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Dedication to Theophilus

¹ Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ^(a)have been accomplished among us, ^2 (b)just as those who ^(c)from the beginning were ^(d)eyewitnesses and ^(e)ministers of ^(f)the word ^(g)have delivered them to us, ³ it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write ^(h)an orderly account for you, ⁽ⁱ⁾most excellent ^(j)Theophilus, ⁴ that you may have ^(k)certainty concerning the things ^(l)you have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

^5 (m)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^{[a] (n)}of ^(o)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both ^(p)righteous before God, walking ^(q)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because ^(r)Elizabeth was barren, and ^(s)both were advanced in years.

⁸ Now ^(t)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(u)his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(v)to enter ^(w)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people ^(x)were praying ^(y)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(z)the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(aa)fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(ab)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(ac)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(ad)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(ae)great before the Lord. And ^(af)he must not drink wine or strong ^(ag)drink, and ^(ah)he will be ^(ai)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(aj)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(ak)he will go before him ^(al)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(am)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(an)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(ao)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(ap)"How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." ¹⁹ And the angel answered him, "I am ^(aq)Gabriel. ^(ar)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, ^(as)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." ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(at)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 ^(au)the temple. And ^(av)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³ And ^(aw)when his time of ^(ax)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵ "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^(ay)to take away my reproach among people."

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(az)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(ba)Nazareth, ^27 (bb)to a virgin betrothed^[b] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(bc)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, "Greetings, ^(bd)O favored one, ^(be)the Lord is with you!"^{[c] 29} But ^(bf)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(bg)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(bh)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(bi)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(bj)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(bk)will give to him the throne of ^(bl)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(bm)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"^[d]

³⁵ And the angel answered her, ^(bn)"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(bo)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[e] will be called ^(bp)holy—^(bq)the 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 ^(br)who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(bs)nothing will be impossible with God." ³⁸ And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant^[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And ^(bt)the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(bu)the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^(bv)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(bw)"Blessed are you among women, and ^(bx)blessed is ^(by)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(bz)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. ⁴⁵ And ^(ca)blessed is she who believed that there would be^[g] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^(cy)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ And ^(cz)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother answered, "No; ^(da)he shall be called John." ⁶¹ And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by this name." ⁶² And ^(db)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³ And he asked for ^(dc)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(dd)"His name is John." And they all wondered. ^64 (de)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(df)loosed, and he spoke, ^(dg)blessing God. ⁶⁵ And ^(dh)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(di)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶ and all who heard them ^(dj)laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For ^(dk)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(dl)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(dm)prophesied, saying,

^80 (eq)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(er)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.