[1] As a number of attempts have been made to put together in order an
account of those events which took place among us, [2] As they were handed
down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the
word, [3] It seemed good to me, having made observation, with great care,
of the direction of events in their order, to put the facts in writing for
you, most noble Theophilus; [4] So that you might have certain knowledge of
those things about which you were given teaching. [5] In the days of Herod,
king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the order
of Abijah; and he had a wife of the family of Aaron, and her name was
Elisabeth. [6] They were upright in the eyes of God, keeping all the rules
and orders of God, and doing no wrong. [7] And they were without children,
because Elisabeth had never given birth, and they were at that time very
old. [8] Now it came about that in his turn he was acting as priest before
God, [9] And as was the way of the priests, he had to go into the Temple to
see to the burning of perfumes. [10] And all the people were offering
prayers outside, at the time of the burning of perfumes. [11] And he saw an
angel of the Lord in his place on the right side of the altar. [12] And
Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear came on him. [13] But the
angel said, Have no fear, Zacharias, for your prayer has come to the ears
of God, and your wife Elisabeth will have a son, and his name will be John.
[14] And you will be glad and have great delight; and numbers of people
will have joy at his birth. [15] For he will be great in the eyes of the
Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the
Spirit of God from his birth. [16] And through him great numbers of the
children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God. [17] And he will
go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning the hearts of
fathers to their children, and wrongdoers to the way of righteousness; to
make ready a people whose hearts have been turned to the Lord. [18] And
Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be certain of this? For I am an old
man, and my wife is far on in years. [19] And the angel, answering, said, I
am Gabriel, whose place is before God; I have been sent to say these words
to you and to give you this good news. [20] Now, see, you will be without
voice or language till the day when these things come about, because you
had not faith in my words, which will have effect at the right time. [21]
And the people were waiting for Zacharias and were surprised because he was
in the Temple for such a long time. [22] And when he came out he was not
able to say anything, and they saw that he had seen a vision in the Temple;
and he was making signs to them without words. [23] And when the days of
his work in the Temple were ended, he went back to his house. [24] After
that time, Elisabeth, being certain that she was to become a mother, kept
herself from men's eyes for five months, saying, [25] The Lord has done
this to me, for his eyes were on me, to take away my shame in the eyes of
men. [26] Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a
town in Galilee, named Nazareth, [27] To a virgin who was to be married to
a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the name of the virgin was
Mary. [28] And the angel came in to her and said, Peace be with you, to
whom special grace has been given; the Lord is with you. [29] But she was
greatly troubled at his words, and said to herself, What may be the purpose
of these words? [30] And the angel said to her, Have no fear, Mary, for you
have God's approval. [31] And see, you will give birth to a son, and his
name will be Jesus. [32] He will be great, and will be named the Son of the
Most High: and the Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his father:
[33] He will have rule over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom
there will be no end. [34] And Mary said to the angel, How may this be,
because I have had no knowledge of a man? [35] And the angel in answer said
to her, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High
will come to rest on you, and so that which will come to birth will be
named holy, Son of God. [36] Even now Elisabeth, who is of your family, is
to be a mother, though she is old: and this is the sixth month with her who
was without children. [37] For there is nothing which God is not able to
do. [38] And Mary said: I am the servant of the Lord; may it be to me as
you say. And the angel went away. [39] Then Mary got up and went quickly
into the high lands, to a town of Judah; [40] And went into the house of
Zacharias and took Elisabeth in her arms. [41] And when the voice of Mary
came to the ears of Elisabeth, the baby made a sudden move inside her; then
Elisabeth was full of the Holy Spirit, [42] And she said with a loud voice:
May blessing be on you among women, and a blessing on the child of your
body. [43] How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? [44] For,
truly, when the sound of your voice came to my ears, the baby in my body
made a sudden move for joy. [45] Happy will she be who had faith that the
things which the Lord has said to her will be done. [46] And Mary said: My
soul gives glory to God; [47] My spirit is glad in God my Saviour. [48] For
he has had pity on his servant, though she is poor and lowly placed: and
from this hour will all generations give witness to the blessing which has
come to me. [49] For he who is strong has done great things for me; and
holy is his name. [50] His mercy is for all generations in whom is the fear
of him. [51] With his arm he has done acts of power; he has put to flight
those who have pride in their hearts. [52] He has put down kings from their
seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree. [53] Those who had no food
he made full of good things; the men of wealth he sent away with nothing in
their hands; [54] His help he has given to Israel, his servant, so that he
might keep in mind his mercy to Abraham and his seed for ever, [55] As he
gave his word to our fathers. [56] And Mary was with her for about three
months and then went back to her house. [57] Now it was time for Elisabeth
to give birth, and she had a son. [58] And it came to the ears of her
neighbours and relations that the Lord had been very good to her, and they
took part in her joy. [59] And on the eighth day they came to see to the
circumcision of the child, and they would have given him the name of
Zacharias, his father's name; [60] But his mother made answer and said, No,
his name is John. [61] And they said, Not one of your relations has that
name. [62] And they made signs to his father, to say what name was to be
given to him. [63] And he sent for writing materials and put down: His name
is John; and they were all surprised. [64] And straight away his mouth was
open and his tongue was free and he gave praise to God. [65] And fear came
on all those who were living round about them: and there was much talk
about all these things in all the hill-country of Judaea. [66] And all who
had word of them kept them in their minds and said, What will this child
be? For the hand of the Lord was with him. [67] And his father, Zacharias,
was full of the Holy Spirit, and with the voice of a prophet said these
words: [68] Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to
his people and made them free, [69] Lifting up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David, [70] (As he said, by the mouth of his
holy prophets, from the earliest times,) [71] Salvation from those who are
against us, and from the hands of those who have hate for us; [72] To do
acts of mercy to our fathers and to keep in mind his holy word, [73] The
oath which he made to Abraham, our father, [74] That we, being made free
from the fear of those who are against us, might give him worship, [75] In
righteousness and holy living before him all our days. [76] And you, child,
will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of
the Lord, to make ready his ways; [77] To give knowledge of salvation to
his people, through the forgiveness of sins, [78] Because of the loving
mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us, [79] To
give light to those in dark places, and in the shade of death, so that our
feet may be guided into the way of peace. [80] And the child became tall,
and strong in spirit; and he was living in the waste land till the day when
he came before the eyes of Israel.
