Luke 1:1–17

The Purpose and Method of Luke’s Gospel

1Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those ^athings which ¹have been fulfilled among us, ²just as those who ^bfrom the beginning were ^ceyewitnesses and ministers of the word ^ddelivered them to us, ³it seemed good to me also, having ²had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, ^emost excellent Theophilus, ^4fthat you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

Zacharias Ministers in the Temple

⁵There was ^gin the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, ^hof the division of ⁱAbijah. His ^jwife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

⁸So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, ³his lot fell ^kto burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ^10lAnd the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.

An Angel Announces the Birth of John the Baptist

¹¹Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of ^mthe altar of incense. ¹²And when Zacharias saw him, ⁿhe was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^oyou shall call his name John. ¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and ^pmany will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he will be ^qgreat in the sight of the Lord, and ^rshall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, ^seven from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ^17tHe will also go before Him 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, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”