Luke 1
1
Luke 1
1¶ Forasmuch as many have attempted to set forth in order the history of those things which among us have been most certain,
2even as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning taught us and thus were ministers of the word,
3it seemed good also to me, after having understood all the things from the beginning with great diligence, to write them unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4that thou mightest know the security of those things in which thou hast been instructed.
5¶ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.
7And they had no child because Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years.
8And it came to pass that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
9according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense entering into the temple of the Lord.
10And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense.
11And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13But 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.
14And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
16And he shall turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.
17And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the rebellious to the prudence of the just, to make ready a prepared people for the Lord.
18And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.
19And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee and to show thee this gospel.
20And, behold, thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou didst not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
21And the people waited for Zacharias and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
22And when he came out, he could not speak unto them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he communicated with signs and remained speechless.
23And it came to pass that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
24And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived and hid herself five months, saying,
25Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
26¶ And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth
27to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou that art much graced, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.
29And when she saw him, she was troubled at his words and wondered in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30Then the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
31And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus.
32He 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;
33and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34Then Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36And, behold, thy relative Elisabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37For with God nothing is impossible.
38Then Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39¶ And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda
40and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth.
41And it came to pass that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit;
42and she spoke out with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44For, behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
46Then Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,
47and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saving Health,
48for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; for, behold, from now on all generations shall call me blessed.
49For he that is mighty has done great things unto me, and holy is his name.
50And his mercy is on those that fear him from generation to generation.
51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.
54He has received his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy
55as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever.
56And Mary abode with her about three months and then returned to her own house.
57¶ Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered and she brought forth a son.
58And her neighbours and her relatives heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her, and they rejoiced with her.
59And it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him Zacharias after the name of his father.
60And his mother answered and said, Not so, but he shall be called John.
61And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62And they communicated with signs to his father, asking how he would have him called.
63And he asked for a writing table and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marvelled.
64And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke blessing God.
65And fear came on all that dwelt round about them, and all these things were spoken of throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
66And all those that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, Who shall this child be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67¶ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and made redemption for his people
69And has raised up a horn of saving health for us in the house of his servant David,
70as he spoke by the mouth of the saints who from the beginning were his prophets;
71salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us;
72to fulfill mercy unto our fathers and remembering his holy covenant
73of the oath which he made to our father Abraham,
74that he would grant unto us, that without fear delivered out of the hand of our enemies, we might serve him
75in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76And thou, child, shalt be called prophet of the Most High, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
77giving knowledge of saving health unto his people for the remission of their sins
78through the bowels of mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us
79to give light to those that dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.
80And the child grew and was comforted of the Spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.
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Luke 1: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Luke (Luk) 1
1
1Dear Theophilos:
Concerning the matters that have taken place among us, many people have undertaken to draw up accounts 2based on what was handed down to us by those who from the start were eyewitnesses and proclaimers of the message. 3Therefore, Your Excellency, since I have carefully investigated all these things from the beginning, it seemed good to me that I too should write you an accurate and ordered narrative, 4so that you might know how well-founded are the things about which you have been taught.
5In the days of Herod, King of Y’hudah, there was a cohen named Z’kharyah who belonged to the Aviyah division. His wife was a descendant of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva. 6Both of them were righteous before God, observing all the mitzvot and ordinances of Adonai blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because Elisheva was barren; and they were both well along in years.
8One time, when Z’kharyah was fulfilling his duties as cohen during his division’s period of service before God, 9he was chosen by lot (according to the custom among the cohanim) to enter the Temple and burn incense. 10All the people were outside, praying, at the time of the incense burning, 11when there appeared to him an angel of Adonai standing to the right of the incense altar. 12Z’kharyah was startled and terrified at the sight. 13But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Z’kharyah; because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elisheva will bear you a son, and you are to name him Yochanan. 14He will be a joy and a delight to you, and many people will rejoice when he is born, 15for he will be great in the sight of Adonai. He is never to drink wine or other liquor, and he will be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh even from his mother’s womb. 16He will turn many of the people of Isra’el to Adonai their God. 17He will go out ahead of Adonai in the spirit and power of Eliyahu to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready for Adonai a people prepared.”
18Z’kharyah said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man; my wife too is well on in years.” 19“I am Gavri’el,” the angel answered him, “and I stand in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, to give you this good news. 20Now, because you didn’t believe what I said, which will be fulfilled when the time comes, you will be silent, unable to speak until the day these things take place.”
21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Z’kharyah; they were surprised at his taking so long in the Temple. 22But when he came out unable to talk to them, they realized that he had seen a vision in the Temple; speechless, he communicated to them with signs.
23When his period of his Temple service was over, he returned home. 24Following this, Elisheva his wife conceived, and she remained five months in seclusion, saying, 25“Adonai has done this for me; he has shown me favor at this time, so as to remove my public disgrace.”
26In the sixth month, the angel Gavri’el was sent by God to a city in the Galil called Natzeret, 27to a virgin engaged to a man named Yosef, of the house of David; the virgin’s name was Miryam. 28Approaching her, the angel said, “Shalom, favored lady! Adonai is with you!” 29She was deeply troubled by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Miryam, for you have found favor with God. 31Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua. 32He will be great, he will be called Son of Ha‘Elyon. Adonai, God, will give him the throne of his forefather David; 33and he will rule the House of Ya‘akov forever — there will be no end to his Kingdom.” 34“How can this be,” asked Miryam of the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35The angel answered her,
“The Ruach HaKodesh will come over you,
the power of Ha‘Elyon will cover you.
Therefore the holy child born to you
will be called the Son of God.
36“You have a relative, Elisheva, who is an old woman; and everyone says she is barren. But she has conceived a son and is six months pregnant! 37For with God, nothing is impossible.” 38Miryam said, “I am the servant of Adonai; may it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
39Without delay, Miryam set out and hurried to the town in the hill country of Y’hudah 40where Z’kharyah lived, entered his house and greeted Elisheva. 41When Elisheva heard Miryam’s greeting, the baby in her womb stirred. Elisheva was filled with the Ruach HaKodesh 42and spoke up in a loud voice,
“How blessed are you among women!
And how blessed is the child in your womb!
43“But who am I, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy! 45Indeed you are blessed, because you have trusted that the promise Adonai has made to you will be fulfilled.”
46Then Miryam said,
“My soul magnifies Adonai;
47and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior,
48who has taken notice of his servant-girl
in her humble position.
For — imagine it! — from now on, all generations will call me blessed!
49“The Mighty One has done great things for me!
Indeed, his name is holy; 50and in every generation
he has mercy on those who fear him.
51“He has performed mighty deeds with his arm,
routed the secretly proud,
52brought down rulers from their thrones,
raised up the humble,
53filled the hungry with good things,
but sent the rich away empty.
54“He has taken the part of his servant Isra’el,
mindful of the mercy
55which he promised to our fathers,
to Avraham and his seed forever.”
56Miryam stayed with Elisheva for about three months and then returned home.
57The time arrived for Elisheva to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard how good Adonai had been to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59On the eighth day, they came to do the child’s b’rit-milah. They were about to name him Z’kharyah, after his father, 60when his mother spoke up and said, “No, he is to be called Yochanan.” 61They said to her, “None of your relatives has that name,” 62and they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. 63He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is Yochanan.” 64At that moment, his power of speech returned, and his first words were a b’rakhah to God. 65All their neighbors were awestruck; and throughout the hill country of Y’hudah, people talked about all these things. 66Everyone who heard of them said to himself, “What is this child going to be?” For clearly the hand of Adonai was with him.
67His father Z’kharyah was filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and spoke this prophecy:
68“Praised be Adonai, the God of Isra’el,
because he has visited and made a ransom to liberate his people
69by raising up for us a mighty Deliverer
who is a descendant of his servant David.
70It is just as he has spoken
through the mouth of the prophets from the very beginning —
71that we should be delivered from our enemies
and from the power of all who hate us.
72“This has happened so that he might show
the mercy promised to our fathers —
that he would remember his holy covenant,
73the oath he swore before Avraham avinu
74to grant us that we, freed from our enemies,
would serve him without fear,
75in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
76You, child, will be called a prophet of Ha‘Elyon;
you will go before the Lord to prepare his way
77by spreading the knowledge among his people
that deliverance comes by having sins forgiven
78through our God’s most tender mercy,
which causes the Sunrise to visit us from Heaven,
79to shine on those in darkness, living in the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the paths of peace.”
80The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the wilderness until the time came for him to appear in public to Isra’el.
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