Luke 1
1 Whereas many have undertaken to compose a narrative of the things, which have been fully certified among us;
Given that many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those things that really did take place among us,
2 as they delivered them to us, who were from the beginning eye-witnesses of them, 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 good to me also, having thoroughly traced them all from the very first, to write an account of them in order to thee,
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 most excellent Theophilus, that thou mayst know the certainty of the things wherein 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 king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the family of Aaron, and her name was 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 in the sight of 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, for Elisabeth was barren; and they were both 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, while he was in the order of his course performing the priest's office 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 dividing the office of the priests, that it fell to his lot to burn incense, entring 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 people were praying without at the time of offering incense.
and the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right hand 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 when Zacharias saw him, he was startled and struck with fear:
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 bear 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 he shall be a joy and transport to thee, yea, many shall rejoice on account of his birth; for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,
And you will have joy and exultation, and many will rejoice over his birth.
15 and he shall drink neither wine nor any other strong liquor; and he shall be filled with the holy Spirit even from his birth;
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 convert 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 before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to prepare for the Lord a people well-disposed.
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 unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife far advanced in years.
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 am sent to speak to thee, and to tell thee this good news:
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 now shalt thou be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass; because thou believedst not my words, which shall be fulfilled at their season.
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 wondered at his staying so long in the temple:
Now the people were waiting for Zacharias and wondering at his delay in the sanctuary.
22 but when he came out he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them, and continued speechless:
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 as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
And so, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he took off for home.
24 And after these days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and retired five months,
Well after those days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and stayed in seclusion five months. She kept saying,
25 saying, the Lord hath thus dealt with me in the days wherein 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 But in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee called Nazareth,
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee named Natsareth,
27 to a virgin who was betrothed to a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the virgin 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 when the angel came in to the room to her, he said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured; the Lord is with thee;
So upon entering where she was the angel said, “Rejoice, recipient of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 blessed art thou among women! and when she saw him, she was confused at what he said, and pondered in her mind what sort 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 favor 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 shalt bring forth a son, and 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 Most High, and the Lord God shall 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 Then said Mary to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin?
So Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, and therefore thine holy offspring shall be called the Son of God: and lo,
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 thy cousin Elisabeth also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her that 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 nothing is impossible with God.
because any word spoken by God will be possible.”
38 Then Mary said, Behold the servant of the Lord, may it be unto me according to thy word. So 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 and went with speed into the hill-country, to a city of Juda,
Then Mary quickly got ready and went into the hill country in those days, to a town of Judah,
40 and came into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
and entered the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth.
41 And as soon as Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the child leaped in her womb, and Elisabeth was filled with the holy Spirit:
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 cried out 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 honor to 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 behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation reached my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy:
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 believed; for there shall be a performance of the things that were 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, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour;
So Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 for He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaid:
and my spirit has exulted over God my Savior,
48 for behold, from henceforth shall all generations call 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 He that is mighty hath done great things for me,
in that the Mighty One did sublime things for me, and Holy is His name.
50 and his name is holy, and his mercy is on them that fear Him, unto all generations.
His mercy is for generations of generations to those fearing Him.
51 He hath wrought powerfully with his arm; He hath confounded those that were proud in the imagination of their heart.
He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has dispersed the arrogant in the reasoning of their hearts.
52 He hath cast down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the humble.
He has dethroned rulers and exalted the lowly.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent away empty.
He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
54 He hath supported Israel his servant,
He has taken the part of His servant Israel, in remembrance of mercy,
55 in remembrance of his mercy (even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed, ) for ever." (aiōn g165)
just as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed while there is an age.” (aiōn g165)
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her own house.
So Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her house.
57 Now when Elisabeth's time for her delivery was fully come, she brought forth a son:
Now the time for Elizabeth to give birth was completed and she bore a son.
58 and her neighbours and kindred heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards 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 on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child: and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father:
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 but his mother 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 none of thy relations of 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 name he would have him called by.
So they started motioning to his father, as to what he would have him called.
63 And he called for a writing-tablet, and wrote upon it, His name is John: and they all wondered.
Asking for a writing tablet he wrote this: “His name is to be John!” They all marveled.
64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake and praised God.
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed and he started to speak, blessing God.
65 And an awe fell upon all that dwelt round about them; and all these things were divulged through the whole hill-country of Judea.
(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 that heard them, laid them up in their hearts, saying, 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 his father Zacharias was filled with the holy Spirit,
Now his father Zacharias was filled with Holy Spirit and prophesied saying:
68 and prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the Lord 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 an horn of salvation for us,
and has raised up a horn of deliverance for us in the house of His servant David
70 in the house of his servant David, as He spake by the mouth of his holy prophets from the beginning, (aiōn g165)
—just as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from antiquity— (aiōn g165)
71 even salvation 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 display his mercy towards our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant,
to use mercy with our fathers, even to remember His Holy covenant,
73 according to the oath which He sware to Abraham our father,
the oath that He swore to our father Abraham;
74 to grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him,
to grant to us (having been rescued from the hand of our enemies) to serve Him without fear,
75 all the days of our life.
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 And thou, my child, shalt be called the prophet of the most High; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord,
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 make known salvation to his people,
to give a knowledge of salvation to His people by the forgiveness of their sins,
78 in the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-spring hath visited us from on high,
through the merciful compassions of our God, with which the divine Dawn has contemplated us,
79 to enlighten them that sit 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 strong in spirit: and he was in the deserts till the time of his being manifested 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.
