< 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,
Seeing that many have attempted to draw up a narrative of the facts which are received with full assurance among us
2 as they delivered to us, who from the beginning became eyewitnesses, and officers of the word,
on the authority of those who were from the beginning eye-witnesses and were devoted to the service of the divine Message,
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,
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 you may know the certainty of the things wherein you were 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 Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the division of Abijah, 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 righteous before God, going on in all the commands and righteousnesses 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 that Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren; and both of them were far advanced in life.
8 And it came to pass, in his acting as priest, in the order of his division before God,
Now while he was doing priestly duty before God in the prescribed course of his class,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot was to make incense, having gone into the temple of the LORD,
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 outside, at the hour of the incense.
and the whole multitude of the people were outside praying, at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him a messenger of the LORD standing on the right side of the altar of the incense,
Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense;
12 and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him;
and Zechariah on seeing him was agitated and 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 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 there will be joy to you, and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
Gladness and exultant joy shall be yours, and many will rejoice over 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;
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 he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the LORD their God,
Many of the descendants of Israel will he turn 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.”
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 messenger, “Whereby will I know this? For I am aged, and my wife is advanced in her days?”
"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 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, 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, 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.”
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 waiting for Zacharias, and wondering at his lingering in the temple,
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were surprised that he stayed so long in the Sanctuary.
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, 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 fulfilled, he went away to his house,
When his days of service were at an end, he went to his home;
24 and after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
and in course of time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and kept herself secluded 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.”
"Thus has the Lord dealt with me," she said, "now that He has graciously taken away my reproach among men."
26 And in the sixth month the messenger Gabriel was sent by God, to a city of Galilee, the name of which [is] 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 [is] Joseph, of the house of David, and the name of the virgin [is] 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 messenger having come in to her, said, “Greetings, favored one, the LORD [is] with you; blessed [are] you among women”;
So Gabriel went into the house and said to her, "Joy be to you, favoured one! 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.
She was greatly agitated at his words, and wondered what such a greeting meant.
30 And the messenger said to her, “Do not fear, Mary, for you have found favor with God;
But the angel said, "Do not be frightened, Mary, for you have found favour with God.
31 and behold, you will conceive in the womb, and will bring forth a Son, and call His Name Jesus;
You will conceive in your womb and bear a son; and you are to call His name 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 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 will reign over the house of Jacob for all ages; and of His kingdom there will be no 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 And Mary said to the messenger, “How will this be, seeing I do not know a husband?”
"How can this be," Mary replied, "seeing that I have no husband?"
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;
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, 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 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 because nothing will be impossible with God.”
For no promise from God will be impossible of fulfilment."
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.
"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 having arisen in those days, went into the hill-country, with haste, to a city of Judea,
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 greeted Elizabeth.
Here she came to the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth;
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,
and as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe leapt within her. And 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 uttered a loud cry of joy. "Blest among women are you," she said, "and the offspring of your body is blest!
43 and from where [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord might come to me?
But why is this honour done me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold, when the voice of your salutation came to my ears, the baby in my womb leapt in gladness;
For, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the babe within me leapt for joy.
45 and blessed [is] she who believed, for there will be a completion to 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 was glad on God my Savior,
And my spirit triumphs in God my Saviour;
48 Because He looked on the lowliness of His maidservant, For behold, from now on all the generations will 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 He who is mighty did great things to me, And holy [is] His Name,
Because the mighty One has done great things for me--Holy is His name!--
50 And His kindness [is] to generations of generations, To those fearing Him;
And His compassion is, generation after generation, Upon those who fear Him.
51 He did powerfully with His arm, He scattered abroad the proud 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 brought down the mighty from thrones, And He exalted the lowly,
He has cast monarchs down from their thrones, And exalted men of low estate.
53 He filled the hungry with good, And the rich He sent away empty;
The hungry He has satisfied with choice gifts, But the rich He has sent empty-handed away.
54 He has taken hold of His servant Israel, To remember kindness,
His servant Israel He has helped, Remembering His compassion--
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed—throughout the age.” (aiōn g165)
In fulfillment of His promises to our forefathers--For Abraham and his posterity for ever." (aiōn g165)
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and turned back to her house.
So Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home.
57 And to Elizabeth was the time fulfilled for her bringing forth, and she bore a son,
Now when Elizabeth's full time was come, 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.
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 were calling him by 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 will be called John.”
His mother, however, said, "No, he is to be called John."
61 And they said to her, “There is none among your relatives who is called by this name,”
"There is not one of your family," they said, "who has that name."
62 and they were making signs to his father, what he would wish him to be called,
They asked his father by signs what he wished him to be called.
63 and having asked for a tablet, 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 was speaking, praising God.
Instantly his mouth and his tongue were set free, and he began to speak and bless 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,
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 laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” And the hand of the LORD 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 his father Zacharias 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 [is] the LORD, the God of Israel, Because He looked on, And worked 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 a horn of salvation to us, In the house of His servant David,
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, Which have been from the age; (aiōn g165)
As He has spoken from all time by the lips of His holy Prophets-- (aiōn g165)
71 Salvation from our enemies, And out of the hand of all hating us,
To deliver us from our foes and from the power of all who hate us.
72 To do kindness with our fathers, And to be mindful of His holy covenant,
He dealt pitifully with our forefathers, And remembered His holy covenant,
73 An oath that He swore to Abraham our father,
The oath which He swore to Abraham our forefather,
74 To give to us, without fear, Having been delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
To grant us to be rescued from the power of our foes And so render worship to Him free from fear,
75 To serve Him, in holiness and righteousness Before Him, all the days of our life.
In piety and uprightness before Him all our days.
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.
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 salvation to His people In forgiveness of their sins,
To give to His People a knowledge of salvation In the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Through the yearnings of our God, In which the rising from on high looked on us,
Through the tender compassion of our God, Through which the daybreak from on high will come to us,
79 To give light to those sitting in darkness and death-shade, To guide our feet to a 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 showing 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.

< Luke 1 >