Luke 1

 

1 For since many have undertaken to compile (an account) a declaration of those things (found in the testimony of Jesus Christ) which are most surely believed among us,

 

2 Even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word (of life) delivered them to us;

 

3 It seemed good for me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus (who loves God),

 

4 So that you might know the certainty of (eternal life and) those things, wherein you have been instructed (unto that life).

 

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

 

6 And they were both righteous before God (waiting for the Messiah), walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (because they looked toward the work of God).

 

7 And (though he prayed for one) they had (yet) no child, because Elisabeth's (womb) was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years.

 

8 And it happened that while he executed the priest's office before God in the service of his duty,

 

9 According to the custom of the priest's office, he was chosen by lot to burn incense (upon the altar made of wood and overlaid in gold) when he went into the temple of the Lord.

 

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

 

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

 

12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell on him.

 

13 But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias: for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elisabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

 

14 And you shall have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

 

15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

 

16 And (because of him) many of the children of Israel shall he turn (back) to the Lord their God.

 

17 And he shall go before the Lord 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 (who look to God and His strength); to make ready a people prepared for (the great and awesome day of) the Lord.

 

18 And Zacharias said to the angel, How can I know (and be certain of) this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years (expressing doubt and unbelief).

 

19 And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel, that stands in the presence of (the living) God; (which the very place where you stand represents); and am sent to speak to you, and to show you these glad tidings (of good things to come).

 

20 And, behold, you shall be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because you did not believe my words, which (despite your doubt) shall be fulfilled (exactly) in their time.

 

21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he had been so long in the temple.

 

22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he only motioned to them but remained speechless.

 

23 And it happened that, as soon as the days of his (priestly) ministry were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

 

24 And after those days (had passed), his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself for five months, saying,

 

25 Hence the Lord has performed a work in me in these days wherein He looked upon me (in His mercy), to take away my reproach (the shame brought from) among men (regarding the deadness of my womb).

 

26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

 

27 To a virgin (whose womb was yet unopened) espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

 

28 And the angel came in to her, and said, Greetings, (rejoice because) you are highly favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women (for through you shall God come to dwell with man in flesh).

 

29 And when she saw him, she was (thoroughly) troubled at his saying and tried to discern with her mind what sort of greeting this could be.

 

30 And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary: for you have found favor with God (the grace to receive the life only He can give, seeing your meekness to trust in His strength alone).

 

31 And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call His name JESUS (the LORD who saves).

 

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the (eternal) Son of the Highest (the Almighty): and the Lord God shall give to Him (to sit on) the throne of (Israel forever, as He promised to) his (earthly) father David (and the government of an indestructible life shall rest upon His shoulders):

 

33 And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no (more death, corruption, or) end.

 

34 Then said Mary to the angel, How shall this happen, seeing I do not know a man (intimately)?

 

35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come on you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you (enveloping you in the haze of His brilliance, the brightness of the Father's glory, as the Shekinah glory which filled the tabernacle of old): therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God (of whom there is no beginning of days or end of life).

 

36 And, behold, your cousin Elisabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was (previously) called barren.

 

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible (for not even death can prevent the promise of His life).

 

38 And Mary (being poor in spirit) said, Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it to me according to your word (humbly yielding her consent). And the angel departed from her.

 

39 And Mary arose in those days, and went quickly into the hill country, into the city of Judah;

 

40 And entered the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

 

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost (the Spirit testifying that this baby was indeed the Christ):

 

42 And she spoke out (by the Spirit) with a loud voice, and said, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb (God tabernacling with man).

 

43 And what is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (The mother who bears the divine human, the eternal Son in flesh)

 

44 For, see, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy (recognizing the divinity of the child in your womb).

 

45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord (God coming to dwell with men in flesh).

 

46 And Mary said, My soul does magnify (the strength of) the Lord (and not my own),

 

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior.

 

48 For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden (who humbly looks to the Lord and His grace): for, behold, from now on all generations shall call me blessed.

 

49 For the Lord who is mighty has done great things to me; and holy (set apart) is His name.

 

50 And His mercy is on (all) those that stand revering Him (and His strength to deliver them) from generation to generation.

 

51 He has shown strength with His (right) arm (the Lord Jesus); He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

 

52 He has put down the (proud and) mighty from their seats and exalted (the humble) those of low degree.

 

53 He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He has sent away empty.

 

54 He has helped Israel, His servant, in remembrance of His mercy (that they shall see the salvation of our God);

 

55 As He (also) spoke (the same promise) to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever.

 

56 And Mary stayed with her (cousin) about three months and returned to her own house.

 

57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should deliver, and she brought forth a son.

 

58 And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her; and they rejoiced with her.

 

59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

 

60 And his mother answered and said, No, he shall be called John.

 

61 And they said to her, No one from your family is called by this name.

 

62 And they made signs to his father (Zacharias), how he would have named him.

 

63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled at it all.

 

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

 

65 And fear (and awe) came on all that dwelled around them: and all these sayings were heard abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

 

66 And all those that heard these things laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him.

 

67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

 

68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He has visited and redeemed His people (from their affliction),

 

69 And has raised up (the Messiah) a horn of salvation (the strength and power of the Christ) for us in the house of His servant David;

 

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been (speaking of His coming) since the world began:

 

71 That we should be saved from the enemy (death), and from the grasp of all that hate us (to destroy us);

 

72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers (to bear our griefs and our sorrows), and to remember His holy covenant;

 

73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham (to bless him and all the families of the earth),

 

74 That He would grant to us (eternal life), so that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemy (death) might worship Him without fear (or shame),

 

75 In holiness and righteousness (the life He determined for us to stand) before Him, (in love) all the days of our life (forever).

 

76 And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;

 

77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins (sending away their death),

 

78 Through the tender mercy of our God (to relieve our suffering at the hands of death); whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us (to serve our dying flesh with His divinity),

 

79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of (everlasting) peace.

 

80 And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his revealing to Israel.