Luke 1
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a narration of the things that have been accomplished among us;
2 According as they have delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word:
3 It seemed good to me also, having diligently attained to all things from the beginning, to write to thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 That thou mayest know the verity of those words in which thou hast been instructed.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
6 And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame.
7 And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
8 And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course before God,
9 According to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord.
10 And all the multitude of the people was praying without, at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the alter of incense.
12 And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John:
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity.
15 For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16 And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.
18 And Zachary said to the angel: Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.
19 And the angel answering, said to him: I am Gabriel, who stand before God: and am sent to speak to thee, and to bring thee these good tidings.
20 And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be able to speak until the day wherein these things shall come to pass, because thou hast not believed my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.
21 And the people were waiting for Zachary; and they wondered that he tarried so long in the temple.
22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they understood that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he made signs to them, and remained dumb.
23 And it came to pass, after the days of his office were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
24 And after those days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself five months, saying:
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he hath had regard to take away my reproach among men.
26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.
33 And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?
35 And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:
37 Because no word shall be impossible with God.
38 And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda.
40 And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
45 And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.
46 And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord.
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
51 He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
55 As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
56 And Mary abode with her about three months; and she returned to her own house.
57 Now Elizabeth's full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbours and kinsfolks heard that the Lord had shewed his great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by his father's name Zachary.
60 And his mother answering, said: Not so; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said to her: There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63 And demanding a writing table, he wrote, saying: John is his name. And they all wondered.
64 And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
65 And fear came upon all their neighbours; and all these things were noised abroad over all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all they that had heard them laid them up in their heart, saying: What an one, think ye, shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And Zachary his father was filled with the Holy Ghost; and he prophesied, saying:
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:
70 As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:
72 To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,
73 The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
74 That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
75 In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:
78 Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
79 To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit; and was in the deserts until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Luke 1
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
1 In-as-much-as many undertook[a] to compile a narrative about the things having been fulfilled[b] among us, 2 just as the eyewitnesses from the first[c] and ones having become servants of the word handed-down to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having closely-followed[d] everything carefully from-the-beginning[e], to write it for you in-order, most-excellent Theophilus, 4 in order that you may fully-know the certainty of the things about which you were instructed.
The Birth of John And Jesus
5 In the days of Herod[f], king of Judea:
There Was a Priest Named Zechariah Whose Wife Elizabeth Was Barren
There was a certain priest— Zechariah by name, from the division of Abijah— and a wife for him from the daughters of Aaron. And her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous ones in the sight of God, walking in all the commandments and regulations of the Lord as blameless[g] ones. 7 And there was not a child for them, because Elizabeth was barren. And they were both advanced in their days.
During His Temple Service, an Angel Tells Him Elizabeth Will Bear a Son
8 And it came about during his serving-as-priest before God in the order of his division, 9 that according to the custom[h] of the priestly-office, he obtained-by-lot that he might offer-incense[i], [after] having entered into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the offering of incense. 11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And having seen him, Zechariah was frightened, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be fearing, Zechariah, because your prayer was heard. And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And there will be joy and gladness for you. And many will rejoice over his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will never drink wine and fermented-drink[j], and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still of [k] his mother’s womb, 16 and he will turn-back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go-ahead before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn-back[l] the hearts of fathers to their children, and to turn back disobedient ones with[m] the understanding[n] of righteous ones, to prepare a people having been made-ready for the Lord”. 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “Based-on what shall I know this? For I am an old-man, and my wife is advanced in her days”. 19 And having responded, the angel said to him, “I am Gabriel, the one standing in the presence of God. And I was sent forth to speak to you, and to announce these things as-good-news to you. 20 And behold— you shall be silent and not able to speak until which day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper-time”. 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah. And they were wondering during his delaying in the temple. 22 And having come out, he was not able to speak to them. And they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he was motioning to them and continuing to be mute.
Elizabeth Conceives And Hides It For Five Months
23 And it came about that when the days of his service were fulfilled, he went to his house. 24 And after these days, Elizabeth his wife conceived. And she was concealing herself for five months, saying 25 that “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days in which He looked-upon me to take-away my reproach among people”.
In The Sixth Month, an Angel Appears To Mary, a Virgin Promised In Marriage To Joseph
26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent-forth from God to a city of Galilee for which the name was Nazareth, 27 to a virgin having been promised-in-marriage[o] to a man for whom the name was Joseph, from the house of David. And the name of the virgin was Mary. 28 And having come-in to[p] her, he said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you”. 29 But the one was very-troubled at the statement, and was pondering what-kind-of greeting this might be.
The Angel Tells Mary She Will Give Birth To a Son— Jesus, The Son of God
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be fearing, Mary. For you found favor[q] with God. 31 And behold— you will conceive in your womb and give-birth to a son. And you shall call His name Jesus. 32 This One will be great, and will be called ‘Son of the Most-High’. And the Lord God will give Him the throne of David, His father. 33 And He will reign[r] over the house of Jacob forever. And there will not be an end of His kingdom”. 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen, since I am not knowing[s] a man?” 35 And having responded, the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most-High will overshadow you. For this reason[t] also the Holy Child being born will be called God’s Son. 36 And behold— Elizabeth your relative also herself has conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month for her, the one being called barren, 37 because no word[u] from God will be impossible”. 38 And Mary said, “Behold the slave of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word”. And the angel departed from her.
Mary Goes To See Elizabeth
39 And having arisen during these days, Mary proceeded to the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered into the house of Zechariah, and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it came about that when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped[v] in her womb.
Elizabeth Recognizes Mary As The Mother of Her Lord
And Elizabeth was filled[w] with the Holy Spirit, 42 and exclaimed with a loud shout and said, “You are blessed[x] among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why[y] has this happened to me— that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold— when the sound of your greeting came-to-be in my ears, the baby leaped with gladness in my womb. 45 And blessed[z] is she having believed that[aa] there will be a fulfillment to the things having been spoken to her from the Lord”.
Mary Rejoices Over God Her Savior
46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies[ab] the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoiced-greatly over God my Savior. 48 Because He looked-upon[ac] the lowliness[ad] of His slave, for behold— from now on, all generations will consider me blessed[ae], 49 because the Powerful One did great things for me. And His name is holy. 50 And His mercy to generations and generations is on the ones fearing Him. 51 He did a mighty-deed[af] with His arm. He scattered ones proud[ag] in the thought[ah] of their heart. 52 He brought-down rulers from their thrones, and lifted-up lowly ones. 53 He filled ones being hungry with good things, and sent ones being rich away empty. 54 He helped Israel His servant so that He might remember[ai] mercy, 55 just as He spoke to our fathers— to Abraham, and to his seed forever”. 56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Elizabeth Bears a Son, Who Is Named John. People Wonder What This Child Will Be
57 Now for Elizabeth, the time was fulfilled that she might give-birth, and she bore a son. 58 And the neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord magnified His mercy with her, and they were rejoicing-with her. 59 And it came about that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they[aj] were calling[ak] him Zechariah, on the basis of the name of his father. 60 And having responded, his mother said, “No! Instead he will be called John”. 61 And they said to her that “There is no one from your relatives who is called by this name”. 62 And they were motioning to his father as to what he would wish him to be called. 63 And having asked-for a tablet, he wrote, saying “John is his name”. And they all marveled. 64 And at-once his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed. And he was speaking, blessing God. 65 And awe came over all the ones living around them. And all these things were being talked-over in the whole hill country of Judea. 66 And all the ones having heard it put these matters in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” For[al] indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zechariah Prophesies That John Will Prepare The Way For The Messiah
67 And Zechariah, his father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying 68 “Blessed be the Lord God[am] of Israel, because He visited us and accomplished[an] redemption for His people, 69 and raised-up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant (70 just as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from the past age[ao]), 71 a salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all the ones hating us, 72 so as to show mercy to[ap] our fathers and remember[aq] His holy covenant (73 the oath which He swore to Abraham our father)— that He might grant to us that 74 having been delivered from the hand of our enemies, we might be serving[ar] Him fearlessly 75 in holiness and righteousness before Him for all our days. 76 And indeed you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most-High. For you will go before the Lord so as to prepare His ways[as], 77 that you might give[at] His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins 78 because of the deep-feelings-of mercy of our God, with which[au] the rising[av] Sun from on-high will visit us 79 so as to shine-upon the ones sitting in darkness and a shadow of death, that He might direct[aw] our feet into the way of peace”.
John Remains In Seclusion Until His Public Appearance To Israel
80 And the child was growing and becoming-strong in spirit. And he was in the desolate places until the day of his public-appearance[ax] to Israel.
Footnotes
- Luke 1:1 Or, set-their-hand.
- Luke 1:1 Or, accomplished.
- Luke 1:2 That is, the beginning of Christ’s ministry.
- Luke 1:3 Or, accurately-traced.
- Luke 1:3 That is, from before John’s birth.
- Luke 1:5 See Mt 2:1.
- Luke 1:6 Or, faultless.
- Luke 1:9 That is, the custom of casting lots to see who would perform this duty.
- Luke 1:9 That is, offer it inside the Holy Place, a once in a lifetime event for a priest.
- Luke 1:15 That is, alcoholic beverages made from things other than grapes.
- Luke 1:15 Or, from. That is, still in the womb; or, still a newborn baby.
- Luke 1:17 Turn back the hearts... children. See Mal 4:5-6.
- Luke 1:17 Or, by means of.
- Luke 1:17 Or, way-of-thinking.
- Luke 1:27 That is, by her parents, according to the custom of that day.
- Luke 1:28 That is, come into her house.
- Luke 1:30 Or, grace.
- Luke 1:33 Or, be king.
- Luke 1:34 That is, having sexual relations with.
- Luke 1:35 That is, because God will be the child’s father.
- Luke 1:37 Or, no thing.
- Luke 1:41 Or, leaped-for-joy.
- Luke 1:41 This is how Elizabeth knew the things she says next.
- Luke 1:42 That is, blessed by God.
- Luke 1:43 Or, from where, how.
- Luke 1:45 Or, fortunate, happy.
- Luke 1:45 Or, because.
- Luke 1:46 In Latin, this word is Magnificat, which has become a name for this ‘magnification’ of God by Mary.
- Luke 1:48 That is, with favor.
- Luke 1:48 That is, humble status.
- Luke 1:48 Or, fortunate. That is, a most fortunate recipient of God’s favor.
- Luke 1:51 Or, showed strength, defined by what follows.
- Luke 1:51 Or, arrogant, haughty.
- Luke 1:51 Or, way of thinking.
- Luke 1:54 Or, keep-in-mind.
- Luke 1:59 That is, the people at the ceremony.
- Luke 1:59 Or, were going to call.
- Luke 1:66 This may be part of the quote, and refer to the circumstances of John’s birth. Or, this may be Luke’s comment.
- Luke 1:68 Or, the Lord, the God of Israel.
- Luke 1:68 Or, brought about. Zechariah is speaking prophetically.
- Luke 1:70 Or, from long-ago, from of old.
- Luke 1:72 That is, by at last carrying out His promises to them.
- Luke 1:72 That is, be mindful of the covenant He swore to them. In Gen 22:16-18 God swore that all nations of the earth would be blessed in Abraham.
- Luke 1:74 Or, worshiping.
- Luke 1:76 Or, paths.
- Luke 1:77 That is, through the One coming after you.
- Luke 1:78 This is plural, referring either to deep-feelings of mercy, or to salvation, forgiveness, and deep-feelings of mercy.
- Luke 1:78 Or, the rising Star; or, the Dawn. That is, the Messiah, alluding to Mal 4:2.
- Luke 1:79 Or, lead, guide.
- Luke 1:80 Or, manifestation.
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Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
