Luke 1

¹Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us ,

²just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us ,

³it seemed good to me also , having followed all things closely for some time past , to write an orderly account for you , most excellent Theophilus ,

⁴that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught .

⁵In the days of Herod , king of Judea , there was a priest named Zechariah , of the division of Abijah . And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron , and her name was Elizabeth .

⁶And they were both righteous before God , walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord .

⁷But they had no child , because Elizabeth was barren , and both were advanced in years .

⁸Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty ,

⁹according to the custom of the priesthood , he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense .

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense .

¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense .

¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him .

¹³But the angel said to him , Do not be afraid , Zechariah , for your prayer has been heard , and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son , and you shall call his name John .

¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness , and many will rejoice at his birth ,

¹⁵for he will be great before the Lord . And he must not drink wine or drink , and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit , even from his mother’s womb .

¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God ,

¹⁷and he will go before him 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 prepared .

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel , How shall I know this ? For I am an old man , and my wife is advanced in years .

¹⁹And the angel answered him , I am Gabriel . I stand in the presence of God , and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news .

²⁰And behold , you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place , because you did not believe my words , which will be fulfilled in their time .

²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah , and they were wondering at his delay in the temple .

²²And 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 kept making signs to them and remained mute .

²³And when his time of service was ended , he went to his home .

²⁴After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived , and for five months she kept herself hidden , saying ,

²⁵Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people .

²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to 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 to her and said , Greetings , O favored one , the Lord is with you !

²⁹But she was greatly troubled at the saying , and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be .

³⁰And the angel said to her , Do not be afraid , Mary , for you have found favor with God .

³¹And behold , you will conceive in your womb and bear a son , and you shall call his name Jesus .

³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High . And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David ,

³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever , and of his kingdom there will be no end .

³⁴And Mary said to the angel , How will this be , since I am a virgin ?

³⁵And the angel answered her , The Holy Spirit will come upon you , and the power of the Most High will overshadow you ; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God .

³⁶And behold , your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son , and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren .

³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God .

³⁸And Mary said , Behold , I am the servant of the Lord ; let it be to me according to your word . And the angel departed from her .

³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country , to a town in Judah ,

⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth .

⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary , the baby leaped in her womb . And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ,

⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry , Blessed are you among women , and blessed is the fruit of your womb !

⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me ?

⁴⁴For behold , when the sound of your greeting came to my ears , the baby in my womb leaped for joy .

⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord .

⁴⁶And Mary said , My soul magnifies the Lord ,

⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior ,

⁴⁸for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant . For behold , from now on all generations will call me blessed ;

⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me , and holy is his name .

⁵⁰And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation .

⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm ; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts ;

⁵²he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate ;

⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things , and the rich he has sent away empty .

⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel , in remembrance of his mercy ,

⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers , to Abraham and to his offspring forever .

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home .

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth , and she bore a son .

⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her , and they rejoiced with her .

⁵⁹And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child . And they would have called him Zechariah after his father ,

⁶⁰but his mother answered , No ; he shall be called John .

⁶¹And they said to her , None of your relatives is called by this name .

⁶²And they made signs to his father , inquiring what he wanted him to be called .

⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote , His name is John . And they all wondered .

⁶⁴And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke , blessing God .

⁶⁵And fear came on all their neighbors . And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea ,

⁶⁶and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts , saying , What then will this child be ? For the hand of the Lord was with him .

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied , saying ,

⁶⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel , for he has visited and redeemed his people

⁶⁹and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David ,

⁷⁰as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old ,

⁷¹that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us ;

⁷²to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant ,

⁷³the oath that he swore to our father Abraham , to grant us

⁷⁴that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies , might serve him without fear ,

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days .

⁷⁶And you , child , will be called the prophet of the Most High ; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways ,

⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins ,

⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God , whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

⁷⁹to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death , to guide our feet into the way of peace .

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit , and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel .