The Lord's Prayer

11 Now Jesus^[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, ^(A)as John taught his disciples.” ² And he said to them, ^(B)“When you pray, say:

⁵ And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? ⁸ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything ^(K)because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence^[c] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹ And I tell you, ^(L)ask, and ^(M)it will be given to you; ^(N)seek, and you will find; ^(O)knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for^[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, ^(P)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^(Q)give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

^14 (R)Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons ^(S)by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, ^(T)to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ^17 (U)But he, ^(V)knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(W)by whom do ^(X)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by ^(Y)the finger of God that I cast out demons, then ^(Z)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ^22 (AA)but when one stronger than he attacks him and ^(AB)overcomes him, he takes away his ^(AC)armor in which he trusted and ^(AD)divides his spoil. ^23 (AE)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

^24 (AF)“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(AG)waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And ^(AH)the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷ As he said these things, ^(AI)a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ^(AJ)“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸ But he said, ^(AK)“Blessed rather are those ^(AL)who hear the word of God and ^(AM)keep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

^29 (AN)When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^(AO)“This generation is an evil generation. ^(AP)It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as ^(AQ)Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ^31 (AR)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and ^(AS)condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(AT)something greater than Solomon is here. ^32 (AU)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(AV)condemn it, for ^(AW)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(AX)something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

^33 (AY)“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is ^(AZ)the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is ^(BA)bad, your body is full of darkness. ^35 (BB)Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, ^(BC)as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ While Jesus^[e] was speaking, ^(BD)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see ^(BE)that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, ^(BF)“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^(BG)greed and wickedness. ^40 (BH)You fools! ^(BI)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(BJ)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, ^(BK)everything is clean for you.

^42 (BL)“But woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BM)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ^(BN)justice and ^(BO)the love of God. ^(BP)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BQ)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! ^(BR)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of ^(BS)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you ^(BT)lawyers also! For ^(BU)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (BV)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48 (BW)So you are witnesses and you ^(BX)consent to the deeds of ^(BY)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also ^(BZ)the Wisdom of God said, ^(CA)‘I will send them ^(CB)prophets and apostles, ^(CC)some of whom they will ^(CD)kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ so that ^(CE)the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(CF)from the foundation of the world, may be ^(CG)charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of ^(CH)Abel to the blood of ^(CI)Zechariah, who perished between ^(CJ)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^(CK)required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you ^(CL)lawyers! ^(CM)For you have taken away the key of ^(CN)knowledge. You ^(CO)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ^54 (CP)lying in wait for him, ^(CQ)to catch him in something he might say.

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.