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Luke 1

1Since many have undertaken to compile an account of the events fulfilled among us, 2just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us, 3I too, having followed everything carefully from the beginning, decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

5In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, from the division of Abijah. His wife was one of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6Both were righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the Lord's commandments and requirements. 7They had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8While he was serving as priest before God during his division's turn, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the priestly custom, to enter the Lord's sanctuary and burn incense. 10The whole crowd of people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the incense altar. 12Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15for he will be great before the Lord. He will never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. 16He will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. 17He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn fathers' hearts toward their children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. 20And look: you will be silent and unable to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their appointed time.”

21The people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept making signs to them and remained unable to speak. 23When his days of service were completed, he went home.

24After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept herself secluded for five months, saying, 25“This is what the Lord has done for me in these days when he looked on me to take away my disgrace among people.”

26In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28He came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29She was deeply troubled by the words and wondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And look: you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

34Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen, since I have not known a man?” 35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, Son of God. 36And look: your relative 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.” 38Mary said, “Here I am, the Lord's slave. May it happen to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.

39In those days Mary got up and went in haste to the hill country, to a town of Judah. 40She entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42She cried out loudly, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43Why has this come to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For look: as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that what the Lord had spoken to her would be fulfilled.”

46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, 48because he has looked upon the lowly condition of his slave. For look: from now on all generations will call me blessed, 49because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for generation after generation of those who fear him. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought rulers down from thrones and lifted up the lowly. 53He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped Israel his servant, remembering mercy, 55as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.”

56Mary stayed with her about three months and returned home.

57The time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. 59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child and were going to call him Zechariah after his father. 60But his mother answered, “No! He will be called John.” 61They said to her, “None of your relatives is called by that name.” 62They made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called. 63He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all marveled. 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue released, and he began speaking, blessing God. 65Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. 66Everyone who heard laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What, then, will this child become?” For the Lord's hand was with him.

67His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68“Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited his people and brought them redemption. 69He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago: 71salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72to show mercy to our fathers and remember his holy covenant, 73the oath he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74that, rescued from the hand of enemies, we might serve him without fear 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give his people knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of their sins, 78through the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us, 79to shine on those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Translation notes 10

1:1–4 — The account. “Fulfilled” can also be rendered “accomplished.” The opening describes careful inquiry and an orderly account; it does not specify that every episode follows a strict chronology. “Servants of the word” refers to those who served the message.

1:5, 16–17 — Family language. “Daughters of Aaron” identifies Elizabeth's priestly ancestry. “Sons of Israel” describes the people of Israel, including women. “Fathers” and “children” retain the family language of John's commission.

1:15 — From the womb. The expression can mean from birth or even while in the womb; the child's response at 1:41–44 makes the latter especially relevant.

1:27–28 — Betrothal and favor. Betrothal was a binding marriage commitment. “Favored one” presents Mary as a recipient of God's favor. Some textual witnesses add “Blessed are you among women” to the greeting; this draft follows the shorter Greek base. Those words occur in Elizabeth's speech at 1:42.

1:34–35 — Mary's question and the child. “Known a man” means had sexual relations with a man. Another defensible arrangement of verse 35 is “the holy child to be born will be called Son of God.” “Overshadow” preserves the image without describing a sexual act.

1:37 — God's word. Alternatively, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” The reading keeps “word” and “from God,” connecting the assurance with the announcement Mary has received.

1:38, 48 — Slave. Mary uses the feminine form of “slave” for herself. The language expresses her submission to the Lord; “servant” can conceal its ownership imagery.

1:46–55 — Mary's song. “Soul” and “spirit” express Mary's whole self in parallel praise. The completed-action wording is retained even where the song anticipates the promised reversal of the powerful and the lowly. “Our fathers” means the ancestors, and “offspring” translates the collective “seed.”

1:69 — Horn of salvation. An animal's horn is an image of strength: a powerful deliverer from David's house is in view. The image is retained rather than replaced with “mighty Savior.”

1:78 — Dawn and mercy. The Greek expression for tender mercy evokes the inward parts as the seat of compassion. “Dawn” continues the light imagery of verse 79; “will visit” follows the Greek base, while another textual reading has “has visited.”