Luke 1
1 Seeing that many have taken it in hand to draw up an account of those matters which have been fully established among us,
As you know, many others have attempted to put down in writing the things that have been fulfilled that involve us.
2 just as they reported them to us, who were from beginning eye- witnesses and ministers of the word,
They based their accounts on evidence from the earliest eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word,
3 it seemed good to me also accurately, from the very beginning, to write them to you in order, most excellent 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 so that you may know the certainty of the story which you have been taught by the word of mouth.
I have done this dear Theophilus so you can be certain that what you were taught is completely reliable.
5 In the reign of Herod, King of Judea, there was a certain priest, named Zachariah, belonging to the class of Abijah. He had a wife named 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 who was a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous in the sight of the Lord, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the law, blameless.
They both did what was right before God, being careful to follow all the Lord's commandments and regulations.
7 Now they had no child, for Elizabeth was barren, and both were far advanced in years.
They had no children because Elizabeth wasn't able to have any, and they were both growing old.
8 Now while Zachariah was acting as priest before God in the due course of his class, it fell to his lot, according to the custom of priesthood,
While Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, on behalf of his priestly division,
9 to enter into the sanctuary of the Lord and to burn incense.
he was chosen by lot according to priestly custom to enter the Temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were without, praying at the hour of incense.
During the time of offering incense a large crowd of people were praying outside.
11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
12 And as he saw him Zachariah was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and became terrified.
13 But the Angel said to him. "Do not be afraid, Zachariah, because your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him 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 he shall be to you a joy and an exultation, and many shall rejoice over his birth.
He will bring you joy and gladness, and many will celebrate his birth.
15 "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, "He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, "He shall be filled with the Holy Spirit from the hour of his birth,
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 shall win many of the sons of Israel to the Lord, their God.
He will turn many Israelites back to the Lord their God.
17 "He shall go before Him in the wisdom and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and so to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him."
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 "How shall I be sure of this?" said Zachariah to the Angel. "For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."
“How can I be sure about this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I'm an old man, and my wife is getting old too.”
19 "I am Gabriel," answered the angel, "who stand in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring and to bring you this good news.
“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 now you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day the day when this has taken place; because you did not believe my words - Words which will be fulfilled at their appointed time."
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 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zachariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
Outside the people were waiting for Zechariah, wondering why he was taking so long in the Temple.
22 And when he came out he could not speak to them, and then they knew that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept making signs to them and remained dumb.
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 As soon as his term of priestly service was ended he went home;
After he'd finished his time of service, he went back home.
24 and after those days Elizabeth, his wife, Conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying.
Some time later his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. She stayed at home for five months.
25 "This has the Lord done for me. He has now deigned to take the 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 Six months later the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee, called 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 maiden betrothed to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. Her name was Mary.
She was engaged to a man named Joseph.
28 The angel went in and said to her. "Joy to you, highly favored one! "The Lord is with you."
The angel greeted her. “You are very privileged,” he told her. “The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly agitated at his word, and was revolving in her mind what this salutation could mean.
Mary was very puzzled at what he said, and wondered what this greeting meant.
30 when the angel said to her. "Fear not Mary, for you have found grace with God.
“Don't worry, Mary,” the angel went on, “for God has shown his graciousness to you.
31 "And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son; and you shall call his name Jesus.
You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You shall call him Jesus.
32 "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. "And the Lord God will give him the throne of his forefather 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 shall reign over the House of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall 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 angel. "How can this be? For I have no husband?"
“How is this possible?” Mary asked. “I'm still a virgin.”
35 "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you," said the angel, "and the power of the most High shall overshadow you, and therefore the holy offspring which is born, shall be called the 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 your kinswoman, Elizabeth, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this was the sixth month with her that 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 "For no word of God shall be void of power."
Nothing is impossible for God.”
38 Then Mary said. "Behold I am Lord’s slave. Let it be to me as you have said." Then the angel departed 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 Soon after this Mary set out and hastened unto the hill-country to a town in Judah;
A little while later, Mary got herself ready and hurried up into the hills of Judea, to the town where
40 and there she came into the house of Zachariah, and greeted Elizabeth.
Zechariah's house was. She called out to Elizabeth as she went in.
41 And when Elizabeth heard her salutation, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth herself 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 called out with a loud cry. "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is your unborn child!
and cried out in a loud voice, “How blessed you are among women, and how blessed will be the child born to you!
43 "But why is this honor done me, that the mother of my Lord should come me?
Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me?
44 "For behold when the sound of your salutation reached my ears, the babe leaped with joy within my womb.
As soon as I heard you call out in greeting, my baby jumped for joy inside me.
45 "And blessed is she who believed that the Lord’s words spoken to her would be fulfilled."
How fortunate you are, because you are convinced that the Lord will do what he has promised you!”
46 And Mary said. "My soul doth magnify the Lord,
Mary replied, “How I praise the Lord!
47 "My spirit exults in the God, who is my Saviour,
I am so happy with God my Savior,
48 "For he has regarded the humiliation of his slave, And from this hour all ages will count 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 has done great things for me; And holy is his name.
God Almighty has done great things for me; his name is holy.
50 "His mercy is unto generations and generations on those who reverence him.
His mercy lasts for generation after generation to those who respect him.
51 "He has showed strength with his arm. "He has scattered proud in the imagination of their hearts;
With his power he has broken to pieces those who arrogantly think they're so clever.
52 "he has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted those of low degree.
He tears the powerful down from their thrones, and elevates those who are humble.
53 "The hungry he has filled with good things, But the rich he has sent empty away.
He fills the hungry with good things to eat, and he sends the rich away empty-handed.
54 "He has helped Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
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 So Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and returned home.
Mary stayed with her for three months and then returned home.
57 Now when the time of Elizabeth’s delivery was come, she gave birth to a son;
The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby and she gave birth to a son.
58 and her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her; and they rejoiced with her,
Her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had showed her great kindness, and they celebrated together with her.
59 and came on the eighth day to circumcise the child. They were about to call him "Zachariah," after his father,
Eight days later they came to circumcise the boy. They planned to call him Zechariah after his father.
60 when his mother said, "No, he is to be called John."
“No,” Elizabeth said. “He shall be called John.”
61 Said they, "You have no relatives of that name!"
“But there's nobody among your relatives who has this name,” they told her.
62 Then they asked his father by signs what he wished to call the child.
Through gestures they asked Zechariah, the boy's father, what he wanted to call his son.
63 So he asked for a writing tablet and wrote down, "His name is John."
Zechariah motioned for something to write on. To everyone's surprise he wrote, “His name is John.”
64 Every one was surprised, and at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
Immediately he could speak again, and he started praising God.
65 And there came a great fear upon all in the neighborhood; and throughout the hill country of Judea all these sayings were much talked about.
All those living nearby were in awe at what had happened, and the news spread throughout the hill country of Judea.
66 All the story laid it up in their hearts, saying "What, then, will this child be?" For the Lord’s hands 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, Zachariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying.
Zechariah, his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke this prophecy:
68 "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, For he has visited and redeemed his people,
“The Lord, the God of Israel, he is wonderful, for he has come to his people and set them free.
69 "And has raised up a mighty Deliverer for 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 To deliver us from our enemies, and from the power Of all who hate us.
He promised to save us from our enemies, from those who hate us.
72 "He showed mercy to our forefathers, He remembered his holy covenant,
He was merciful to our fathers, remembering his holy agreement—
73 "The oath which he swore to Abraham, our forefather,
the promise that he made to our father Abraham.
74 "That he we should be delivered out of the Hand of our enemies, And should serve him without fear,
He gives us freedom from fear and rescues us from our enemies,
75 "In holiness and righteousness before him All our days.
so we can serve him by doing what is good and right for our whole lives.
76 "And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Most High, For thou shalt go before the Lord to prepare the way
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 to his people a knowledge of salvation Through the remission of their sins,
providing knowledge of salvation to his people through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 "Through the heart of mercy of our God, Whereby the Dayspring from on high shall visit us,
Through God's caring kindness to us, heaven's dawn will break upon us
79 "To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, And to guide our feet into the paths 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 became strong in the Spirit, and remained in the desert till 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.
