.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty.
The hungry He has satisfied with choice gifts, But the rich He has sent empty-handed away.
54 He has helped Israel his servant, in order to remember mercy,
His servant Israel He has helped, Remembering His compassion--
In fulfillment of His promises to our forefathers--For Abraham and his posterity for ever." (aiōn g165)
56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her house.
So Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home.
57 But the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth that she should bring forth, and she gave birth to a son.
Now when Elizabeth's full time was come, she gave birth to a son;
58 And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that [the] Lord had magnified his mercy with her, and they rejoiced with her.
and her neighbours and relatives heard how the Lord had had great compassion on her; and they rejoiced with her.
59 And it came to pass on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called it after the name of his father, Zacharias.
And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and were going to call him Zechariah, after his father.
60 And his mother answering said, No; but he shall be called John.
His mother, however, said, "No, he is to be called John."
61 And they said to her, There is no one among thy kinsfolk who is called by this name.
"There is not one of your family," they said, "who has that name."
62 And they made signs to his father as to what he might wish it to be called.
They asked his father by signs what he wished him to be called.
63 And having asked for a writing-table, he wrote saying, John is his name. And they all wondered.
So he asked for a writing-tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all wondered.
64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he spake, blessing God.
Instantly his mouth and his tongue were set free, and he began to speak and bless God.
65 And fear came upon all who dwelt round about them; and in the whole hill-country of Judaea all these things were the subject of conversation.
And all who lived round about them were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judaea reports of all these things were spread abroad.
66 And all who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then will this child be? And [the] Lord's hand was with him.
All who heard the story treasured it in their memories. "What then will this child be?" they said. For the lord's hand was indeed with him.
67 And Zacharias his father was filled with [the] Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
And Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke in a rapture of praise.
68 Blessed be [the] Lord the God of Israel, because he has visited and wrought redemption for his people,
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel," he said, "Because He has not forgotten His people but has effected redemption for them,
69 and raised up a horn of deliverance for us in the house of David his servant;
And has raised up a mighty Deliverer for us In the house of David His servant--
70 as he spoke by [the] mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began; (aiōn g165)
As He has spoken from all time by the lips of His holy Prophets-- (aiōn g165)
71 deliverance from our enemies and out of the hand of all who hate us;
To deliver us from our foes and from the power of all who hate us.
72 to fulfil mercy with our fathers and remember his holy covenant,
He dealt pitifully with our forefathers, And remembered His holy covenant,
73 [the] oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
The oath which He swore to Abraham our forefather,
74 to give us, that, saved out of the hand of our enemies, we should serve him without fear
To grant us to be rescued from the power of our foes And so render worship to Him free from fear,
75 in piety and righteousness before him all our days.
In piety and uprightness before Him all our days.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called [the] prophet of [the] Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of [the] Lord to make ready his ways;
And you moreover, O child, shall be called Prophet of the Most High; For you shall go on in front before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,
77 to give knowledge of deliverance to his people by [the] remission of their sins
To give to His People a knowledge of salvation In the forgiveness of their sins,
78 on account of [the] bowels of mercy of our God; wherein [the] dayspring from on high has visited us,
Through the tender compassion of our God, Through which the daybreak from on high will come to us,
79 to shine upon them who were sitting in darkness and in [the] shadow of death, to guide our feet into [the] way of peace.
Dawning on those who now dwell in the darkness and shadow of death--To direct our feet into the path of peace."
80 — And the child grew and was strengthened in spirit; and he was in the deserts until the day of his shewing to Israel.
And the child grew and became strong in character, and lived in the Desert till the time came for him to appear publicly to Israel.
