1 M any people have written about the things that have happened among us.

Seeing that many did take in hand to set in order a narration of the matters that have been fully assured among us,

2 T hose who saw everything from the first and helped teach the Good News have passed these things on to us.

as they did deliver to us, who from the beginning became eye-witnesses, and officers of the Word, --

3 D ear Theophilus, I have looked with care into these things from the beginning. I have decided it would be good to write them to you one after the other the way they happened.

it seemed good also to me, having followed from the first after all things exactly, to write to thee in order, most noble Theophilus,

4 T hen you can be sure you know the truth about the things you have been taught. An Angel Tells of the Birth of John the Baptist

that thou mayest know the certainty of the things wherein thou wast instructed.

5 W hen Herod was king of the country of Judea, there was a Jewish religious leader named Zacharias. He worked for Abijah. His wife was of the family group of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth.

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elisabeth;

6 T hey were right with God and obeyed the Jewish Law and did what the Lord said to do.

and they were both righteous before God, going on in all the commands and righteousnesses of the Lord blameless,

7 T hey had no children because Elizabeth was not able to have a child. Both of them were older people.

and they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.

8 Z acharias was doing his work as a religious leader for God.

And it came to pass, in his acting as priest, in the order of his course before God,

9 T he religious leaders were given certain kinds of work to do. Zacharias was chosen to go to the house of God to burn special perfume.

according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot was to make perfume, having gone into the sanctuary of the Lord,

10 M any people stood outside praying during the time the special perfume was burning.

and all the multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of the perfume.

11 Z acharias saw an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar where the special perfume was burning.

And there appeared to him a messenger of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of the perfume,

12 W hen he saw the angel, Zacharias was troubled and afraid.

and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him;

13 T he angel said to him, “Zacharias, do not be afraid. Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a son. You are to name him John.

and the messenger said unto him, `Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John,

14 Y ou will be glad and have much joy. Many people will be happy because he is born.

and there shall be joy to thee, and gladness, and many at his birth shall joy,

15 H e will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or any strong drink. Even from his birth, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

for he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and strong drink he may not drink, and of the Holy Spirit he shall be full, even from his mother's womb;

16 M any of the Jews will be turned to the Lord their God by him.

and many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God,

17 H e will be the one to go in the spirit and power of Elijah before Christ comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children. He will teach those who do not obey to be right with God. He will get people ready for the Lord.” Zacharias Does Not Believe the Angel

and he shall go before Him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers unto children, and disobedient ones to the wisdom of righteous ones, to make ready for the Lord, a people prepared.'

18 Z acharias said to the angel, “How can I know this for sure? I am old and my wife is old also.”

And Zacharias said unto the messenger, `Whereby shall I know this? for I am aged, and my wife is advanced in her days?'

19 T he angel said to him, “My name is Gabriel. I stand near God. He sent me to talk to you and bring to you this good news.

And the messenger answering said to him, `I am Gabriel, who have been standing near before God, and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to proclaim these good news to thee,

20 S ee! You will not be able to talk until the day this happens. It is because you did not believe my words. What I said will happen at the right time.”

and lo, thou shalt be silent, and not able to speak, till the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou didst not believe my words, that shall be fulfilled in their season.'

21 T he people outside were waiting. They were surprised and wondered why Zacharias stayed so long in the house of God.

And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and wondering at his tarrying in the sanctuary,

22 W hen he came out, he could not talk to them. They knew he had seen something special from God while he was in the house of God. He tried to talk to them with his hands but could say nothing.

and having come out, he was not able to speak to them, and they perceived that a vision he had seen in the sanctuary, and he was beckoning to them, and did remain dumb.

23 W hen his days of working in the house of God were over, he went to his home. The Lord Did What He Promised

And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he went away to his house,

24 S ome time later Elizabeth knew she was to become a mother. She kept herself hidden for five months. She said,

and after those days, his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying --

25 “ This is what the Lord has done for me. He has looked on me and has taken away my shame from among men.” Gabriel Speaks to Mary

`Thus hath the Lord done to me, in days in which He looked upon, to take away my reproach among men.'

26 S ix months after Elizabeth knew she was to become a mother, Gabriel was sent from God to Nazareth. Nazareth was a town in the country of Galilee.

And in the sixth month was the messenger Gabriel sent by God, to a city of Galilee, the name of which Nazareth,

27 H e went to a woman who had never had a man. Her name was Mary. She was promised in marriage to a man named Joseph. Joseph was of the family of David.

to a virgin, betrothed to a man, whose name Joseph, of the house of David, and the name of the virgin Mary.

28 T he angel came to her and said, “You are honored very much. You are a favored woman. The Lord is with you. You are chosen from among many women.”

And the messenger having come in unto her, said, `Hail, favoured one, the Lord with thee; blessed thou among women;'

29 W hen she saw the angel, she was troubled at his words. She thought about what had been said.

and she, having seen, was troubled at his word, and was reasoning of what kind this salutation may be.

30 T he angel said to her, “Mary, do not be afraid. You have found favor with God.

And the messenger said to her, `Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God;

31 S ee! You are to become a mother and have a Son. You are to give Him the name Jesus.

and lo, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus;

32 H e will be great. He will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the place where His early father David sat.

he shall be great, and Son of the Highest he shall be called, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father,

33 H e will be King over the family of Jacob forever and His nation will have no end.”

and he shall reign over the house of Jacob to the ages; and of his reign there shall be no end.'

34 M ary said to the angel, “How will this happen? I have never had a man.”

And Mary said unto the messenger, `How shall this be, seeing a husband I do not know?'

35 T he angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you. The power of the Most High will cover you. The holy Child you give birth to will be called the Son of God.

And the messenger answering said to her, `The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also the holy-begotten thing shall be called Son of God;

36 “ See, your cousin Elizabeth, as old as she is, is going to give birth to a child. She was not able to have children before, but now she is in her sixth month.

and lo, Elisabeth, thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her who was called barren;

37 F or God can do all things.”

because nothing shall be impossible with God.'

38 T hen Mary said, “I am willing to be used of the Lord. Let it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel went away from her. Mary Visits Elizabeth

And Mary said, `Lo, the maid-servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to thy saying,' and the messenger went away from her.

39 A t once Mary went from there to a town in the hill country of Judea.

And Mary having arisen in those days, went to the hill-country, with haste, to a city of Judea,

40 S he went to the house of Zacharias to see Elizabeth.

and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

41 W hen Elizabeth heard Mary speak, the baby moved in her body. At the same time Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe did leap in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

42 E lizabeth spoke in a loud voice, “You are honored among women! Your Child is honored!

and spake out with a loud voice, and said, `Blessed thou among women, and blessed the fruit of thy womb;

43 W hy has this happened to me? Why has the mother of my Lord come to me?

and whence this to me, that the mother of my Lord might come unto me?

44 A s soon as I heard your voice, the baby in my body moved for joy.

for, lo, when the voice of thy salutation came to my ears, leap in gladness did the babe in my womb;

45 Y ou are happy because you believed. Everything will happen as the Lord told you it would happen.” Mary’s Song of Thanks

and happy she who did believe, for there shall be a completion to the things spoken to her from the Lord.'

46 T hen Mary said, “My heart sings with thanks for my Lord.

And Mary said, `My soul doth magnify the Lord,

47 A nd my spirit is happy in God, the One Who saves from the punishment of sin.

And my spirit was glad on God my Saviour,

48 T he Lord has looked on me, His servant-girl and one who is not important. But from now on all people will honor me.

Because He looked on the lowliness of His maid-servant, For, lo, henceforth call me happy shall all the generations,

49 H e Who is powerful has done great things for me. His name is holy.

For He who is mighty did to me great things, And holy His name,

50 T he loving-kindness of the Lord is given to the people of all times who honor Him.

And His kindness to generations of generations, To those fearing Him,

51 H e has done powerful works with His arm. He has divided from each other those who have pride in their hearts.

He did powerfully with His arm, He scattered abroad the proud in the thought of their heart,

52 H e has taken rulers down from their thrones. He has put those who are in a place that is not important to a place that is important.

He brought down the mighty from thrones, And He exalted the lowly,

53 H e has filled those who are hungry with good things. He has sent the rich people away with nothing.

The hungry He did fill with good, And the rich He sent away empty,

54 H e has helped Israel His servant. This was done to remember His loving-kindness.

He received again Israel His servant, To remember kindness,

55 H e promised He would do this to our early fathers and to Abraham and to his family forever.”

As He spake unto our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed -- to the age.'

56 M ary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she went to her own home. The Birth of John the Baptist

And Mary remained with her about three months, and turned back to her house.

57 W hen the time came, Elizabeth gave birth to a son.

And to Elisabeth was the time fulfilled for her bringing forth, and she bare a son,

58 H er neighbors and family heard how the Lord had shown loving-kindness to her. They were happy for her.

and the neighbours and her kindred heard that the Lord was making His kindness great with her, and they were rejoicing with her.

59 O n the eighth day they did the religious act of the Jews on the child. They named him Zacharias, after his father.

And it came to pass, on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they were calling him by the name of his father, Zacharias,

60 B ut his mother said, “No! His name is John.”

and his mother answering said, `No, but he shall be called John.'

61 T hey said to her, “No one in your family has that name.”

And they said unto her -- `There is none among thy kindred who is called by this name,'

62 T hen they talked to his father with their hands to find out what he would name the child.

and they were making signs to his father, what he would wish him to be called,

63 H e asked for something to write on. He wrote, “His name is John.” They were all surprised and wondered about it.

and having asked for a tablet, he wrote, saying, `John is his name;' and they did all wonder;

64 Z acharias was able to talk from that time on and he gave thanks to God.

and his mouth was opened presently, and his tongue, and he was speaking, praising God.

65 A ll those who lived near them were afraid. The news of what had happened was told through all the hill country of Judea.

And fear came upon all those dwelling around them, and in all the hill-country of Judea were all these sayings spoken of,

66 A nd all who heard those words remembered them and said, “What is this child going to be?” For the hand of the Lord was on him. Zacharias’ Song of Thanks to God

and all who heard did lay them up in their hearts, saying, `What then shall this child be?' and the hand of the Lord was with him.

67 Z acharias, the father of John, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He told what was going to happen, saying,

And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and did prophesy, saying,

68 “ Let us thank the Lord God of Israel. He has bought His people and made them free.

`Blessed the Lord, the God of Israel, Because He did look upon, And wrought redemption for His people,

69 H e has raised up from the family of David One Who saves people from the punishment of their sins.

And did raise an horn of salvation to us, In the house of David His servant,

70 H is holy early preachers told us this long ago.

As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, Which have been from the age;

71 G od told us that we should be saved from those who hate us and from all those who work against us.

Salvation from our enemies, And out of the hand of all hating us,

72 H e would show loving-kindness to our early fathers. He would remember His holy promise.

To do kindness with our fathers, And to be mindful of His holy covenant,

73 G od promised this to our early father Abraham.

An oath that He sware to Abraham our father,

74 H e promised that we would be saved from those who hate us and that we might worship Him without being afraid.

To give to us, without fear, Out of the hand of our enemies having been delivered,

75 W e can be holy and right with God all the days of our life.

To serve Him, in holiness and righteousness Before Him, all the days of our life.

76 “ And you, my son, will be the one who speaks for the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to make the way ready for Him.

And thou, child, Prophet of the Highest Shalt thou be called; For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, To prepare His ways.

77 Y ou will tell His people how to be saved from the punishment of sin by being forgiven of their sins.

To give knowledge of salvation to His people In remission of their sins,

78 B ecause the heart of our God is full of loving-kindness for us, a light from heaven will shine on us.

Through the tender mercies of our God, In which the rising from on high did look upon us,

79 I t will give light to those who live in darkness and are under the shadow of death. It will lead our feet in the way of peace.”

To give light to those sitting in darkness and death-shade, To guide our feet to a way of peace.'

80 T he child grew and became strong in spirit. He lived in a desert until the day he started to preach to the Jews.

And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.