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Dedication to Theophilus
Forasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a relation concerning the matters fully believed among us,
Forasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a relation concerning the matters fully believed among us,
Introduction
Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us.
Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us.
as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses of and attendants on the Word have delivered them to us,
it has seemed good to *me* also, accurately acquainted from the origin with all things, to write to thee with method, most excellent Theophilus,
Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus,
that thou mightest know the certainty of those things in which thou hast been instructed.
so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron.
And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.
And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
And it came to pass, as he fulfilled his priestly service before God in the order of his course,
One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week.
it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense.
As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense.
And all the multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense.
While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
And an angel of [the] Lord appeared to him, standing on the right of the altar of incense.
While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar.
And Zacharias was troubled, seeing [him], and fear fell upon him.
Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him.
But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, because thy supplication has been heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.
And he shall be to thee joy and rejoicing, and many shall rejoice at his birth.
You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
For he shall be great before [the] Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with [the] Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
And many of the sons of Israel shall he turn to [the] Lord their God.
And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.
And *he* shall go before him in [the] spirit and power of Elias, to turn hearts of fathers to children, and disobedient ones to [the] thoughts of just [men], to make ready for [the] Lord a prepared people.
And Zacharias said to the angel, How shall I know this, for *I* am an old man, and my wife advanced in years?
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
And the angel answering, said to him, *I* am Gabriel, who stand before God, and I have been sent to speak to thee, and to bring these glad tidings to thee;
Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!
and behold, thou shalt be silent and not able to speak, till the day in which these things shall take place, because thou hast not believed my words, the which shall be fulfilled in their time.
But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
And the people were awaiting Zacharias, and they wondered at his delaying in the temple.
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long.
But when he came out he could not speak to them, and they recognised that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he was making signs to them, and continued dumb.
When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.
And it came to pass, when the days of his service were completed, he departed to his house.
When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home.
Now after these days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months.
Thus has [the] Lord done to me in [these] days in which he looked upon [me] to take away my reproach among men.
“How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
But in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent of God to a city of Galilee, of which [the] name [was] Nazareth,
But in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent of God to a city of Galilee, of which [the] name [was] Nazareth,
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name [was] Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary.
to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
And the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, [thou] favoured one! the Lord [is] with thee: [blessed art *thou* amongst women].
But she, [seeing] [the angel], was troubled at his word, and reasoned in her mind what this salutation might be.
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God;
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!
and behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
*He* shall be great, and shall be called Son of [the] Highest; and [the] Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father;
He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.
and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for the ages, and of his kingdom there shall not be an end.
But Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a man?
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
And the angel answering said to her, [The] Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and power of [the] Highest overshadow thee, wherefore the holy thing also which shall be born shall be called Son of God.
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her that was called barren:
What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.
And Mary said, Behold the bondmaid of [the] Lord; be it to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
And Mary, rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
And Mary, rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
Mary Visits Elizabeth
A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town
and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth.
where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.
And it came to pass, as Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with [the] Holy Spirit,
At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
and cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed [art] *thou* amongst women, and blessed the fruit of thy womb.
Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.
And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me?
For behold, as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped with joy in my womb.
When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.
And blessed [is] she that has believed, for there shall be a fulfilment of the things spoken to her from [the] Lord.
You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
Mary's Song of Praise
And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,
And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,
The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise
Mary responded,
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
For he has looked upon the low estate of his bondmaid; for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done to me great things, and holy [is] his name;
For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
and he has done great things for me.
and his mercy [is] to generations and generations to them that fear him.
He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
to all who fear him.
He has wrought strength with his arm; he has scattered haughty [ones] in the thought of their heart.
His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
He has put down rulers from thrones, and exalted the lowly.
He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
and exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has helped Israel his servant, in order to remember mercy,
He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
and remembered to be merciful.
(as he spoke to our fathers,) to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
to Abraham and his children forever.”
And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.
The Birth of John the Baptist
But the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth that she should bring forth, and she gave birth to a son.
But the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth that she should bring forth, and she gave birth to a son.
The Birth of John the Baptist
When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son.
And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that [the] Lord had magnified his mercy with her, and they rejoiced with her.
And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.
And it came to pass on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called it after the name of his father, Zacharias.
When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father.
And his mother answering said, No; but he shall be called John.
But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”
And they said to her, There is no one among thy kinsfolk who is called by this name.
“What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.”
And they made signs to his father as to what he might wish it to be called.
So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him.
And having asked for a writing-table, he wrote saying, John is his name. And they all wondered.
He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.”
And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he spake, blessing God.
Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.
And fear came upon all who dwelt round about them; and in the whole hill-country of Judaea all these things were the subject of conversation.
Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills.
And all who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then will this child be? And [the] Lord's hand was with him.
Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.
Zechariah's Song
And Zacharias his father was filled with [the] Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
And Zacharias his father was filled with [the] Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
Zechariah’s Prophecy
Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:
Blessed be [the] Lord the God of Israel, because he has visited and wrought redemption for his people,
“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people.
because he has visited and redeemed his people.
and raised up a horn of deliverance for us in the house of David his servant;
as he spoke by [the] mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began;
just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
through his holy prophets long ago.
deliverance from our enemies and out of the hand of all who hate us;
Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us.
and from all who hate us.
to fulfil mercy with our fathers and remember his holy covenant,
He has been merciful to our ancestors
by remembering his sacred covenant —
by remembering his sacred covenant —
[the] oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
the covenant he swore with an oath
to our ancestor Abraham.
to our ancestor Abraham.
to give us, that, saved out of the hand of our enemies, we should serve him without fear
We have been rescued from our enemies
so we can serve God without fear,
so we can serve God without fear,
in piety and righteousness before him all our days.
in holiness and righteousness
for as long as we live.
for as long as we live.
And *thou*, child, shalt be called [the] prophet of [the] Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of [the] Lord to make ready his ways;
“And you, my little son,
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
to give knowledge of deliverance to his people by [the] remission of their sins
You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.
through forgiveness of their sins.
on account of [the] bowels of mercy of our God; wherein [the] dayspring from on high has visited us,
to shine upon them who were sitting in darkness and in [the] shadow of death, to guide our feet into [the] way of peace.
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.”
and to guide us to the path of peace.”