Luk 1 | ESV | STEP | Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us ,

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ^ahave been accomplished among us, 2 ^bjust as those who ^cfrom the beginning were ^deyewitnesses and ^eministers of ^fthe word ^ghave delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write ^han orderly account for you, ⁱmost excellent ^jTheophilus, 4 that you may have ^kcertainty concerning the things ^lyou have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 ^mIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, ^{▼▼Greek Zacharias} ^oof ^pthe division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both ^qrighteous before God, walking ^rblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because ^sElizabeth was barren, and ^tboth were advanced in years.

8 Now ^uwhile he was serving as priest before God when ^vhis division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^wto enter ^xthe temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people ^ywere praying ^zoutside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^aathe altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^abfear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^acyour prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^adyou shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^aerejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be ^afgreat before the Lord. And ^aghe must not drink wine or strong ^ahdrink, and ^aihe will be ^ajfilled with the Holy Spirit, ^akeven from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and ^alhe will go before him ^amin the spirit and power of Elijah, ^anto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^aothe disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^apto make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, ^aq“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 ^arGabriel. ^asI stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, ^atyou 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 ^authe temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^avthe temple. And ^awhe kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And ^axwhen his time of ^ayservice 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, ^azto take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel ^baGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^bbNazareth, 27 ^bcto a virgin betrothed ^{▼▼That is, legally pledged to be married} to a man whose name was Joseph, ^beof the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^bfO favored one, ^bgthe Lord is with you!” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add Blessed are you among women!} 29 But ^bishe 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 ^bjyou have found favor with God. 31 And behold, ^bkyou will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^blyou shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of ^bmthe Most High. And the Lord God ^bnwill give to him the throne of ^bohis father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^bpforever, 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?” ^{▼▼Greek since I do not know a man}

35 And the angel answered her, ^br“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^bsthe Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add of you} will be called ^buholy— ^bvthe 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 ^bwwho was called barren. 37 For ^bxnothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant ^{▼▼Greek bondservant; also verse 48} of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^bzthe angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^cathe 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 ^cbwas filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^cc“Blessed are you among women, and ^cdblessed is ^cethe fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^cfmy 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 ^cgblessed is she who believed that there would be ^{▼▼Or believed, for there will be} a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

^ci“My ^cjsoul ^ckmagnifies the Lord,
47 ^cland my ^cmspirit rejoices in ^cnGod my Savior,
48 for ^cohe has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations ^cpwill call me blessed;
49 for ^cqhe who is mighty ^crhas done great things for me,
and ^csholy is his name.
50 And ^cthis mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 ^cuHe has shown strength with his arm;
^cvhe has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 ^cwhe has brought down the mighty from their thrones
^cxand exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled ^cythe hungry with good things,
and the rich ^czhe has sent away empty.
54 He has ^dahelped ^dbhis servant Israel,
^dcin remembrance of his mercy,
55 ^ddas he spoke to our fathers,
^deto Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

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 ^dfhad shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And ^dgon 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; ^dhhe shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And ^dithey made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for ^dja writing tablet and wrote, ^dk“His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 ^dlAnd immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^dmloosed, and he spoke, ^dnblessing God. 65 And ^dofear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^dpthe hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them ^dqlaid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^drthe hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah ^dswas filled with the Holy Spirit and ^dtprophesied, saying,

68 ^du“Blessed be the Lord ^dvGod of Israel,
for he has ^dwvisited and ^dxredeemed his people
69 and ^dyhas raised up ^dza horn of salvation for us
^eain the house of his servant David,
70 ^ebas ^eche spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 ^edthat we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 ^eeto show the mercy promised to our fathers
and ^efto remember his holy ^egcovenant,
73 ^ehthe oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him ^eiwithout fear,
75 ^ejin holiness and righteousness before him ^ekall our days.
76 And you, child, will be called ^elthe prophet of ^emthe Most High;
for ^enyou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
^eoin the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the ^eptender mercy of our God,
whereby ^eqthe sunrise shall ^ervisit us ^{▼▼Or when the sunrise shall dawn upon us; some manuscripts since the sunrise has visited us} ^etfrom on high
79 to ^eugive light to ^evthose who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into ^ewthe way of ^expeace.”

80 ^eyAnd the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^ezin the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.