Luke 1
1
1 Since, indeed, many have attempted to set in order a narrative of the things that have been completed among us,
2 just as they have been handed on to those of us who from the beginning saw the same and were ministers of the word,
3 so it seemed good to me also, having diligently followed everything from the beginning, to write to you, in an orderly manner, most excellent Theophilus,
4 so that you might know the truthfulness of those words by which you have been instructed.
5 There was, in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the section of Abijah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 Now they were both just before God, progressing in all of the commandments and the justifications of the Lord without blame.
7 And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both had become advanced in years.
8 Then it happened that, when he was exercising the priesthood before God, in the order of his section,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, the lot fell so that he would offer incense, entering into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the entire multitude of the people was praying outside, at the hour of incense.
11 Then there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord, standing at the right of the altar of incense.
12 And upon seeing him, Zechariah was disturbed, and fear fell over him.
13 But the Angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son to you. And you shall call his name John.
14 And there will be joy and exultation for you, and many will rejoice in his nativity.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
16 And he will convert many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go before him with the spirit and power of Elijah, so that he may turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons, and the incredulous to the prudence of the just, so as to prepare for the Lord a completed people."
18 And Zechariah said to the Angel: "How may I know this? For I am elderly, and my wife is advanced in years."
19 And in response, the Angel said to him: "I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I have been sent to speak to you, and to proclaim these things to you.
20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak, until the day on which these things shall be, because you have not believed my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."
21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah. And they wondered why he was being delayed in the temple.
22 Then, when he came out, he was unable to speak to them. And they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he was making signs to them, but he remained mute.
23 And it happened that, after the days of his office were completed, he went away to his house.
24 Then, after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she hid herself for five months, saying:
25 "For the Lord did this for me, at the time when he decided to take away my reproach among men."
26 Then, in the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent by God, to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary.
28 And upon entering, the Angel said to her: "Hail, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women."
29 And when she had heard this, she was disturbed by his words, and she considered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 And the Angel said to her: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God.
31 Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and you shall bear a son, and you shall call his name: JESUS.
32 He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. And he will reign in the house of Jacob for eternity.
33 And his kingdom shall have no end."
34 Then Mary said to the Angel, "How shall this be done, since I do not know man?"
35 And in response, the Angel said to her: "The Holy Spirit will pass over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And because of this also, the Holy One who will be born of you shall be called the Son of God.
36 And behold, your cousin Elizabeth has herself also conceived a son, in her old age. And this is the sixth month for her who is called barren.
37 For no word will be impossible with God."
38 Then Mary said: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word." And the Angel departed from her.
39 And in those days, Mary, rising up, traveled quickly into the hill country, to a city of Judah.
40 And she entered into the house of Zechariah, and she greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it happened that, as Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
43 And how does this concern me, so that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
44 For behold, as the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
45 And blessed are you who believed, for the things that were spoken to you by the Lord shall be accomplished."
46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord.
47 And my spirit leaps for joy in God my Saviour.
48 For he has looked with favor on the humility of his handmaid. For behold, from this time, all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he who is great has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is from generation to generations for those who fear him.
51 He has accomplished powerful deeds with his arm. He has scattered the arrogant in the intentions of their heart.
52 He has deposed the powerful from their seat, and he has exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has taken up his servant Israel, mindful of his mercy,
55 just as he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his offspring forever."
56 Then Mary stayed with her for about three months. And she returned to her own house.
57 Now the time for Elizabeth to give birth arrived, and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy with her, and so they congratulated her.
59 And it happened that, on the eighth day, they arrived to circumcise the boy, and they called him by his father's name, Zechariah.
60 And in response, his mother said: "Not so. Instead, he shall be called John."
61 And they said to her, "But there is no one among your relatives who is called by that name."
62 Then they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him to be called.
63 And requesting a writing tablet, he wrote, saying: "His name is John." And they all wondered.
64 Then, at once, his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosened, and he spoke, blessing God.
65 And fear fell upon all of their neighbors. And all these words were made known throughout all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all those who heard it stored it up in their heart, saying: "What do you think this boy will be?" And indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit. And he prophesied, saying:
68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel. For he has visited and has wrought the redemption of his people.
69 And he has raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of David his servant,
70 just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy Prophets, who are from ages past:
71 salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all those who hate us,
72 to accomplish mercy with our fathers, and to call to mind his holy testament,
73 the oath, which he swore to Abraham, our father, that he would grant to us,
74 so that, having been freed from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and in justice before him, throughout all our days.
76 And you, child, shall be called the 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 for the remission of their sins,
78 through the heart of the mercy of our God, by which, descending from on high, he has visited us,
79 to illuminate those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to direct our feet in the way of peace."
80 And the child grew, and he was strengthened in spirit. And he was in the wilderness, until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
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Luke 1: CPDV
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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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