Luke 1
Introduction
Since many have undertaken
to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been
fulfilled among us, even
as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word
delivered them to us, it
seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately
from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;
that you might know the
certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
There was in the days
of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the
priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and
her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before
God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the
Lord. But they had no
child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in
years. Now it happened,
while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his
division, according to the
custom of the priest's office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the
Lord and burn incense. The whole multitude of the people
were praying outside at the hour of incense.
An angel of the Lord
appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Zacharias was troubled
when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him,
"Don't be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and
your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name
John. You will have joy
and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight
of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled
with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. He will turn many of the children
of Israel to the Lord, their God. 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 to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord."
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."
The angel answered
him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to
speak to you, and to bring you this good news. Behold, you will be silent and
not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because
you didn't believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper
time."
The people were
waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple.
When he came out, he
could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in
the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute. It happened, when the days of his
service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. After these days Elizabeth, his
wife, conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, "Thus has the Lord done to
me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among
men."
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
Now in the sixth
month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named
Nazareth, to a virgin
pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of
David. The virgin's name was Mary. Having come in, the angel said to
her, "Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed
are you among women!"
But when she saw him,
she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of
salutation this might be. The angel said to her,
"Don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your
womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name 'Jesus.' He will be great, and will be
called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of
his father, David, and he
will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his
Kingdom."
Mary said to the
angel, "How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?"
The angel answered
her, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you
will be called the Son of God. Behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with
her who was called barren. For everything spoken by God is
possible."
Mary said,
"Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your
word."
The angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
Mary arose in those days and went
into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, and entered into the house of
Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. It happened, when Elizabeth heard
Mary's greeting, that the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit. She called out with a loud voice,
and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of
your womb! Why am I so
favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of
your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!
Blessed is she who
believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been
spoken to her from the Lord!"
Mary's Song
Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has
rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at
the humble state of his handmaid.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty
has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for
generations of generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength
with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.
He has put down
princes from their thrones.
And has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the
hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to
Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
As he spoke to our
fathers,
to Abraham and his seed forever."
Mary stayed with her
about three months, and then returned to her house.
The Birth of John the Baptist
Now the time that Elizabeth
should give birth was fulfilled, and she brought forth a son. Her neighbors and her relatives
heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced
with her. It happened on
the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would
have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father. His mother answered, "Not
so; but he will be called John."
They said to her,
"There is no one among your relatives who is called by this
name." They made
signs to his father, what he would have him called.
He asked for a writing
tablet, and wrote, "His name is John."
They all marveled. His
mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing
God. Fear came on all who
lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all
the hill country of Judea. All who heard them laid them up
in their heart, saying, "What then will this child be?" The hand
of the Lord was with him.
Zechariah's Song
His father, Zacharias, was filled
with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
"Blessed be the
Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and worked redemption for his people;
and has raised up a
horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he spoke by the
mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
salvation from our
enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy towards
our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he
spoke to Abraham, our father,
to grant to us that
we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
In holiness and
righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will
be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways,
to give knowledge of
salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender
mercy of our God,
whereby the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who
sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way of peace."
The child was growing,
and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his
public appearance to Israel.
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