Luke 1
1
1Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, 2even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us, 3it 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; 4that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisheva. 6They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. 7But they had no child, because Elisheva was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
8 Now while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division 9according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elisheva, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Yochanan. 14You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15For 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. 16He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’#Malachi 4:6 and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah 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 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. 20Behold,#1:20 “Behold”, from “ἰδοὺ”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection. 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.”
21 The people were waiting for Zechariah, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute. 23When the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. 24After these days Elisheva his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, 25“Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”
26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Miriam. 28Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Miriam, for you have found favor with God. 31Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Yeshua.’ 32He 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, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
34Miriam said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
35 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. 36Behold, Elisheva your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”#1:37 or, “For everything spoken by God is possible.”
38Miriam said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
39Miriam arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40and entered into the house of Zechariah and greeted Elisheva. 41When Elisheva heard Miriam’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elisheva was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! 45Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”
46Miriam said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord.
47 My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
49 For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
51 He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring#1:55 or, seed forever.”
56Miriam stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.
57 Now the time that Elisheva should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. 59On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zechariah, after the name of his father. 60His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called Yochanan.”
61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.
63 He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is Yochanan.”
They all marveled. 64His mouth was opened immediately and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him.
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people;
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
74 to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 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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PUBLIC DOMAIN
Luke 1
1
Luke Writes About Jesus’ Life
1Many have tried to report on the things that happened among us. 2They have written the same things that we learned from others—the people who saw those things from the beginning and served God by telling people his message. 3Since I myself have studied everything carefully from the beginning, most excellent Theophilus, it seemed good for me to write it out for you. I arranged it in order, 4to help you know that what you have been taught is true.
Zechariah and Elizabeth
5During the time Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to Abijah’s group. Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, came from the family of Aaron. 6Zechariah and Elizabeth truly did what God said was good. They did everything the Lord commanded and were without fault in keeping his law. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old.
8One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, because his group was on duty. 9According to the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10There were a great many people outside praying at the time the incense was offered. 11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing on the right side of the incense table. 12When he saw the angel, Zechariah was startled and frightened. 13But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son, and you will name him John. 14He will bring you joy and gladness, and many people will be happy because of his birth. 15John will be a great man for the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer, and even from birth, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16He will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God. 17He will go before the Lord in spirit and power like Elijah. He will make peace between parents and their children and will bring those who are not obeying God back to the right way of thinking, to make a people ready for the coming of the Lord.”
18Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is old, too.”
19The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand before God, who sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. 20Now, listen! You will not be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe what I told you. But they will really happen.”
21Outside, the people were still waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he was staying so long in the Temple. 22When Zechariah came outside, he could not speak to them, and they knew he had seen a vision in the Temple. He could only make signs to them and remained unable to speak. 23When his time of service at the Temple was finished, he went home.
24Later, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and did not go out of her house for five months. Elizabeth said, 25“Look what the Lord has done for me! My people were ashamed of me, but now the Lord has taken away that shame.”
An Angel Appears to Mary
26During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. 28The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.”
29But Mary was very startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean.
30The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace. 31Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. 33He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
34Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?”
35The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. 36Now Elizabeth, your relative, is also pregnant with a son though she is very old. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. 37God can do anything!”
38Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hills of Judea. 40She came to Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42She cried out in a loud voice, “God has blessed you more than any other woman, and he has blessed the baby to which you will give birth. 43Why has this good thing happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44When I heard your voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy. 45You are blessed because you believed that what the Lord said to you would really happen.”
Mary Praises God
46Then Mary said,
“My soul praises the Lord;
47my heart rejoices in God my Savior,
48because he has shown his concern for his humble servant girl.
From now on, all people will say that I am blessed,
49because the Powerful One has done great things for me.
His name is holy.
50God will show his mercy forever and ever
to those who worship and serve him.
51He has done mighty deeds by his power.
He has scattered the people who are proud
and think great things about themselves.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
and raised up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with nothing.
54He has helped his servant, the people of Israel,
remembering to show them mercy
55as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his children forever.”
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
The Birth of John
57When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she had a boy. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard how good the Lord was to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59When the baby was eight days old, they came to circumcise him. They wanted to name him Zechariah because this was his father’s name, 60but his mother said, “No! He will be named John.”
61The people said to Elizabeth, “But no one in your family has this name.” 62Then they made signs to his father to find out what he would like to name him.
63Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John,” and everyone was surprised. 64Immediately Zechariah could talk again, and he began praising God. 65All their neighbors became alarmed, and in all the mountains of Judea people continued talking about all these things. 66The people who heard about them wondered, saying, “What will this child be?” because the Lord was with him.
Zechariah Praises God
67Then Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68“Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to help his people and has given them freedom.
69He has given us a powerful Savior
from the family of God’s servant David.
70He said that he would do this
through his holy prophets who lived long ago:
71He promised he would save us from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
72He said he would give mercy to our ancestors
and that he would remember his holy promise.
73God promised Abraham, our father,
74that he would save us from the power of our enemies
so we could serve him without fear,
75being holy and good before God as long as we live.
76“Now you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
77You will make his people know that they will be saved
by having their sins forgiven.
78With the loving mercy of our God,
a new day from heaven will dawn upon us.
79It will shine on those who live in darkness,
in the shadow of death.
It will guide us into the path of peace.”
80And so the child grew up and became strong in spirit. John lived in the desert until the time when he came out to preach to Israel.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.