Luke Chapter 1    

¹Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an orderly account about the things that have been fulfilled among us,
  ²just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word passed them on to us,
  ³it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus,
  ⁴so that you can come to fully know the certainty of the things about which you have been told.
 

⁵In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah, and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
  ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking without blame in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
  ⁷But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were advanced in their days.
 

⁸Now it came to pass, while he was serving as a priest in his division’s turn before God,
  ⁹he went into the sanctuary of the Lord, having been chosen by lot (according to the custom of the priesthood) to burn the incense offering,
  ¹⁰and the whole multitude of the People^a were praying outside at the hour of incense.
  ¹¹And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
  ¹²And Zechariah was startled when he saw him, and fear fell on him.
  ¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John.
  ¹⁴And there will be joy and jubilation for you, and many will rejoice at his birth,
  ¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. And he must not ever drink wine or beer, and he will be filled with holy spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
  ¹⁶And he will turn many of the sons 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 fathers to their children,^b and turn the disobedient to the good sense of the righteous, to make ready a people who are entirely prepared for the Lord.”
 

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, “By what sign will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days.”
 

¹⁹And the angel, answering, said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
  ²⁰And Look! You will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
 

²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary.
  ²²And when he came out, he was not able to speak to them. And they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary; and he kept making signs to them, and remained unable to speak.
  ²³And it came to pass when the days of his priestly service were completed, he departed to his house.
  ²⁴And after these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,
  ²⁵“The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor in these days to take away my disgrace among people.”
 

²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
  ²⁷to a virgin who was betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.
  ²⁸And going in to where she was, he said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!”
  ²⁹But she was greatly perplexed at the saying, and began to deliberate what kind of greeting this might be.
  ³⁰And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
  ³¹And Look! You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and will 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, seeing I am not knowing^c a man sexually?”
  ³⁵And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for that reason the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
  ³⁶And Look! Your relative Elizabeth, she also has conceived a son in her old age, 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. May it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
 

³⁹In those days Mary got up and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,
  ⁴⁰and went into the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
  ⁴¹And it came to pass when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with holy spirit
  ⁴²and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
  ⁴³And how is this happening to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
  ⁴⁴For Look! When the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
  ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed, because there will be a fulfillment of the things that have been spoken to her from the Lord.”
 

⁴⁶And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
  ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
  ⁴⁸because he has looked upon the low estate of his servant. For Look! From now on all generations will call me blessed,
  ⁴⁹because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
  ⁵⁰And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.
  ⁵¹He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their heart.
  ⁵²He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the humble.
  ⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, and he has sent the rich away empty.
  ⁵⁴He helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy
  ⁵⁵to Abraham and his seed forever, just as he said to our fathers.”
 

⁵⁶And Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her house.
 

⁵⁷Now Elizabeth’s time was fulfilled for her to give birth, and she bore a son.
  ⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.
  ⁵⁹And it came to pass on the eighth day that they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after the name of the father.
  ⁶⁰And his mother answered and said, “No! He will be called John.”
  ⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your relatives are called by that name.”
  ⁶²And they nodded to his father, as to what he wanted him called.
  ⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” And they all were amazed.
  ⁶⁴And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue, and he spoke, praising God.
  ⁶⁵And fear came on all who lived around them, and all these things were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea.
  ⁶⁶And everyone who heard laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child become?” For indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
 

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah was filled with holy spirit and prophesied, saying,
  ⁶⁸“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited us and brought about redemption for his people,
  ⁶⁹and he has raised a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
  ⁷⁰just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times;
  ⁷¹salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
  ⁷²to show mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant,
  ⁷³the oath that he swore to Abraham our father,
  ⁷⁴to grant to us that we, having been rescued out of the hand of our enemies, can 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, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
  ⁷⁷to give the knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins
  ⁷⁸because of the compassionate mercy^d of our God, by which the Rising Sun from on high will visit us,
  ⁷⁹to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
 

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