Luke 1:1–38

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order ^aa declaration of those things which are ^bmost surely believed among us, ²Even as ^cthey delivered them unto us, which ^dfrom the beginning were ^eeyewitnesses, and ^fministers of ^gthe word; ^3hIt seemed good to me also, ⁱhaving had perfect understanding of all things ^kfrom the very first, to write unto thee ^lin order, ^mmost excellent ⁿTheophilus, ^4oThat thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast ^pbeen instructed.

^5*There was ^qin the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, ^rof the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. ⁶And they were both ^srighteous before God, ^twalking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord ^ublameless. ⁷And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was ^xbarren, and ^ythey both were now ^zwell stricken in years. ⁸And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God ^ain the order of his course, ⁹According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was ^bto burn incense when he went into ^cthe temple of the Lord. ¹⁰And ^dthe whole multitude of the people were ^epraying ^dwithout at the time of incense. ¹¹And there appeared unto him ^eean angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^fthe altar of incense. ¹²And when Zacharias saw him, ^ghe was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and ^hthou shalt call his name John. ¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall ⁱrejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and ^jshall drink ^kneither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled ^kwith the Holy Ghost, even ^lfrom his mother’s womb. ¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. ^17mAnd he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to ⁿturn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient ^||to the wisdom of the just; ^oto make ready a people ^pprepared for the Lord. ¹⁸And Zacharias said unto the angel, ^qWhereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife ^rwell stricken in years. ¹⁹And the angel answering said unto him, I am ^sGabriel, ^tthat stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. ²⁰And, behold, ^uthou 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. ²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in ^cthe temple. ²²And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in ^cthe temple: for ^xhe beckoned unto them, and remained ^xspeechless. ²³And it came to pass, that, as soon as ^ythe days of his ^zministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. ²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and ^ahid herself five months, saying, ²⁵Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he ^blooked on me, to ^ctake away my reproach among men.

²⁶And in ^dthe sixth month the angel ^eGabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named ^fNazareth, ²⁷To a virgin ^gespoused to a man whose name was Joseph, ^hof the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, ⁱthou that art ^||highly favoured, ^lthe Lord is with thee: ^mblessed art thou among women. ²⁹And when she saw him, ⁿshe was troubled at his saying, and ⁿⁿcast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. ³⁰And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast ^ofound favour with God. ³¹And, behold, ^pthou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and ^qshalt call his name JESUS. ³²He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of ^rthe Highest: and the Lord God shall ^sgive unto him ^tthe throne of his father David: ³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob ^ufor ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ³⁴Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? ³⁵And the angel answered and said unto her, ^xThe Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of ^rthe Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also ^ythat holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called ^zthe Son of God. ³⁶And, behold, thy ^acousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called ^bbarren. ³⁷For ^cwith God nothing shall be impossible. ³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; ^dbe it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.