Luke 1 (New American Standard)

Introduction

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things ^a1accomplished among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who ²from the beginning ^bwere ³eyewitnesses and ^c4servants of ⁵the ^dword, 3 it seemed fitting for me as well, ⁶having ^einvestigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you ⁷in consecutive order, ⁸most excellent ⁹Theophilus ; 4 so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been ^f10taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 ¹¹In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named ^gZacharias, of the ¹²division of ^hAbijah ; and he had a wife ⁱfrom the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both ¹³righteous in the sight of God, walking ¹⁴blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in ^jyears. 8 Now it happened that while ¹⁵he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ¹⁶to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer ¹⁷outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And ¹⁸an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and ¹⁹fear ^kgripped him. 13 But the angel said to him, "²⁰Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ²¹you will ^lgive him the name John. 14 "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord ; and he will ²²drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ^mwhile yet in his mother's womb. 16 "And he will ²³turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 "It is he who will ²⁴go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of ²⁵Elijah, ²⁶TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to ²⁷make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 18 Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For ²⁸I am an old man and my wife is advanced in ⁿyears." 19 The angel answered and said to him, "I am ²⁹Gabriel, who ^o30stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 "And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time." 21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple ; and he ³¹kept ^pmaking signs to them, and remained mute. 23 When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home. 24 After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she ^qkept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 "This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to ³²take away my disgrace among men."

Jesus' Birth Foretold

26 Now in the sixth month the angel ³³Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called ³⁴Nazareth, 27 to ³⁵a virgin ^rengaged to a man whose name was Joseph, ³⁶of the ^sdescendants of David ; and the virgin's name was ^tMary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, ^ufavored one! The Lord ^vis with you." 29 But she ³⁷was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, "³⁸Do not be afraid, Mary ; for you have found favor with God. 31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you ³⁹shall name Him Jesus. 32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of ⁴⁰the Most High ; and the Lord God will give Him ⁴¹the throne of His father David ; 33 ⁴²and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ⁴³and His kingdom will have no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How ^wcan this be, since I ^xam a virgin ?" 35 The angel answered and said to her, "⁴⁴The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ⁴⁵the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason ⁴⁶the ^yholy Child shall be called ⁴⁷the Son of God. 36 "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age ; and ^zshe who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 "For ^aa48nothing will be impossible with God." 38 And Mary said, "Behold, the ^bbbondslave of the Lord ; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 Now ^ccat this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to ⁴⁹the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb ; and Elizabeth was ⁵⁰filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb ! 43 "And ^ddhow has it happened to me, that the mother of ⁵¹my Lord would come to me? 44 "For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 "And ⁵²blessed is she who ^eebelieved that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ^ffby the Lord."

The Magnificat

46 And Mary said : "⁵³My soul ^gg54exalts the Lord, 47 And ⁵⁵my spirit has rejoiced in ⁵⁶God my Savior. 48 "For ⁵⁷He has had regard for the humble state of His ^hhbondslave ; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me ⁵⁸blessed. 49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. 50 "⁵⁹AND HIS MERCY IS ⁱⁱUPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. 51 "⁶⁰He has done ^jjmighty deeds with His arm ; He has scattered those who were proud in the ^kkthoughts of their heart. 52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has ⁶¹exalted those who were humble. 53 "⁶²HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS ; And sent away the rich empty-handed. 54 "He has given help to Israel His servant, ^llIn remembrance of His mercy, 55 ⁶³As He spoke to our fathers, ⁶⁴To Abraham and his ^mmdescendants forever." 56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

John Is Born

57 Now the time ⁿⁿhad come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had ^oo65displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her. 59 And it happened that on ⁶⁶the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, ^ppafter his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, "No indeed ; but ⁶⁷he shall be called John." 61 And they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name." 62 And they ⁶⁸made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "⁶⁹His name is John." And they were all astonished. 64 ⁷⁰And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all ⁷¹the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this child turn out to be?" For ⁷²the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

Zacharias's Prophecy

67 And his father Zacharias ⁷³was filled with the Holy Spirit, and ⁷⁴prophesied, saying : 68 "⁷⁵Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished ⁷⁶redemption for His people, 69 And has raised up a ⁷⁷horn of salvation for us In the house of David ⁷⁸His servant - 70 ⁷⁹As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets ⁸⁰from of old - 71 ^qq81Salvation ⁸²FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US; 72 ⁸³To show mercy toward our fathers, ⁸⁴And to remember His holy covenant, 73 ⁸⁵The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, 74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 ⁸⁶In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. 76 "And you, child, will be called the ⁸⁷prophet of ⁸⁸the Most High ; For you will go on ⁸⁹BEFORE THE LORD TO ⁹⁰PREPARE HIS WAYS ; 77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation ^rrBy ⁹¹the forgiveness of their sins, 78 Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which ⁹²the Sunrise from on high will visit us, 79 ⁹³TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the ⁹⁴way of peace." 80 ⁹⁵And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.