Luke 1
1 SINCE many have attempted to compose a narrative of facts, confirmed to us by the fullest evidence:
Given that many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those things that really did take place among us,
2 exactly as they delivered them to us, who were eve witnesses from the first, and ministers of the word;
just as those who became eyewitnesses, from the beginning, and ministers of the Word delivered them to us,
3 it seemed right to me also, having obtained accurate knowledge of all things from above, to write to thee in regular order, most excellent Theophilus,
it seemed good to me also, most excellent Theophilus, having taken careful note of everything from Above, to write to you with precision and in sequence,
4 to the intent that thou mayest clearly know the certainty of those matters, concerning which thou hast been instructed.
so that you may know the certainty of the things in which you were instructed.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abiah: and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elisabeth.
In the days of Herod, the king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7 And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were far advanced in years.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren; and they both were well advanced in years.
8 And it came to pass, as he discharged his priestly office in the order of his periodical ministration before God,
Now it happened, as he was officiating as priest before God in the order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to his lot to burn the incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
according to the custom of the priesthood, that his lot was to burn incense, upon entering the sanctuary of the Lord;
10 And all the multitude of people was praying without, at the time of the burning the incense.
and the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense;
12 And Zacharias was agitated greatly at the sight, and fear fell upon him.
and upon seeing him Zacharias was shaken, and a fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bring thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, because your prayer was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 And it shall give thee joy and exultation; and many shall rejoice at his birth:
And you will have joy and exultation, and many will rejoice over his birth.
15 for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord; and he shall never drink wine, nor any intoxicating liquor; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must not drink either wine or strong drink; indeed, he will be filled with Holy Spirit already from his mother's womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord, their God.
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God;
17 And he shall go forth before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to convert the hearts of fathers with their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people ready for the Lord.
in fact he himself will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of fathers to children’ and the disobedient to the mindset of the righteous, to prepare a people made ready for the Lord.”
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, By what shall I know this? for I am old, and my wife far advanced in her age.
But Zacharias said to the angel: “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19 And the angel answering said to him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to thee, and to proclaim these glad tidings to thee.
So in answer the angel said to him: “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; I was sent to speak to you and bring you this good news.
20 And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and unable to speak, until that day when these things shall come to pass, because thou hast not believed my words, which shall be fulfilled at their exact time.
Now look, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day in which these things happen, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
Now the people were waiting for Zacharias and wondering at his delay in the sanctuary.
22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he himself made signs to them, and continued deaf and dumb.
But when he came out he was unable to speak to them, and they understood that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary—he kept gesturing to them while remaining mute.
23 And it came to pass, when the days of his ministry were fulfilled, he went to his own house.
And so, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he took off for home.
24 And after those days Elisabeth his wife conceived, and kept herself in retirement five months, saying,
Well after those days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and stayed in seclusion five months. She kept saying,
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days in which he looked upon me to take away my reproach among men.
“So that's what the Lord has done for me in the days when He concerned Himself to take away my reproach among the people!”
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, the name of which was Nazareth,
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee named Natsareth,
27 to a virgin of the house of David, betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel coming in to her said, All hail! O thou highly favoured one! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
So upon entering where she was the angel said, “Rejoice, recipient of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 And when she saw him, she was greatly agitated at his address: and reasoned in herself what kind of salutation this could be.
But upon seeing him she was perplexed at his word and was trying to figure out what sort of greeting it might be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God.
The angel said to her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS.
Now then, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father;
He will be great, and will be called ‘Son of the Most High’; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
33 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (aiōn g165)
and He will reign over the house of Jacob into the ages; indeed, of His kingdom there will be no end!” (aiōn g165)
34 And Mary said, How shall this be, seeing I know not man?
So Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answering said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; wherefore also the Holy One that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.
In answer the angel said to her: “Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will hover over you; precisely for this reason the holy One who is to be born will be called ‘Son of God’!
36 And, behold, Elisabeth thy cousin, she also hath conceived in her old age: and this is the fifth month of pregnancy with her who was called barren.
Furthermore, your relative Elizabeth, she has actually conceived a son in her old age and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren;
37 For there is nothing impossible with God.
because any word spoken by God will be possible.”
38 Then said Mary, Behold a servant of the Lord, be it to me according to thy declaration. And the angel departed from her.
So Mary said: “Yes, I am the Lord's slave! Let it happen to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
39 Then Mary arose in those days, and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,
Then Mary quickly got ready and went into the hill country in those days, to a town of Judah,
40 and entered into the house of Zachariah, and saluted Elisabeth.
and entered the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth.
41 And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped for joy in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
Well it happened that as Elizabeth heard Mary's salutation the babe bounced up and down in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit.
42 and she exclaimed with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And she cried out with a great voice and said: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb!
43 And whence is this favour shewn me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo! as the voice of thy salutation reached my ears, the babe leaped for joy in my womb.
Yes indeed, because as the sound of your salutation came into my ears the babe bounced up and down in my womb for joy.
45 And blessed is she that hath believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things told her from the Lord.
Blessed is she who believed, because there will be a fulfillment of the things that have been spoken to her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
So Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit hath exulted in God my Saviour:
and my spirit has exulted over God my Savior,
48 for he hath looked upon the lowly state of his maid-servant: for, lo! henceforth shall all generations pronounce me blessed.
in that He paid attention to the humble station of His slave (f). Yes indeed, because from now on all generations will declare me to be highly favored,
49 For the Mighty One hath done great things for me; and holy is his name.
in that the Mighty One did sublime things for me, and Holy is His name.
50 And his mercy is upon those who fear him, from generation to generation.
His mercy is for generations of generations to those fearing Him.
51 He hath displayed strength from his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has dispersed the arrogant in the reasoning of their hearts.
52 He hath cast down potentates from the throne, and hath exalted the lowly.
He has dethroned rulers and exalted the lowly.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
He has taken the part of His servant Israel, in remembrance of mercy,
55 as he had spoken to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed.
just as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed while there is an age.” (aiōn g165)
56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned unto her home.
So Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her house.
57 Now Elisabeth’s time was up that she should be delivered; and she brought a son.
Now the time for Elizabeth to give birth was completed and she bore a son.
58 And her neighbours and her relations heard, that the Lord had magnified his mercy upon her; and they congratulated her.
Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had used His great mercy with 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 him after the name of his father, Zacharias.
So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child, and they started calling him by the name of his father, Zacharias.
60 And his mother spake and said, No; but he shall be called John.
His mother reacted and said, “Absolutely not; he shall be called John!”
61 And they said to her, There is not one among thy relations, who is called by this name.
So they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”
62 And they made signs to his father, what he would have him called.
So they started motioning to his father, as to what he would have him called.
63 And desiring a writing tablet, he wrote, saying, John is his name. And they were all surprised.
Asking for a writing tablet he wrote this: “His name is to be John!” They all marveled.
64 Instantly then his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed, and he burst out in praises to God.
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed and he started to speak, blessing God.
65 And great awe fell on all those who dwelt around them: and in all the mountainous country of Judea, all these circumstances were the subject of conversation.
(Well a fear came on all who lived around them; and all these sayings kept being talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, Well! what a child will this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
All who heard kept them in their hearts saying, “What then will this child be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.)
67 And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
Now his father Zacharias was filled with Holy Spirit and prophesied saying:
68 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; for he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people;
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and provided redemption for His people;
69 and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David:
and has raised up a horn of deliverance for us in the house of His servant David
—just as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from antiquity— (aiōn g165)
71 even preservation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
deliverance from our enemies and out of the hand of all who hate us;
72 to perform mercy towards our fathers, and to remember his own holy covenant:
to use mercy with our fathers, even to remember His Holy covenant,
73 the oath which he sware to Abraham our father,
the oath that He swore to our father Abraham;
74 to give us, that we, secure from fear, rescued from the hands of our enemies, should serve him,
to grant to us (having been rescued from the hand of our enemies) to serve Him without fear,
75 in righteousness and holiness before him, all the days of our life.
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
And you, child, will be called Prophet of the Most High, because you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 to give the knowledge of salvation to his people, by the remission of their sins,
to give a knowledge of salvation to His people by the forgiveness of their sins,
78 through the bowels of mercy of our God; with which he hath visited us, as the dawn of the morning from on high,
through the merciful compassions of our God, with which the divine Dawn has contemplated us,
79 to illumine those who sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew, and became mighty in spirit, and was in the deserts until the days of his public exhibition to Israel.
So the child kept growing and being strengthened in spirit, and he stayed in uninhabited areas until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
