Luke 1:1–38

Introduction

¹Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things ^1aaccomplished among us,

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

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

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

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

^5aIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named ¹Zacharias, of the ^bdivision of ²Abijah; and he had a wife ³from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶They were both ^arighteous in the sight of God, walking ^bblamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

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 appointed order of his division,

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

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

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

¹²Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and ^afear ¹gripped him.

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

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

¹⁵“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will ^adrink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ¹while yet in his mother’s womb.

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

¹⁷“It is he who will ^ago as a forerunner 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, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

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

¹⁹The angel answered and said to him, “I am ^aGabriel, who ^1bstands in the presence of God, and I have been 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.”

²¹The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

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

²³When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.

²⁴After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, 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 with favor 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 ¹engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, ^bof the ²descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was ³Mary.

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

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

³⁰The 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“He will be great and will be called the Son of ^athe Most High; and the Lord God will give Him ^bthe throne of His father David;

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

³⁴Mary said to the angel, “How ¹can this be, since I ²am 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 ^cthe ¹holy Child shall be called ^dthe Son of God.

³⁶“And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and ¹she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

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

³⁸And ¹Mary said, “Behold, the ²bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.