Luke 1

²just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us,

³it seemed good to me also, having closely followed all things from the first with accuracy, to write to you in orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus,

⁴so that you might know fully the certainty of the things concerning which you were instructed.

⁵In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest by name Zechariah, of the division of Abijah, and his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.

⁷And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.

⁸Now it came about that while he was serving as priest in the order of his division before God,

⁹he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to burn incense upon entering the sanctuary of the Lord.

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

¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

¹²And Zechariah was troubled at the sight, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him: 'Do not fear, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John.'

¹⁴And he will be joy and gladness to you, and many will rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵For he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

¹⁶And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,

¹⁷And he himself will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, By what will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days.

¹⁹And the angel answered and said to him: I am Gabriel, the one standing before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to announce these good things to you.

²⁰And behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their appointed season.

²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder at his tarrying in the temple.

²²But when he came out, he was not able to speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he himself was continually making signs to them, and remained mute.

²³And it came to pass that when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his home.

²⁴Now after these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept herself in complete seclusion for five months, saying,

²⁵"Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked upon me, to take away my disgrace among people."

²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee, whose name was Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary.

²⁸And the angel came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

²⁹But she was greatly troubled at his word, and was pondering what sort this greeting might be.

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

³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus.

³²He will be great, and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

³⁴But Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I do not know a man?"

³⁵And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the one being born will be called holy, the Son of God.

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

³⁷For no word from God will be impossible."

³⁸Then Mary said, "Behold, the slave of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

³⁹Now Mary arose in those days and traveled with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,

⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴²and she cried out with a loud cry and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

⁴³And from where is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb with exultation.

⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there will be a fulfillment of the things spoken to her from the Lord."

⁴⁶And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁴⁷and my spirit has exulted in God my Savior,

⁴⁸for he has looked upon the humiliation of his slave. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed,

⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is his name.

⁵⁰And his mercy is to generations and generations for those who fear him.

⁵¹He has made a show of strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thought of their heart.

⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and exalted those of low position.

⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

⁵⁴He has come to the aid of Israel his servant, remembering mercy,

⁵⁵even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever."

⁵⁶Now Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.

⁵⁷Now the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.

⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy with her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹And it came to pass on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him by the name of his father, Zechariah.

⁶⁰But his mother answered and said, "No! Rather, he will be called John."

⁶¹And they said to her that no one among your relatives is called by this name.

⁶²And they were making signs to his father, what he would wish him to be called.

⁶³And having asked for a writing tablet, he wrote, saying: John is his name. And they all marveled.

⁶⁴And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue, and he was speaking, blessing God.

⁶⁵And fear came upon all those dwelling around them; and throughout all the hill country of Judea all these things were being talked about,

⁶⁶And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What then will this child be? And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷And Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and wrought redemption for his people,

⁶⁹and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant,

⁷⁰as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets of old,

⁷¹salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,

⁷²to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,

⁷³the oath that he swore to Abraham our father,

⁷⁴to grant us, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, to serve him without fear,

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸through the tender mercies of our God, in which the rising from on high will visit us,

⁷⁹to shine upon those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

⁸⁰And the child was growing and was being strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.