Baptist Bible Image

Luke 1

Centenary | King James
1Seeing that many have taken it in hand to draw up an account of those matters which have been fully established among us,
2just as they reported them to us, who were from the beginning eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,
3it seemed good to me also, after investigating the course of all things accurately, from the very beginning, to write them to you in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4so that you may know the certainty of the story which you have been taught by word of mouth.
5In the reign of Herod, King of Judaea, there was a certain priest, named Zachariah, belonging to the class of Abijah. He had a wife named Elizabeth who was a descendant of Aaron.
6They were both righteous in the sight of the Lord, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the law, blameless.
7Now they had no child, for Elizabeth was barren, and both were far advanced in years.
8Now while Zachariah was acting as priest before God in the due course of his class, it fell to his lot,
9according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter into the sanctuary of the Lord and to burn incense.
10And the whole multitude of the people were without, praying at the hour of incense.
11Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12And as he saw him Zachariah was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zachariah, because your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.
14"And he shall be to you a joy and an exultation, and many shall rejoice over his birth.
15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, "He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit from the hour of his birth,
16"And shall win many of the Sons of Israel to the Lord, their God.
17"He shall go before Him in the wisdom and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and so to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him."
18"How shall I be sure of this?" said Zachariah to the angel. "For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."
19"I am Gabriel," answered the angel, "who stands in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20And now you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when this has taken place; because you did not believe my words--words which will be fulfilled at their appointed time."
21Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zachariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
22And when he came out he could not speak to them, and then they knew that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept making signs to them and remained dumb.
23As soon as his term of priestly service was ended he went home;
24and after those days Elizabeth, his wife, conceived, and she hid her-self five months, saying:
25"This has the Lord done for me. He has now designed to take away my reproach among men."
26Six months later the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee, called Nazareth,
27to a maiden betrothed to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. Her name was Mary,
28the angel went in and sail to her: "Joy to you, highly favored one! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly agitated at his word, and was revolving in her mind what this salutation could mean,
30when the angel said to her: "Fear not, Mary, for you have found grace with God.
31And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son; and you shall call his name Jesus.
32He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his forefather David,
33and he shall reign over the House of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."
34And Mary said to the angel: "How can this be? For I have no husband?"
35"The Holy Spirit shall come upon you," said the angel, "and the power of the Most High shall over-shadow you, and therefore the holy offspring which is to be born, shall be called the Son of God.
36And behold your kinswoman. Elizabeth, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren.
37For no word of God shall be void of power."
38Then Mary said: "Behold, I am Jehovah's slave. Let it be to me as you have said." Then the angel departed from her.
39Soon after this Mary set out and hastened unto the hill-country to a town in Judah;
40and there she came into the house of Zachariah, and greeted Elizabeth.
41And when Elizabeth heard her salutation, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Spirit,
42and called out with a loud cry: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is your unborn child!
43But why is this honor done me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44For behold when the sound of your salutation reached my ears, the babe leaped with joy within my womb.
45And blessed is she who believed that the Lord's words spoken to her would be fulfilled."
46Then Mary said: "My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47My spirit exults in the God, who is my Saviour,
48For he has regarded the humiliation of his slave, and from this hour all ages will count me blessed.
49"For he who is mighty has done great things for me; And holy is his name.
50His mercy is unto generations and generations on those who reverence him.
51"He has showed strength with his arm: he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts;
52He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted those of low degree.
53"The hungry he has filled with good things, but the rich he has sent empty away.
54He has helped Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
55As he spoke to our forefathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever."
56So Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then returned home.
57Now when the time of Elizabeth's delivery was come, she gave birth to a son;
58and her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her; and they rejoiced with her,
59and came on the eighth day to circumcise the child. They were about to call him "Zachariah," after his father,
60when his mother said, "No, he is to be called John."
61Said they, "You have no relative of that name!"
62Then they asked his father by signs what he wished to call the child.
63So he asked for a writing-tablet, and wrote down, "His name is John."
64Every one was surprised, and at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
65And there came a great fear upon all in the neighborhood; and throughout the hill-country of Judea all these sayings were much talked about.
66All who heard the story laid it up in their hearts, saying, "What, then, will this child be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.
67And his father, Zachariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:
68"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people,
69And has raised up a mighty Deliverer for us in the house of his servant David,
70As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets which have been since the world began
71To deliver us from our enemies, and from the power of all who hate us.
72"He showed mercy to our forefathers, He remembered his holy covenant,
73The oath which he swore to Abraham, our forefather,
74That we should be delivered out of the hand of our enemies, and should serve him without fear,
75In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76"And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Most High, for thou shalt go before the Lord to prepare the way
77To give to his people a knowledge of salvation through the remission of their sins,
78Through the heart of mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high shall visit us,
79To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, And to guide our feet into the paths of peace."
80And the child grew continually, and became strong in the Spirit, and remained ever in the desert till the day of his showing to Israel.
Click this link for bibliographic information.