Luke 1
1
Introduction
1 Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative concerning the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who were, from the beginning, eyewitnesses and servants of the word, have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed expedient to me also, having carefully investigated all things from the beginning, to write them down in a sequential manner for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 in order that you may know the certainty concerning the things about which you were taught.
Prophecy Regarding the Birth of John
5 It occurred that in the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest, Zechariah by name, of the priestly division of Abijah; and his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous in the presence of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. 7 But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren; and both of them were advanced in years. 8 And it occurred that, while he was serving as priest in the presence of God, in the order of his priestly division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord* to burn incense. 10 And the whole crowd of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense burning. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel* said to him, “Do not fear, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John. 14 And to you there will be joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the presence of the Lord. And he must never drink wine and strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the sons* of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go on in His presence 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 for the Lord a people who are prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “By what means will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered, saying to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you the good news of these things. 20 And behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was not able to speak to them, and they realised that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept gesturing to them, and remained mute. 23 And it turned out that when the days of his priestly service came to an end, he departed for his home.
24 Now after these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she secluded herself for five months, saying, 25 “In this manner the Lord has done for me in the days in which He looked favourably upon me, to take away my disgrace among people.”
Prophecy Regarding the Birth of Jesus
26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,** 27 to a virgin legally pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph of the house* of David. And the name of the virgin was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, you who are favoured with grace, the Lord is with you.”* 29 But she was greatly troubled at the statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not fear, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus. 32 This One will be great, and He will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,* and of His kingdom there will be no end.
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have no sexual relations with a man?” 35 And the angel answered, saying to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, Elizabeth your relative, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
38 So Mary said, “Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now in those days, Mary arose and went into the hill country with eagerness, to a town belonging to Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah, and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it turned out that when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby in her womb leaped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why should this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, as the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there will be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
The Magnificat
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit has rejoiced greatly in God my Saviour,
48 for He* has looked upon the humble state of His maidservant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will count me blessed,
49 because the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is for those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.*
51 He has done a mighty work with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled those who are hungry with good things,
and those who are rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped Israel His servant,
remembering His mercy,
55 just as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
The Birth of John
57 Now the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had greatly demonstrated His mercy to her, and they began to rejoice with her. 59 And it occurred that on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they wanted to call him by the name of his father, Zechariah. 60 But his mother answered, saying, “No, but he will be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they motioned to his father, inquiring what he would like him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, saying, “John is his name.” And they all marvelled. 64 And immediately, his mouth and his tongue were opened, and he began to speak, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard laid up these things in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be? For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.”
Zachariah’s Prophecy
67 And Zechariah, his father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and performed redemption for His people,
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David, His servant,
70 just as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times,
71 salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to display mercy to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant,
73 the oath which He swore to Abraham our father, to grant us
74 that we, having being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 And so you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 to give to His people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and
in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child was growing and becoming strong in spirit, and he was in the deserted places until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Notes
9 Some ancient manuscripts replace the genitive phrase of the Lord with another genitive phrase of God
13 Two ancient Greek manuscripts insert the genitive phrase of the Lord at this point
16 Or children, as the term is understood generically
26 Greek whose name was Nazareth
26 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the appositive phrase named Nazareth from the text
27 Some ancient manuscripts insert and lineage, likely as an interpolation from 2:4
28 Some ancient manuscripts add at this point the sentence Blessed are you among women, likely as an interpolation from v. 42
33 Greek to the ages
48 One ancient Greek manuscript replaces He with Lord
50 Greek for generations and generations
Currently Selected:
Luke 1: AFINTLIT
Highlight
Copy
Compare
Share
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
