English Standard Version ESV
The Darby Translation DBY
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,
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Forasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a relation concerning the matters fully believed among us,
2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,
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as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses of and attendants on the Word have delivered them to us,
3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
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it has seemed good to *me* also, accurately acquainted from the origin with all things, to write to thee with method, most excellent Theophilus,
4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
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that thou mightest know the certainty of those things in which thou hast been instructed.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
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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.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
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And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
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And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
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And it came to pass, as he fulfilled his priestly service before God in the order of his course,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
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it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
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And all the multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
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And an angel of [the] Lord appeared to him, standing on the right of the altar of incense.
12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
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And Zacharias was troubled, seeing [him], and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
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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.
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
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And he shall be to thee joy and rejoicing, and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
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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.
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
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And many of the sons of Israel shall he turn to [the] Lord their God.
17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. ”
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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.
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. ”
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And Zacharias said to the angel, How shall I know this, for *I* am an old man, and my wife advanced in years?
19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
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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;
20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. ”
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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.
21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.
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And the people were awaiting Zacharias, and they wondered at his delaying in the temple.
22 And 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 kept making signs to them and remained mute.
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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.
23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
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And it came to pass, when the days of his service were completed, he departed to his house.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,
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Now after these days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people. ”
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Thus has [the] Lord done to me in [these] days in which he looked upon [me] to take away my reproach among men.
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
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But in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent of God to a city of Galilee, of which [the] name [was] Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
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to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name [was] Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you! ”
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And the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, [thou] favoured one! the Lord [is] with thee: [blessed art *thou* amongst women].
29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
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But she, [seeing] [the angel], was troubled at his word, and reasoned in her mind what this salutation might be.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
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And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God;
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
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and behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
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*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;
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. ”
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and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for the ages, and of his kingdom there shall not be an end.
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin? ”
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But Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a man?
35 And the 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— the Son of God.
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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.
36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
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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:
37 For nothing will be impossible with God. ”
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for nothing shall be impossible with God.
38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. ” And the angel departed from her.
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And Mary said, Behold the bondmaid of [the] Lord; be it to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah,
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And Mary, rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
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and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth.
41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
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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,
42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
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and cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed [art] *thou* amongst women, and blessed the fruit of thy womb.
43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
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And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
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For behold, as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped with joy in my womb.
45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. ”
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And blessed [is] she that has believed, for there shall be a fulfilment of the things spoken to her from [the] Lord.
46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
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And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
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and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
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For he has looked upon the low estate of his bondmaid; for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
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For the Mighty One has done to me great things, and holy [is] his name;
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
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and his mercy [is] to generations and generations to them that fear him.
51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
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He has wrought strength with his arm; he has scattered haughty [ones] in the thought of their heart.
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;
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He has put down rulers from thrones, and exalted the lowly.
53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
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He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
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He has helped Israel his servant, in order to remember mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever. ”
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(as he spoke to our fathers,) to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
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And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her house.
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.
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But the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth that she should bring forth, and she gave birth to a son.
58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
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And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that [the] Lord had magnified his mercy with her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father,
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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.
60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John. ”
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And his mother answering said, No; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name. ”
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And they said to her, There is no one among thy kinsfolk who is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called.
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And they made signs to his father as to what he might wish it to be called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John. ” And they all wondered.
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And having asked for a writing-table, he wrote saying, John is his name. And they all wondered.
64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
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And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he spake, blessing God.
65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea,
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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.
66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be? ” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
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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.
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
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And Zacharias his father was filled with [the] Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
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Blessed be [the] Lord the God of Israel, because he has visited and wrought redemption for his people,
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
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and raised up a horn of deliverance for us in the house of David his servant;
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
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as he spoke by [the] mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began;
71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
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deliverance from our enemies and out of the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
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to fulfil mercy with our fathers and remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
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[the] oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
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to give us, that, saved out of the hand of our enemies, we should serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
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in piety and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
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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;
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
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to give knowledge of deliverance to his people by [the] remission of their sins
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
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on account of [the] bowels of mercy of our God; wherein [the] dayspring from on high has visited us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. ”
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to shine upon them who were sitting in darkness and in [the] shadow of death, to guide our feet into [the] way of peace.
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
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-- And the child grew and was strengthened in spirit; and he was in the deserts until the day of his shewing to Israel.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.