1Luke 1

Introduction

1Dear Theophilus: Many people have done their best to write a report of the things that have taken place among us.Select Luke 1:1

2They wrote what we have been told by those who saw these things from the beginning and who proclaimed the message.Select Luke 1:2

3And so, Your Excellency, because I have carefully studied all these matters from their beginning, I thought it would be good to write an orderly account for you.Select Luke 1:3

4I do this so that you will know the full truth about everything which you have been taught.Select Luke 1:4

The Birth of John the Baptist Is Announced

5During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife's name was Elizabeth; she also belonged to a priestly family.Select Luke 1:5

6They both lived good lives in God's sight and obeyed fully all the Lord's laws and commands.Select Luke 1:6

7They had no children because Elizabeth could not have any, and she and Zechariah were both very old.Select Luke 1:7

8One day Zechariah was doing his work as a priest in the Temple, taking his turn in the daily service.Select Luke 1:8

9According to the custom followed by the priests, he was chosen by lot to burn incense on the altar. So he went into the Temple of the Lord,Select Luke 1:9

10while the crowd of people outside prayed during the hour when the incense was burned.Select Luke 1:10

11An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar where the incense was burned.Select Luke 1:11

12When Zechariah saw him, he was alarmed and felt afraid.Select Luke 1:12

13But the angel said to him, “Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You are to name him John.Select Luke 1:13

14How glad and happy you will be, and how happy many others will be when he is born!Select Luke 1:14

15John will be great in the Lord's sight. He must not drink any wine or strong drink. From his very birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,Select Luke 1:15

16and he will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.Select Luke 1:16

17He will go ahead of the Lord, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. He will bring fathers and children together again; he will turn disobedient people back to the way of thinking of the righteous; he will get the Lord's people ready for him.”Select Luke 1:17

18Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know if this is so? I am an old man, and my wife is old also.”Select Luke 1:18

19“I am Gabriel,” the angel answered. “I stand in the presence of God, who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news.Select Luke 1:19

20But you have not believed my message, which will come true at the right time. Because you have not believed, you will be unable to speak; you will remain silent until the day my promise to you comes true.”Select Luke 1:20

21In the meantime the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he was spending such a long time in the Temple.Select Luke 1:21

22When he came out, he could not speak to them, and so they knew that he had seen a vision in the Temple. Unable to say a word, he made signs to them with his hands.Select Luke 1:22

23When his period of service in the Temple was over, Zechariah went back home.Select Luke 1:23

24Some time later his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and did not leave the house for five months.Select Luke 1:24

25“Now at last the Lord has helped me,” she said. “He has taken away my public disgrace!”Select Luke 1:25

The Birth of Jesus Is Announced

26In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth.Select Luke 1:26

27He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary.Select Luke 1:27

28The angel came to her and said, “Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!”Select Luke 1:28

29Mary was deeply troubled by the angel's message, and she wondered what his words meant.Select Luke 1:29

30The angel said to her, “Don't be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you.Select Luke 1:30

31You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.Select Luke 1:31

32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was,Select Luke 1:32

33and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end!”Select Luke 1:33

34Mary said to the angel, “I am a virgin. How, then, can this be?”Select Luke 1:34

35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God's power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.Select Luke 1:35

36Remember your relative Elizabeth. It is said that she cannot have children, but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old.Select Luke 1:36

37For there is nothing that God cannot do.”Select Luke 1:37

38“I am the Lord's servant,” said Mary; “may it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.Select Luke 1:38

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39Soon afterward Mary got ready and hurried off to a town in the hill country of Judea.Select Luke 1:39

40She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.Select Luke 1:40

41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy SpiritSelect Luke 1:41

42and said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear!Select Luke 1:42

43Why should this great thing happen to me, that my Lord's mother comes to visit me?Select Luke 1:43

44For as soon as I heard your greeting, the baby within me jumped with gladness.Select Luke 1:44

45How happy you are to believe that the Lord's message to you will come true!”Select Luke 1:45

Mary's Song of Praise

46Mary said, “My heart praises the Lord;Select Luke 1:46

47my soul is glad because of God my Savior,Select Luke 1:47

48for he has remembered me, his lowly servant! From now on all people will call me happy,Select Luke 1:48

49because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me. His name is holy;Select Luke 1:49

50from one generation to another he shows mercy to those who honor him.Select Luke 1:50

51He has stretched out his mighty arm and scattered the proud with all their plans.Select Luke 1:51

52He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.Select Luke 1:52

53He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands.Select Luke 1:53

54He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors, and has come to the help of his servant Israel.Select Luke 1:54

55He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham and to all his descendants forever!”Select Luke 1:55

56Mary stayed about three months with Elizabeth and then went back home.Select Luke 1:56

The Birth of John the Baptist

57The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son.Select Luke 1:57

58Her neighbors and relatives heard how wonderfully good the Lord had been to her, and they all rejoiced with her.Select Luke 1:58

59When the baby was a week old, they came to circumcise him, and they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father.Select Luke 1:59

60But his mother said, “No! His name is to be John.”Select Luke 1:60

61They said to her, “But you don't have any relative with that name!”Select Luke 1:61

62Then they made signs to his father, asking him what name he would like the boy to have.Select Luke 1:62

63Zechariah asked for a writing pad and wrote, “His name is John.” How surprised they all were!Select Luke 1:63

64At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again, and he started praising God.Select Luke 1:64

65The neighbors were all filled with fear, and the news about these things spread through all the hill country of Judea.Select Luke 1:65

66Everyone who heard of it thought about it and asked, “What is this child going to be?” For it was plain that the Lord's power was upon him.Select Luke 1:66

Zechariah's Prophecy

67John's father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he spoke God's message:Select Luke 1:67

68“Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come to the help of his people and has set them free.Select Luke 1:68

69He has provided for us a mighty Savior, a descendant of his servant David.Select Luke 1:69

70He promised through his holy prophets long agoSelect Luke 1:70

71that he would save us from our enemies, from the power of all those who hate us.Select Luke 1:71

72He said he would show mercy to our ancestors and remember his sacred covenant.Select Luke 1:72

74With a solemn oath to our ancestor Abraham he promised to rescue us from our enemies and allow us to serve him without fear,Select Luke 1:74

75so that we might be holy and righteous before him all the days of our life.Select Luke 1:75

76“You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God. You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his road for him,Select Luke 1:76

77to tell his people that they will be saved by having their sins forgiven.Select Luke 1:77

78Our God is merciful and tender. He will cause the bright dawn of salvation to rise on usSelect Luke 1:78

79and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death, to guide our steps into the path of peace.”Select Luke 1:79

80The child grew and developed in body and spirit. He lived in the desert until the day when he appeared publicly to the people of Israel.Select Luke 1:80