Luke 1

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The Opening words

As a number of attempts have been made to put together in order an account of those events which took place among us, Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
It seemed good to me, having made observation, with great care, of the direction of events in their order, to put the facts in writing for you, most noble Theophilus; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
So that you might have certain knowledge of those things about which you were given teaching. That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Zacharias and Elisabeth

In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the order of Abijah; and he had a wife of the family of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 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.
They were upright in the eyes of God, keeping all the rules and orders of God, and doing no wrong. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
And they were without children, because Elisabeth had never given birth, and they were at that time very old. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
Now it came about that in his turn he was acting as priest before God, And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
And as was the way of the priests, he had to go into the Temple to see to the burning of perfumes. According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
And all the people were offering prayers outside, at the time of the burning of perfumes. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
And he saw an angel of the Lord in his place on the right side of the altar. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear came on him. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said, Have no fear, Zacharias, for your prayer has come to the ears of God, and your wife Elisabeth will have a son, and his name will be John. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
And you will be glad and have great delight; and numbers of people will have joy at his birth. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the Spirit of God from his birth. 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.
And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
And he will go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning the hearts of fathers to their children, and wrongdoers to the way of righteousness; to make ready a people whose hearts have been turned to the Lord. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be certain of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far on in years. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
And the angel, answering, said, I am Gabriel, whose place is before God; I have been sent to say these words to you and to give you this good news. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.
Now, see, you will be without voice or language till the day when these things come about, because you had not faith in my words, which will have effect at the right time. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
And the people were waiting for Zacharias and were surprised because he was in the Temple for such a long time. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
And when he came out he was not able to say anything, and they saw that he had seen a vision in the Temple; and he was making signs to them without words. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
And when the days of his work in the Temple were ended, he went back to his house. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
After that time, Elisabeth, being certain that she was to become a mother, kept herself from men's eyes for five months, saying, And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
The Lord has done this to me, for his eyes were on me, to take away my shame in the eyes of men. Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Christ's birth announced

The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-28)
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee, named Nazareth,		 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
To a virgin who was to be married to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary. To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel came in to her and said, Peace be with you, to whom special grace has been given; the Lord is with you. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
But she was greatly troubled at his words, and said to herself, What may be the purpose of these words? And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said to her, Have no fear, Mary, for you have God's approval. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And see, you will give birth to a son, and his name will be Jesus. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He will be great, and will be named the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his father: He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
He will have rule over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
And Mary said to the angel, How may this be, because I have had no knowledge of a man? Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And the angel in answer said to her, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will come to rest on you, and so that which will come to birth will be named holy, Son of God. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Even now Elisabeth, who is of your family, is to be a mother, though she is old: and this is the sixth month with her who was without children. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
For there is nothing which God is not able to do. For with God nothing shall be impossible.
And Mary said: I am the servant of the Lord; may it be to me as you say. And the angel went away. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Interview of Mary and Elisabeth

Then Mary got up and went quickly into the high lands, to a town of Judah; And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
And went into the house of Zacharias and took Elisabeth in her arms. And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
And when the voice of Mary came to the ears of Elisabeth, the baby made a sudden move inside her; then Elisabeth was full of the Holy Spirit, 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:
And she said with a loud voice: May blessing be on you among women, and a blessing on the child of your body. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For, truly, when the sound of your voice came to my ears, the baby in my body made a sudden move for joy. For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Happy will she be who had faith that the things which the Lord has said to her will be done. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
And Mary said: My soul gives glory to God; And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
My spirit is glad in God my Saviour. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he has had pity on his servant, though she is poor and lowly placed: and from this hour will all generations give witness to the blessing which has come to me. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he who is strong has done great things for me; and holy is his name. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
His mercy is for all generations in whom is the fear of him. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
With his arm he has done acts of power; he has put to flight those who have pride in their hearts. He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
Those who had no food he made full of good things; the men of wealth he sent away with nothing in their hands; He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
His help he has given to Israel, his servant, so that he might keep in mind his mercy to Abraham and his seed for ever, He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
As he gave his word to our fathers. As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
And Mary was with her for about three months and then went back to her house. And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

The birth of John the Baptist

Now it was time for Elisabeth to give birth, and she had a son. Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
And it came to the ears of her neighbours and relations that the Lord had been very good to her, and they took part in her joy. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
And on the eighth day they came to see to the circumcision of the child, and they would have given him the name of Zacharias, his father's name; 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.
But his mother made answer and said, No, his name is John. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
And they said, Not one of your relations has that name. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
And they made signs to his father, to say what name was to be given to him. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
And he sent for writing materials and put down: His name is John; and they were all surprised. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
And straight away his mouth was open and his tongue was free and he gave praise to God. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
And fear came on all those who were living round about them: and there was much talk about all these things in all the hill-country of Judaea. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
And all who had word of them kept them in their minds and said, What will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

The song of Zacharias

And his father, Zacharias, was full of the Holy Spirit, and with the voice of a prophet said these words: And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and made them free, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
Lifting up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
(As he said, by the mouth of his holy prophets, from the earliest times,) As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
Salvation from those who are against us, and from the hands of those who have hate for us; That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
To do acts of mercy to our fathers and to keep in mind his holy word, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he made to Abraham, our father, The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
That we, being made free from the fear of those who are against us, might give him worship, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
In righteousness and holy living before him all our days. In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways; And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation to his people, through the forgiveness of sins, To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
Because of the loving mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
To give light to those in dark places, and in the shade of death, so that our feet may be guided into the way of peace. To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
And the child became tall, and strong in spirit; and he was living in the waste land till the day when he came before the eyes of Israel. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.
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