Luke 1
1 Seeing that many took in hand to set in order a narration of the matters that have been fully assured among us,
As you know, many others have attempted to put down in writing the things that have been fulfilled that involve us.
2 as they delivered to us, who from the beginning became eyewitnesses, and officers of the word,
They based their accounts on evidence from the earliest eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word,
3 it seemed good also to me, having followed from the first after all things exactly, to write to you in order, most noble Theophilus,
and so I also decided that since I have followed these things very carefully from the beginning, it would be a good idea to write out an accurate account of all that happened.
4 that you may know the certainty of the things wherein you were instructed.
I have done this dear Theophilus so you can be certain that what you were taught is completely reliable.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the division of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth;
During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest called Zechariah, who came from the Abijah priestly division. He was married to Elizabeth, who was also descended from Aaron the priest.
6 and they were both righteous before God, going on in all the commands and righteousnesses of the LORD blameless,
They both did what was right before God, being careful to follow all the Lord's commandments and regulations.
7 and they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.
They had no children because Elizabeth wasn't able to have any, and they were both growing old.
8 And it came to pass, in his acting as priest, in the order of his division before God,
While Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, on behalf of his priestly division,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot was to make incense, having gone into the temple of the LORD,
he was chosen by lot according to priestly custom to enter the Temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 and all the multitude of the people were praying outside, at the hour of the incense.
During the time of offering incense a large crowd of people were praying outside.
11 And there appeared to him a messenger of the LORD standing on the right side of the altar of the incense,
An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
12 and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him;
When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and became terrified.
13 and the messenger said to him, “Do not fear, Zacharias, for your supplication was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you will call his name John,
But the angel told him, “Don't be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call him John.
14 and there will be joy to you, and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
He will bring you joy and gladness, and many will celebrate his birth.
15 for he will be great before the LORD, and wine and strong drink he may not drink, and he will be full of the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb;
He will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will refuse to drink wine or other alcoholic drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he's born.
16 and he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the LORD their God,
He will turn many Israelites back to the Lord their God.
17 and he will go before Him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers to children, and disobedient ones to the wisdom of righteous ones, to make ready for the LORD, a people prepared.”
He will go ahead of the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the fathers back to thinking about their children, and to turn those who are rebellious back to a right understanding—to prepare a people ready for the Lord.”
18 And Zacharias said to the messenger, “Whereby will I know this? For I am aged, and my wife is advanced in her days?”
“How can I be sure about this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I'm an old man, and my wife is getting old too.”
19 And the messenger answering said to him, “I am Gabriel, who has been standing near before God, and I was sent to speak to you, and to proclaim this good news to you,
“I am Gabriel,” the angel replied. “I stand in God's presence, and I was sent to speak to you and give you this good news.
20 and behold, you will be silent, and not able to speak, until the day that these things will come to pass, because you did not believe my words that will be fulfilled in their season.”
But since you didn't believe what I told you, you'll become dumb, unable to speak, until the appointed time when my words come true.”
21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and wondering at his lingering in the temple,
Outside the people were waiting for Zechariah, wondering why he was taking so long in the Temple.
22 and having come out, he was not able to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he was beckoning to them, and remained mute.
When eventually he came out, he wasn't able to speak to them. They realized he'd seen a vision in the Temple, for though he could make gestures, he was completely dumb.
23 And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he went away to his house,
After he'd finished his time of service, he went back home.
24 and after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Some time later his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. She stayed at home for five months.
25 “Thus the LORD has done to me, in days in which He looked on [me], to take away my reproach among men.”
“The Lord has done this for me,” she said, “now that he's taken away my disgrace in the eyes of others.”
26 And in the sixth month the messenger Gabriel was sent by God, to a city of Galilee, the name of which [is] Nazareth,
In the sixth month of her pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a young girl called Mary who lived in the town of Nazareth in Galilee.
27 to a virgin, betrothed to a man, whose name [is] Joseph, of the house of David, and the name of the virgin [is] Mary.
She was engaged to a man named Joseph.
28 And the messenger having come in to her, said, “Greetings, favored one, the LORD [is] with you; blessed [are] you among women”;
The angel greeted her. “You are very privileged,” he told her. “The Lord is with you.”
29 and she, having seen, was troubled at his word, and was reasoning of what kind this salutation may be.
Mary was very puzzled at what he said, and wondered what this greeting meant.
30 And the messenger said to her, “Do not fear, Mary, for you have found favor with God;
“Don't worry, Mary,” the angel went on, “for God has shown his graciousness to you.
31 and behold, you will conceive in the womb, and will bring forth a Son, and call His Name Jesus;
You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You shall call him Jesus.
32 He will be great, and He will be called Son of the Highest, and the LORD God will give Him the throne of His father David,
He will be very great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob for all ages; and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (aiōn g165)
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never come to an end.” (aiōn g165)
34 And Mary said to the messenger, “How will this be, seeing I do not know a husband?”
“How is this possible?” Mary asked. “I'm still a virgin.”
35 And the messenger answering said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore also the holy-begotten thing will be called Son of God;
He replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. The baby who is to be born is holy, and will be called the Son of God.
36 and behold, Elizabeth, your relative, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her who was called barren;
And Elizabeth, your relative, even she is pregnant in her old age. The woman that people said couldn't have children is already six months pregnant.
37 because nothing will be impossible with God.”
Nothing is impossible for God.”
38 And Mary said, “Behold, the maidservant of the LORD; let it be to me according to your saying,” and the messenger went away from her.
“Here I am, ready to be the Lord's servant,” said Mary. “May it happen to me just as you said.” Then the angel left her.
39 And Mary having arisen in those days, went into the hill-country, with haste, to a city of Judea,
A little while later, Mary got herself ready and hurried up into the hills of Judea, to the town where
40 and entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth.
Zechariah's house was. She called out to Elizabeth as she went in.
41 And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the baby leapt in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's voice, the baby jumped for joy inside her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
42 and spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed [are] you among women, and blessed [is] the Fruit of your womb;
and cried out in a loud voice, “How blessed you are among women, and how blessed will be the child born to you!
43 and from where [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord might come to me?
Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me?
44 For behold, when the voice of your salutation came to my ears, the baby in my womb leapt in gladness;
As soon as I heard you call out in greeting, my baby jumped for joy inside me.
45 and blessed [is] she who believed, for there will be a completion to the things spoken to her from the LORD.”
How fortunate you are, because you are convinced that the Lord will do what he has promised you!”
46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the LORD,
Mary replied, “How I praise the Lord!
47 And my spirit was glad on God my Savior,
I am so happy with God my Savior,
48 Because He looked on the lowliness of His maidservant, For behold, from now on all the generations will call me blessed,
because he decided that I, his servant, was worthy of his consideration, despite my humble background. From now on every generation will say I was blessed.
49 For He who is mighty did great things to me, And holy [is] His Name,
God Almighty has done great things for me; his name is holy.
50 And His kindness [is] to generations of generations, To those fearing Him;
His mercy lasts for generation after generation to those who respect him.
51 He did powerfully with His arm, He scattered abroad the proud in the thought of their heart,
With his power he has broken to pieces those who arrogantly think they're so clever.
52 He brought down the mighty from thrones, And He exalted the lowly,
He tears the powerful down from their thrones, and elevates those who are humble.
53 He filled the hungry with good, And the rich He sent away empty;
He fills the hungry with good things to eat, and he sends the rich away empty-handed.
54 He has taken hold of His servant Israel, To remember kindness,
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering him in mercy,
just as he promised our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants for ever.” (aiōn g165)
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and turned back to her house.
Mary stayed with her for three months and then returned home.
57 And to Elizabeth was the time fulfilled for her bringing forth, and she bore a son,
The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby and she gave birth to a son.
58 and the neighbors and her relatives heard that the LORD was making His kindness great with her, and they were rejoicing with her.
Her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had showed her great kindness, and they celebrated together with her.
59 And it came to pass, on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they were calling him by the name of his father, Zacharias,
Eight days later they came to circumcise the boy. They planned to call him Zechariah after his father.
60 and his mother answering said, “No, but he will be called John.”
“No,” Elizabeth said. “He shall be called John.”
61 And they said to her, “There is none among your relatives who is called by this name,”
“But there's nobody among your relatives who has this name,” they told her.
62 and they were making signs to his father, what he would wish him to be called,
Through gestures they asked Zechariah, the boy's father, what he wanted to call his son.
63 and having asked for a tablet, he wrote, saying, “John is his name”; and they all wondered;
Zechariah motioned for something to write on. To everyone's surprise he wrote, “His name is John.”
64 and his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he was speaking, praising God.
Immediately he could speak again, and he started praising God.
65 And fear came on all those dwelling around them, and in all the hill-country of Judea were all these sayings spoken of,
All those living nearby were in awe at what had happened, and the news spread throughout the hill country of Judea.
66 and all who heard laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” And the hand of the LORD was with him.
Everyone who heard the news wondered what it meant. “What will the little boy grow up to be?” they asked, for it was clear he was very special to God.
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
Zechariah, his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke this prophecy:
68 “Blessed [is] the LORD, the God of Israel, Because He looked on, And worked redemption for His people,
“The Lord, the God of Israel, he is wonderful, for he has come to his people and set them free.
69 And raised a horn of salvation to us, In the house of His servant David,
He has given us a great Savior from the line of his servant David,
as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. (aiōn g165)
71 Salvation from our enemies, And out of the hand of all hating us,
He promised to save us from our enemies, from those who hate us.
72 To do kindness with our fathers, And to be mindful of His holy covenant,
He was merciful to our fathers, remembering his holy agreement—
73 An oath that He swore to Abraham our father,
the promise that he made to our father Abraham.
74 To give to us, without fear, Having been delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
He gives us freedom from fear and rescues us from our enemies,
75 To serve Him, in holiness and righteousness Before Him, all the days of our life.
so we can serve him by doing what is good and right for our whole lives.
76 And you, child, Prophet of the Highest will you be called; For you will go before the face of the LORD, To prepare His ways.
Even though you are only a small child, you will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people In forgiveness of their sins,
providing knowledge of salvation to his people through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 Through the yearnings of our God, In which the rising from on high looked on us,
Through God's caring kindness to us, heaven's dawn will break upon us
79 To give light to those sitting in darkness and death-shade, To guide our feet to a way of peace.”
to shine on those who live in darkness and under the shadow of death, and to guide us along 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 showing to Israel.
The boy John grew and became spiritually strong. He lived in the desert until the time came for his public ministry to Israel.
