Luke 1:1–38

Luke’s Account of Things Fulfilled

¹Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things that ^1ahave been fulfilled among us,

²just as those, who ^afrom the beginning ¹were ^beyewitnesses and ^2cservants of ^dthe ³word, handed them down to us,

³it seemed fitting for me as well, ^ahaving ¹investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you ^bin orderly sequence, ^cmost excellent ^dTheophilus,

⁴so that you may know the certainty about the things you have been ^1ataught.

John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold

^5aIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the ^bdivision of ¹Abijah, and he had a wife ²from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶And they were both ^arighteous in the sight of God, walking ^bblamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the ¹Lord.

⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in ¹years.

⁸Now it happened that while ^ahe was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division,

⁹according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ^ato enter the ¹sanctuary of the ²Lord and burn incense.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying ^aoutside at the hour of the incense offering.

¹¹And ^aan angel of the ¹Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and ^afear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “^aDo not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will ¹bear you a son, and ^byou will call his name ²John.

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

¹⁵“^aFor he will be great in the sight of the ¹Lord; and ^ahe will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ²while yet in his mother’s womb.

¹⁶“And he will ^aturn many of the sons of Israel back to the ¹Lord their God.

¹⁷“And he will ^ago before Him in the spirit and power of ^bElijah, ^cto turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to ^dmake ready a people prepared for the ¹Lord.”

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For ^aI am an old man and my wife is advanced in ¹years.”

¹⁹And the angel answered and said to him, “I am ^aGabriel, who ^bstands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

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

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

²²But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he ^akept ¹making signs to them, and remained mute.

²³And it happened that when the days of his priestly service were fulfilled, he went back home.

²⁴After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she ¹kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

²⁵“This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked upon me to ^atake away my disgrace among men.”

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel ^aGabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called ^bNazareth,

²⁷to ^aa virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, ^bof the ¹house of David, and the virgin’s name was ²Mary.

²⁸And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, ¹favored one! The Lord ²is with you.”

²⁹But she ^awas very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was.

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

³¹“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you ^ashall name Him Jesus.

³²“^aHe will be great and will be called the Son of ^athe Most High, and the ¹Lord God will give Him ^bthe throne of His father David,

^33aand He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ^band there will be no end of His kingdom.”

³⁴But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I ¹am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered and said to her, “^aThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^bthe Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason ^1cthe holy Child shall be called ^dthe Son of God.

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

³⁷“For ^1anothing will be impossible with God.”

³⁸And Mary said, “Behold, the slave of the ¹Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.