Luke 1
1 To his Excellency, Theophilus. Many attempts have been already made to draw up an account of those events which have reached their conclusion among us,
Inasmuch as many took it in hand to present a history concerning these things which have been fulfilled among us,
2 just as they were reported to us by those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses, and afterward became bearers of the message.
as those being eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word have delivered unto us;
3 And, therefore, I also, since I have investigated all these events with great care from their very beginning, have resolved to write a connected history of them for you,
it seemed good to me also, having followed carefully all things from the beginning, to write unto thee consecutively, O most noble Theophilus,
4 in order that you may be able to satisfy yourself of the accuracy of the story which you have heard from the lips of others.
in order that thou mayest know the certainty of the words concerning which thou hast been instructed.
5 In the reign of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division called after Abijah. His wife, whose name was Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Ahijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
6 They were both righteous people, who lived blameless lives, guiding their steps by all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.
7 But they had no child, Elizabeth being barren; and both of them were advanced in years.
And there was no child to them, as Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.
8 One day, when Zechariah was officiating as priest before God, during the turn of his division,
And it came to pass, while he was officiating in the order of his course before God,
9 it fell to him by lot, in accordance with the practice among the priests, to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense;
(according to the custom of the priesthood he was chosen by lot to offer incense), having gone into the temple of the Lord;
10 and, as it was the Hour of Incense, the people were all praying outside.
and all the multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense;
11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right of the Altar of Incense.
the angel of the Lord appeared unto him standing on the right hand of the altar of incense:
12 Zechariah was startled at the sight and was awe-struck.
and Zacharias was troubled seeing him, and fear fell on him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, whom you will call by the name John.
And the angel said to him; Fear not, Zacharias; because thy prayer has been heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bring forth a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John.
14 He will be to you a joy and a delight; and many will rejoice over his birth.
And there shall be joy and rejoicing, and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the very hour of his birth,
For he shall be great before the Lord; and he shall not drink wine and strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from the womb of his mother.
16 and will reconcile many of the Israelites to the Lord their God.
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord, their God.
17 He will go before him in the spirit and with the power of Elijah, to reconcile fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and so make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”
And he will go before Him in the spirit and Power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient unto the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people made ready for the Lord.
18 “How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”
And Zacharias said to the angel: According to what shall I know this? for I am old and my wife advanced in her days.
19 “I am Gabriel,” the angel answered, “who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
And the angel responding said to him; I am Gabriel standing in the presence of God, and am sent to speak to you and to preach to you these things.
20 And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when this takes place, because you did not believe what I said, though my words will be fulfilled in due course.”
And behold thou shalt be dumb and unable to speak, unto the day upon which these things may take place; because thou didst not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.
21 Meanwhile the people were watching for Zechariah, wondering at his remaining so long in the Temple.
And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering because he tarries in the temple.
22 When he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision there. But Zechariah kept making signs to them, and remained dumb.
And having come out he was unable to speak to them; and they recognized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he was beckoning to them and remained dumb.
23 And, as soon as his term of service was finished, he returned home.
And it came to pass when the days of his ministry were fulfilled, he went away to his own house.
24 After this his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and lived in seclusion for five months.
And after these days Elizabeth, his wife, conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said, “he has shown me kindness and taken away the public disgrace of childlessness under which I have been living.”
That the Lord so hath done unto me, in the days in which He condescended to take away my reproach among men.
26 Six months later the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, to which was the name
27 to a maiden there who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. Her name was Mary.
Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man, to whom was the name Joseph of the house of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary.
28 Gabriel came into her presence and greeted her, saying, “You have been shown great favor – the Lord is with you.”
And the angel having come to her said; Hail, thou blessed one; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.
29 Mary was much disturbed at his words, and was wondering to herself what such a greeting could mean,
And she seeing was troubled over his word, and was reasoning what kind this salutation might be.
30 when the angel spoke again, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And the angel said to her; Fear not, Mary; for thou didst find favor with God.
31 And now, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will give him the name Jesus.
And behold, thou shalt conceive and hear a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus.
32 The child will be great and will be called ‘Son of the Most High,’ and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David,
He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David:
33 and he will reign over the descendants of Jacob for ever; And to his kingdom there will be no end.” (aiōn g165)
and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there shall be no end. (aiōn g165)
34 “How can this be?” Mary asked the angel. “For I have no husband.”
And Mary said to the angel; How shall this be, since I know not man?
35 “The Holy Spirit will descend on you,” answered the angel, “and the Power of the Most High will overshadow you; and therefore the child will be called ‘holy,’ and ‘Son of God.’
And the angel responding said to her; The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, indeed, that holy thing that is begotten shall be called the Son of God.
36 And Elizabeth, your cousin, is herself also expecting a son in her old age; and it is now the sixth month with her, though she is called barren;
And behold Elizabeth thy kinswoman, indeed, herself having conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month, to her who is called barren.
37 for no promise from God will fail to be fulfilled.”
Because no word shall be impossible with God.
38 “I am the servant of the Lord,” exclaimed Mary. “Let it be with me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
And Mary said; Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; may it be done unto me according to thy word. And the angel went away from her.
39 Soon after this Mary set out, and made her way quickly into the hill-country, to a town in Judah;
And Mary, rising, departed into the mountainous land, with haste, into a city of Judah.
40 and there she went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.
And she came into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child moved within her, and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Spirit,
And it came to pass when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant in her womb leaped; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; and she spoke with a loud voice and said;
42 and cried aloud, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is your unborn child!
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 But how have I this honor, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord may come unto me?
44 For, as soon as your greeting reached my ears, the child moved within me with delight!
For behold when the voice of your salutation came into my ears, the infant in my womb leaped with joy.
45 Happy indeed is she who believed that the promise which she received from the Lord would be fulfilled.”
And blessed is she that believeth, because there shall be a perfection to those things having been spoken to her by the Lord.
46 And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,
And Mary said; My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 and my spirit delights in God my Savior,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has looked with favor on his humble servant girl. From now on all generations will call me blessed!
because He looked upon the low state of his handmaiden.
49 “For the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
For behold from now all generations call me blessed; because the Mighty One did great things unto me, and His name is holy;
50 He has mercy on those who revere him in every generation.
and His mercy unto generation of generations to them that fear Him.
51 “Mighty are the deeds of his arm! He has scattered the self-satisfied proud,
He wrought power by his own arm; he dispersed the proud in the thought of their heart.
52 he has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and he uplifts the humble,
He cast down the mighty from thrones and exalted the humble.
53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
He filled the poor with good things, and sent away the rich empty.
54 “He has stretched out his hand to his servant Israel, ever mindful of his mercy,
He delivered his son Israel, to remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever. (aiōn g165)
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to her home.
And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
57 When Elizabeth’s time came, she gave birth to a son;
And the time of her parturition was fulfilled unto Elizabeth and she brought forth a son.
58 and her neighbors and relatives, hearing of the great goodness of the Lord to her, came to share her joy.
And the neighbors and her relatives heard, that the Lord was magnifying His mercy with her, and they continued to rejoice with her.
59 A week later they met to circumcise the child, and were about to call him Zechariah after his father,
And it came to pass on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the little child; and they were calling him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60 when his mother spoke up, “No, he is to be called John.”
And his mother responding said; No, but he shall be called John.
61 “You have no relation of that name!” they exclaimed;
And they said to her; That there is no one among thy kindred who is called by this name.
62 and they made signs to the child’s father, to find out what he wished the child to be called.
And they were beckoning to his father, what he might wish to call him.
63 Asking for a writing tablet, he wrote the words – ‘His name is John.’ Everyone was surprised
And having asked for a writing tablet, he wrote saying; His name is John.
64 and immediately Zechariah recovered his voice and the use of his tongue, and began to bless God.
And all marveled. And his mouth immediately opened and his tongue loosed, and he continued to speak, praising God.
65 All their neighbors were awe-struck at this, and throughout the hill-country of Judea the whole story was much talked about.
And fear came upon all of those dwelling around; and all these words were spoken abroad in all the mountainous regions of Judea.
66 All who heard it kept it in mind, asking one another – “What can this child be destined to become?” For the Power of the Lord was with him.
And all those hearing placed them in their heart, saying; What then shall this little child be? And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, speaking under inspiration, said:
And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied saying;
68 “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who has visited his people and wrought their deliverance,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He looked upon us and wrought redemption to His people, and raised up unto us a horn of salvation
69 and has raised up for us the strength of our salvation in the house of his servant David –
in the house of David His son.
As he spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning; (aiōn g165)
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us,
salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all those who hate us,
72 showing mercy to our ancestors, and mindful of his sacred covenant.
to execute mercy with our fathers, and remember His holy covenant,
73 This was the oath which he swore to our ancestor Abraham –
the oath which He swore to Abraham our father:
74 that we should be rescued from the hands of our enemies,
to grant unto us, having been delivered out of the hand of our enemies, to serve Him without fear,
75 and should serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness, in his presence all our days.
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to make ready his way,
And thou, little child, shall be called a prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people in remission of their sins,
78 through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn will break on us from heaven,
through the bowels of mercy of our God, in which the dayspring from on high looked upon us,
79 to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and guide our feet into the way of peace.”
to appear unto those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet in the way of peace.
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the wilds until the time came for his appearance before Israel.
And the little child continued to grow and waxed strong in spirit; and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.
