Luke 1
1
1Seeing that many did take in hand to set in order a narration of the matters that have been fully assured among us,
2as they did deliver to us, who from the beginning became eye-witnesses, and officers of the Word, —
3it seemed good also to me, having followed from the first after all things exactly, to write to thee in order, most noble Theophilus,
4that thou mayest know the certainty of the things wherein thou wast instructed.
5There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elisabeth;
6and they were both righteous before God, going on in all the commands and righteousnesses of the Lord blameless,
7and they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.
8And it came to pass, in his acting as priest, in the order of his course before God,
9according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot was to make perfume, having gone into the sanctuary of the Lord,
10and all the multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of the perfume.
11And there appeared to him a messenger of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of the perfume,
12and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him;
13and the messenger said unto him, ‘Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John,
14and there shall be joy to thee, and gladness, and many at his birth shall joy,
15for he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and strong drink he may not drink, and of the Holy Spirit he shall be full, even from his mother's womb;
16and many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God,
17and he shall go before Him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers unto children, and disobedient ones to the wisdom of righteous ones, to make ready for the Lord, a people prepared.’
18And Zacharias said unto the messenger, ‘Whereby shall I know this? for I am aged, and my wife is advanced in her days?’
19And the messenger answering said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who have been standing near before God, and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to proclaim these good news to thee,
20and lo, thou shalt be silent, and not able to speak, till the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou didst not believe my words, that shall be fulfilled in their season.’
21And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and wondering at his tarrying in the sanctuary,
22and having come out, he was not able to speak to them, and they perceived that a vision he had seen in the sanctuary, and he was beckoning to them, and did remain dumb.
23And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he went away to his house,
24and after those days, his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying —
25‘Thus hath the Lord done to me, in days in which He looked upon [me], to take away my reproach among men.’
26And in the sixth month was the messenger Gabriel sent by God, to a city of Galilee, the name of which [is] Nazareth,
27to a virgin, betrothed to a man, whose name [is] Joseph, of the house of David, and the name of the virgin [is] Mary.
28And the messenger having come in unto her, said, ‘Hail, favoured one, the Lord [is] with thee; blessed [art] thou among women;’
29and she, having seen, was troubled at his word, and was reasoning of what kind this salutation may be.
30And the messenger said to her, ‘Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God;
31and lo, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus;
32he shall be great, and Son of the Highest he shall be called, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father,
33and he shall reign over the house of Jacob to the ages; and of his reign there shall be no end.’
34And Mary said unto the messenger, ‘How shall this be, seeing a husband I do not know?’
35And the messenger answering said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also the holy-begotten thing shall be called Son of God;
36and lo, Elisabeth, thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her who was called barren;
37because nothing shall be impossible with God.’
38And Mary said, ‘Lo, the maid-servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to thy saying,’ and the messenger went away from her.
39And Mary having arisen in those days, went to the hill-country, with haste, to a city of
40and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
41And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe did leap in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
42and spake out with a loud voice, 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 might come unto me?
44for, lo, when the voice of thy salutation came to my ears, leap in gladness did the babe in my womb;
45and happy [is] she who did believe, for there shall be a completion to the things spoken to her from the Lord.’
46And Mary said, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47And my spirit was glad on God my Saviour,
48Because He looked on the lowliness of His maid-servant, For, lo, henceforth call me happy shall all the generations,
49For He who is mighty did to me great things, And holy [is] His name,
50And His kindness [is] to generations of generations, To those fearing Him,
51He did powerfully with His arm, He scattered abroad the proud in the thought of their heart,
52He brought down the mighty from thrones, And He exalted the lowly,
53The hungry He did fill with good, And the rich He sent away empty,
54He received again Israel His servant, To remember kindness,
55As He spake unto our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed — to the age.’
56And Mary remained with her about three months, and turned back to her house.
57And to Elisabeth was the time fulfilled for her bringing forth, and she bare a son,
58and the neighbours and her kindred heard that the Lord was making His kindness great with her, and they were rejoicing with her.
59And it came to pass, on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they were calling him by the name of his father, Zacharias,
60and his mother answering said, ‘No, but he shall be called John.’
61And they said unto her — ‘There is none among thy kindred who is called by this name,’
62and they were making signs to his father, what he would wish him to be called,
63and having asked for a tablet, he wrote, saying, ‘John is his name;’ and they did all wonder;
64and his mouth was opened presently, and his tongue, and he was speaking, praising God.
65And fear came upon all those dwelling around them, and in all the hill-country of Judea were all these sayings spoken of,
66and all who heard did lay them up in their hearts, saying, ‘What then shall this child be?’ and the hand of the Lord was with him.
67And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and did prophesy, saying,
68‘Blessed [is] the Lord, the God of Israel, Because He did look upon, And wrought redemption for His people,
69And did raise an horn of salvation to us, In the house of David His servant,
70As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, Which have been from the age;
71Salvation from our enemies, And out of the hand of all hating us,
72To do kindness with our fathers, And to be mindful of His holy covenant,
73An oath that He sware to Abraham our father,
74To give to us, without fear, Out of the hand of our enemies having been delivered,
75To serve Him, in holiness and righteousness Before Him, all the days of our life.
76And thou, child, Prophet of the Highest Shalt thou be called; For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, To prepare His ways.
77To give knowledge of salvation to His people In remission of their sins,
78Through the tender mercies of our God, In which the rising from on high did look upon us,
79To give light to those sitting in darkness and death-shade, To guide our feet to a way of peace.’
80And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
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Luke 1: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Luke 1
1
The Dedication to Theophilus
1Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled#1:1 Or events that have been accomplished, or events most surely believed among us,#Rm 4:21; 14:5; Col 2:2; 4:12; 1Th 1:5; 2Tm 4:17; Heb 6:11; 10:22 2just as the original eyewitnesses#Jn 15:27; Ac 1:21; 2Pt 1:16; 1Jn 1:1 and servants of the word#Ac 26:16; 1Co 4:1; Heb 2:3 handed them down to us. 3So it also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable#Ac 23:26; 24:3; 26:25 Theophilus,#Ac 1:1 4so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.#1:4 Or informed#Ac 18:25; Rm 2:18; 1Co 14:19; Gl 6:6
Gabriel Predicts John’s Birth
5In the days of King Herod#Mt 2:1 of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division#1Ch 24:10 named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6Both were righteous in God’s sight,#Gn 7:1; Ac 2:25; 8:21 living without blame#Php 2:15; 3:6; 1Th 3:13 according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord. 7But they had no children because Elizabeth could not conceive, and both of them were well along in years.#Gn 4:1; 18:11; Jdg 13:2–3; 1Sm 1:2; 2:20; Ps 113:9; 127:3–5; Heb 11:11–12
8When his division was on duty#1Ch 24:19; 2Ch 8:14; 31:2 and he was serving as priest before God, 9it happened that he was chosen by lot,#Jos 18:6,8,10; 1Ch 24:31; 25:8; 26:13–14; Neh 10:34; 11:1; Ac 1:26 according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense.#Ex 30:7–8 10At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11An angel of the Lord#Mt 2:13–14; 28:2; Lk 2:9; Ac 5:19; 8:26; 12:7 appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.#Mk 16:5; Ac 2:33 12When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear.#Gn 21:17; Jdg 6:22–23; 2Kg 1:15; Mt 1:20; 28:5; Lk 2:10; Ac 10:3–4; 27:23–24 13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid,#Gn 15:1; Mt 14:27; Lk 1:30 Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard.#Gn 25:21; 1Kg 8:45,49; 2Kg 20:5; Ps 6:9; Is 38:5 Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.#Gn 16:11; 17:15,19; Is 8:3; Hs 1:4,9; Mt 1:20,23; Lk 1:60,63 14There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer.#Nm 6:3; Jdg 13:3–5; Mt 11:18; Lk 7:33 He will be filled with the Holy Spirit#Ex 28:3; 31:3; 35:31; Dt 34:9; Mc 3:8; Lk 1:41,67; Ac 2:4; 4:8,31; 7:55; 9:17; 13:9; 13:52; Eph 5:18 while still in his mother’s womb.#Is 44:2; Lk 1:41,44 16He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.#Ps 22:27; Lm 3:40 17And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children,#Mal 4:5–6; Mt 11:14; 17:10–12 and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”#Is 40:3; Lk 1:76; 3:4
18“How can I know this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
19The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel,#Dn 8:16; 9:21; Lk 1:26 who stands in the presence of God,#Mt 18:10 and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. 20Now listen. You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. 22When he did come out, he could not speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was making signs to them#Lk 1:62 and remained speechless. 23When the days of his ministry were completed, he went back home.
24After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived and kept herself in seclusion for five months. She said, 25“The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor in these days to take away my disgrace#Gn 30:23; Is 4:1; 25:8 among the people.”
Gabriel Predicts Jesus’s Birth
26In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel#Lk 1:19 was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,#Mt 2:23 27to a virgin engaged#1:27 Lit betrothed#Dt 21:23; Is 7:14; Mt 1:18,23 to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.#Mt 1:20; Lk 2:4 The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”#1:28 Other mss add Blessed are you among women. 29But she was deeply troubled#Lk 1:12 by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary,#Mt 14:27; Lk 1:13 for you have found favor with God.#Gn 6:8; Ex 33:12–17; Jr 31:2 31Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.#Is 7:14; Mt 1:21,25; Lk 2:21 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High,#Lk 1:35,76; 3:38; 6:35; 8:28; 9:35; Jn 1:34,49; 11:27; Ac 7:48 and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.#2Sm 7:12–13; 1Kg 2:12; Ps 132:11; Is 9:7; Jr 33:17; Mk 11:10 33He will reign over the house of Jacob#Ex 19:3; Ps 114:1; Is 14:1; 29:22; 46:3 forever, and his kingdom will have no end.” #Is 9:6 LXX; Dn 7:14
34Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” #1:34 Lit since I do not know a man
35The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,#Mt 1:18 and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.#Mt 14:33; Lk 4:3,9,41; 22:70 36And consider your relative Elizabeth — even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.”#Gn 18:14; Lk 18:27
38“See, I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth
39In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah 40where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.#Lk 1:67; Ac 2:4; 4:8; 9:17; 13:9 42Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed!#1:42 Lit and the fruit of your abdomen (or womb) is blessed 43How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me. 45Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!”
Mary’s Praise
46And Mary said:
My soul magnifies the Lord,#1Sm 2:1–10
47and my spirit rejoices#Ps 35:9; Hab 3:18 in God my Savior,#1Tm 1:1; 2:3; Ti 1:3; 2:10; 3:4; Jd 25
48because he has looked with favor
on the humble condition of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,#Lk 11:27
49because the Mighty One#Ps 89:8; Zph 3:17
has done great things for me,#Ps 71:19; 126:2–3
and his name#Lv 20:3; 22:2,32; 1Ch 16:10,35; 29:16; Ps 30:4; 99:3; 103:1; 111:9; Is 57:15 is holy.
50His mercy is from generation to generation#Ps 100:5; 103:11,17
on those who fear him.
51He has done a mighty deed with his arm;#Ps 89:10; 98:1; 118:15
he has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;#Lk 2:35; 9:47
52he has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.#1Sm 2:7–8
53He has satisfied the hungry with good things#Ps 34:10; 107:9; Lk 6:21,24–25
and sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy
55to Abraham and his descendants#1:55 Or offspring; lit seed forever,#Gn 17:9,15; 21:12
just as he spoke to our ancestors.
56And Mary stayed with her about three months; then she returned to her home.
The Birth and Naming of John
57Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son. 58Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her his great mercy,#Gn 19:19 and they rejoiced with her.
59When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day,#Gn 17:12; Lv 12:3; Lk 2:21; Php 3:5 they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60But his mother responded, “No. He will be called John.”#Lk 1:13,63
61Then they said to her, “None of your relatives has that name.” 62So they motioned to his father#Lk 1:22 to find out what he wanted him to be called. 63He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. 64Immediately his mouth was opened#Lk 1:20 and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. 66All who heard about him#Ac 11:21 took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit#Lk 1:41 and prophesied:#Jl 2:28
68Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,#Ps 41:13
because he has visited
and provided redemption for his people.#Lk 1:71; 2:38; Heb 9:12
69He has raised up a horn of salvation for us#1Sm 2:1,10; Ps 18:2; 89:17; 132:17; Ezk 29:21
in the house of his servant David,#2Sm 7:26; Ps 89:3,20; Ezk 34:23–24; 37:24–25
70just as he spoke by the mouth
of his holy prophets in ancient times;#2Kg 21:10; Hs 12:10; Ac 3:21; Rm 1:2; Heb 1:1
71salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of those who hate us.
72He has dealt mercifully with our ancestors#Mc 7:20
and remembered his holy covenant#Ps 105:8–9,42; 106:45 —
73the oath that he swore to our father Abraham,#Gn 22:16–17; Heb 6:13
to grant that we,
74having been rescued
from the hand of our enemies,
would serve him without fear
75in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.
76And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High,#Mt 11:9
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare his ways,#Lk 1:17; Is 40:3; Mal 3:1
77to give his people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.#Jr 31:34; Mk 1:4
78Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the dawn from on high#Is 58:8; Jr 23:5; Zch 3:8; 6:12 LXX; Mal 4:2; Lk 24:49; Eph 4:8; 2Pt 1:19 will visit us
79to shine on those who live in darkness
and the shadow of death,#Is 9:2; 60:2–3
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80The child grew up and became strong in spirit,#1:80 Or strong in the Spirit#Lk 2:40 and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
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