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, which 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 Judaea, 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 Ghost, 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 marveled 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 favoured, 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 favour 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 Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called holy, 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 Ghost; 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 fulfillment 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 handmaiden: 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 shewed 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 holpen 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 neighbours 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 marveled 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 Judaea. 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 Ghost, 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 which have been since the world began), 71Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72To shew 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 shewing unto Israel.
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Luke 1: RV1885
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Luke 1
1
Why Luke wrote this book
1Many people have tried to tell the story of what God has done among us. 2They wrote what we had been told by the ones who were there in the beginning and saw what happened. 3So I made a careful study#1.3 a careful study: Or “a study from the beginning”. of everything and then decided to write and tell you exactly what took place. Honourable Theophilus, 4I have done this to let you know the truth about what you have heard.
The births of John the Baptist and Jesus
An angel tells about the birth of John
5When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest called Zechariah from the priestly group of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth was from the family of Aaron.#1.5 Aaron: The brother of Moses and the first priest.#1 Ch 24.10. 6Both of them were good people and pleased the Lord God by obeying all that he had commanded. 7But they did not have children. Elizabeth could not have any, and both Zechariah and Elizabeth were already old.
8One day Zechariah's group of priests were on duty, and he was serving God as a priest. 9According to the custom of the priests, he had been chosen to go into the Lord's temple that day and to burn incense,#1.9 burn incense: This was done twice a day, once in the morning and again in the late afternoon. 10while the people stood outside praying.
11All at once an angel from the Lord appeared to Zechariah at the right side of the altar. 12Zechariah was confused and afraid when he saw the angel. 13But the angel told him:
Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayers. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you must name him John. 14His birth will make you very happy, and many people will be glad. 15Your son will be a great servant of the Lord. He must never drink wine or beer, and the power of the Holy Spirit will be with him from the time he is born.#Nu 6.3.
16John will lead many people in Israel to turn back to the Lord their God. 17He will go ahead of the Lord with the same power and spirit that Elijah#1.17 Elijah: The prophet Elijah was known for his power to perform miracles. had. And because of John, parents will be more thoughtful of their children. And people who now disobey God will begin to think as they ought to. That is how John will get people ready for the Lord.#Ml 4.5,6.
18Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this is going to happen? My wife and I are both very old.”
19The angel answered, “I am Gabriel, God's servant, and I was sent to tell you this good news.#Dn 8.16; 9.21. 20You have not believed what I have said. So you will not be able to say a thing until all this happens. But everything will take place when it is supposed to.”
21The crowd was waiting for Zechariah and kept wondering why he was staying so long in the temple. 22When he did come out, he could not speak, and they knew he had seen a vision. He motioned to them with his hands, but did not say a thing.
23When Zechariah's time of service in the temple was over, he went home. 24Soon after that, his wife was expecting a baby, and for five months she did not leave the house. She said to herself, 25“What the Lord has done for me will keep people from looking down on me.”#1.25 keep people from looking down on me: When a married woman could not have children, it was thought that the Lord was punishing her.
An angel tells about the birth of Jesus
26One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee 27with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David.#Mt 1.18. 28The angel greeted Mary and said, “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.”
29Mary was confused by the angel's words and wondered what they meant. 30Then the angel told Mary, “Don't be afraid! God is pleased with you, 31and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus.#Mt 1.21. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was.#2 S 7.12,13,16; Is 9.7. 33He will rule the people of Israel for ever, and his kingdom will never end.”
34Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not married!”
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God's power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. 36Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. 37Nothing is impossible for God!”#Gn 18.14.
38Mary said, “I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said.” And the angel left her.
Mary visits Elizabeth
39A short time later Mary hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea. 40She went into Zechariah's home, where she greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, her baby moved within her.
The Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth. 42Then in a loud voice she said to Mary:
God has blessed you more than any other woman! He has also blessed the child you will have. 43Why should the mother of my Lord come to me? 44As soon as I heard your greeting, my baby became happy and moved within me. 45The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise.
Mary's song of praise
46Mary said:#1 S 2.1-10.
With all my heart
I praise the Lord,
47and I am glad
because of God my Saviour.
48He cares for me,#1 S 1.11.
his humble servant.
From now on,
all people will say
God has blessed me.
49God All-Powerful has done
great things for me,
and his name is holy.
50He always shows mercy
to everyone
who worships him.
51The Lord has used
his powerful arm
to scatter those
who are proud.
52He drags strong rulers#Job 5.11; 12.19.
from their thrones
and puts humble people
in places of power.
53God gives the hungry
good things to eat,
and sends the rich away
with nothing.
54He helps his servant Israel
and is always merciful
to his people.
55The Lord made this promise#Gn 17.7.
to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his family
for ever!
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she went back home.
The birth of John the Baptist
57When Elizabeth's son was born, 58her neighbours and relatives heard how kind the Lord had been to her, and they too were glad.
59Eight days later they did for the child what the Law of Moses commands.#1.59 what the Law of Moses commands: This refers to circumcision. It is the cutting off of skin from the private part of Jewish boys eight days after birth to show that they belong to the Lord. They were going to name him Zechariah, after his father.#Lv 12.3. 60But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John.”
61The people argued, “No one in your family has ever been named John.” 62So they motioned to Zechariah to find out what he wanted to name his son.
63Zechariah asked for a writing tablet. Then he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed. 64Straight away Zechariah started speaking and praising God.
65All the neighbours were frightened because of what had happened, and everywhere in the hill country people kept talking about these things. 66Everyone who heard about this wondered what this child would grow up to be. They knew that the Lord was with him.
Zechariah praises the Lord
67The Holy Spirit came upon Zechariah, and he began to speak:
68Praise the Lord,
the God of Israel!
He has come
to save his people.
69Our God has given us
a mighty Saviour#1.69 a mighty Saviour: The Greek text has “a horn of salvation”. In the Scriptures animal horns are often a symbol of great strength.
from the family
of David his servant.
70Long ago the Lord promised
by the words
of his holy prophets
71to save us from our enemies
and from everyone
who hates us.
72God said he would be kind
to our people and keep
his sacred promise.
73He told our ancestor Abraham
74that he would rescue us
from our enemies.
Then we could serve him
without fear,
75by being holy and good
as long as we live.
76You, my son, will be called#Ml 3.1.
a prophet of God
in heaven above.
You will go ahead of the Lord
to get everything ready
for him.
77You will tell his people
that they can be saved
when their sins
are forgiven.
78God's love and kindness
will shine upon us
like the sun that rises
in the sky.#1.78 like the sun that rises in the sky: Or “like the Messiah coming from heaven.”
79On us who live#Is 9.2.
in the dark shadow
of death
this light will shine
to guide us
into a life of peace.
80As John grew up, God's Spirit gave him great power. John lived in the desert until the time he was sent to the people of Israel.
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