Luke 1
1
1Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, 2even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, 3it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus; 4that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed.
5There was in the days of Herod, king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife 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 that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8Now it came to pass, 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 enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense. 11And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication 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 he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God. 17And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him. 18And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 19And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. 20And behold, thou shalt be silent 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 in their season. 21And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marvelled while he tarried 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: and he continued making signs unto them, and remained dumb. 23And it came to pass, when the days of his ministration were fulfilled, he departed unto his house.
24And after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25Thus hath the Lord done unto me in the days wherein he looked upon me, to take away my reproach among men.
26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee. 29But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be. 30And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor 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 Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34And 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 Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God. 36And behold, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren. 37For no word from God shall be void of power. 38And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39And Mary arose in these days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah; 40and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth. 41And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; 42and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, 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 unto me? 44For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45And blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord. 46And Mary said,
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48For he hath looked upon the low estate of his handmaid:
For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;
And holy is his name.
50And his mercy is unto generations and generations
On them that fear him.
51He hath showed strength with his arm;
He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.
52He hath put down princes from their thrones,
And hath exalted them of low degree.
53The hungry he hath filled with good things;
And the rich he hath sent empty away.
54He hath given help to Israel his servant,
That he might remember mercy
55(As he spake unto our fathers)
Toward Abraham and his seed for ever.
56And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned unto her house.
57Now Elisabeth’s time was fulfilled that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58And her neighbors and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her. 59And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have 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 made signs to his father, what he would have him called. 63And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. 64And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, blessing God. 65And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judæa. 66And all that heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,
69And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of his servant David
70(As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old),
71Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72To show mercy towards our fathers,
And to remember his holy covenant;
73The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father,
74To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
Should serve him without fear,
75In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High:
For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;
77To give knowledge of salvation unto his people
In the remission of their sins,
78Because of the tender mercy of our God,
Whereby the dayspring from on high shall visit us,
79To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
To guide our feet into the way of peace.
80And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.
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Luke 1
1
Dedication to Theophilus
1Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those #John 20:31things which have been fulfilled among us, 2just as those who #Mark 1:1; John 15:27; Acts 1:21, 22from the beginning were #Acts 1:2eyewitnesses and ministers of the word #Acts 1:3; 10:39; Heb. 2:3; 1 Pet. 5:1; 2 Pet. 1:16; 1 John 1:1delivered them to us, 3it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, #Acts 1:1most excellent Theophilus, 4#(John 20:31)that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias
5There was #Matt. 2:1in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, #1 Chr. 24:1, 10of the division of #Neh. 12:4Abijah. His #Lev. 21:13, 14wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
8So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell #Ex. 30:7, 8; 1 Chr. 23:13; 2 Chr. 29:11to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10#Lev. 16:17And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of #Ex. 30:1the altar of incense. 12And when Zacharias saw him, #Judg. 6:22; Dan. 10:8; Luke 2:9; Acts 10:4; Rev. 1:17he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and #Luke 1:57, 60, 63you shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and #Luke 1:58many will rejoice at his birth. 15For he will be #(Luke 7:24–28)great in the sight of the Lord, and #Num. 6:3; Judg. 13:4; Matt. 11:18shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, #Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15even from his mother’s womb. 16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17#Mal. 4:5, 6; Matt. 3:2; 11:14; Mark 1:4; 9:12He will also 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.”
18And Zacharias said to the angel, #Gen. 17:17“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19And the angel answered and said to him, “I am #Dan. 8:16; (Matt. 18:10); Heb. 1:4Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad #Luke 2:10tidings. 20But behold, #Ezek. 3:26; 24:27you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”
21And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. 22But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.
23So it was, as soon as #2 Kin. 11:5; 1 Chr. 9:25the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. 24Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25“Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to #Gen. 30:23; Is. 4:1; 54:1, 4take away my reproach among people.”
Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary
26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin #Matt. 1:18; Luke 2:4, 5betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And having come in, the angel said to her, #Dan. 9:23“Rejoice, highly favored one, #Judg. 6:12the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29But when she saw him, #Luke 1:12she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found #Luke 2:52favor with God. 31#Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:21, 25; Gal. 4:4And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and #Luke 2:21; (Phil. 2:9–11)shall call His name Jesus. 32He will be great, #Matt. 3:17; 17:5; Mark 5:7; Luke 1:35, 76; 6:35; Acts 7:48and will be called the Son of the Highest; and #2 Sam. 7:12, 13, 16; Ps. 132:11; (Is. 9:6, 7; 16:5; Jer. 23:5)the Lord God will give Him the #2 Sam. 7:14–17; Acts 2:33; 7:55throne of His #Matt. 1:1father David. 33#(Dan. 2:44; Obad. 21; Mic. 4:7); John 12:34; (Heb. 1:8); 2 Pet. 1:11And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35And the angel answered and said to her, #Matt. 1:20“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called #Ps. 2:7; Matt. 3:17; 14:33; 17:5; Mark 1:1; John 1:34; 20:31; Acts 8:37; (Rom. 1:1–4; Heb. 1:2, 8)the Son of God. 36Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37For #Gen. 18:14; Jer. 32:17; Matt. 19:26; Mark 10:27; Rom. 4:21with God nothing will be impossible.”
38Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, #Josh. 21:9to a city of Judah, 40and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was #Acts 6:3filled with the Holy Spirit. 42Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, #Judg. 5:24“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45#John 20:29Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
The Song of Mary
46And Mary said:
#1 Sam. 2:1–10; Ps. 34:2, 3; Hab. 3:18“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47And my spirit has #Ps. 35:9; Hab. 3:18rejoiced in #1 Tim. 1:1; 2:3; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4; Jude 25God my Savior.
48For #1 Sam. 1:11; Ps. 138:6He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth #Luke 11:27all generations will call me blessed.
49For He who is mighty #Ps. 71:19; 126:2, 3has done great things for me,
And #Ps. 111:9; Rev. 4:8holy is His name.
50And #Gen. 17:7; Ex. 20:6; 34:6, 7; Ps. 103:17His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51#Ps. 98:1; 118:15; Is. 40:10He has shown strength with His arm;
#Ps. 33:10; (1 Pet. 5:5)He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52#1 Sam. 2:7, 8He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53He has #(Matt. 5:6)filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54He has helped His #Is. 41:8servant Israel,
#Ps. 98:3; (Jer. 31:3)In remembrance of His mercy,
55#Gen. 17:19; Ps. 132:11; (Gal. 3:16)As He spoke to our #(Rom. 11:28)fathers,
To Abraham and to his #Gen. 17:7seed forever.”
56And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Birth of John the Baptist
57Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they #(Rom. 12:15)rejoiced with her.
Circumcision of John the Baptist
59So it was, #Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3; Luke 2:21; Phil. 3:5on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60His mother answered and said, #Luke 1:13, 63“No; he shall be called John.”
61But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.
63And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66And all those who heard them #Luke 2:19kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And #Gen. 39:2; Acts 11:21the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zacharias’ Prophecy
67Now his father Zacharias #Joel 2:28was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68“Blessed#1 Kin. 1:48; Ps. 106:48 is the Lord God of Israel,
For #Ex. 3:16He has visited and redeemed His people,
69#2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 132:17; Ezek. 29:21And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70#Jer. 23:5; Rom. 1:2As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been #Acts 3:21since the world began,
71That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72#Lev. 26:42To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73#Gen. 12:3; 22:16–18; (Heb. 6:13)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might #(Rom. 6:18; Heb. 9:14)serve Him without fear,
75#Jer. 32:39; (Eph. 4:24; 2 Thess. 2:13)In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76“And you, child, will be called the #Matt. 3:3; 11:9; Mark 3:2, 3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23prophet of the Highest;
For #Is. 40:3; Mal. 3:1; Matt. 11:10you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77To give #(Jer. 31:34; Mark 1:4); Luke 3:3knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79#Is. 9:2; Matt. 4:16; (Acts 26:18; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 5:14)To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To #(John 10:4; 14:27; 16:33)guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80So #Luke 2:40the child grew and became strong in spirit, and #Matt. 3:1was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.