The Creation

1 ^(A)In the beginning ^(B)God ^(C)created the heavens and the earth. ² And the earth was a ^(D)[a]formless and desolate emptiness, and ^(E)darkness was over the ^[b]surface of the deep, and ^(F)the Spirit of God ^(G)was hovering over the ^[c]surface of the waters. ³ Then ^(H)God said, “^[d]Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was ^(I)good; and God ^(J)separated the light from the darkness. ^5 (K)God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And ^(L)there was evening and there was morning, one day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be ^[e]an ^(M)expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ God made the ^[f]expanse, and separated ^(N)the waters that were below the ^[g]expanse from the waters ^(O)that were above the ^[h]expanse; and it was so. ⁸ God called the ^[i]expanse “heaven.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

⁹ Then God said, “^(P)Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let ^(Q)the dry land appear”; and it was so. ¹⁰ And God called the dry land “earth,” and the ^(R)gathering of the waters He called “seas”; and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth sprout ^[j](S)vegetation, ^[k]plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to ^[l]their kind ^[m]with seed in them”; and it was so. ¹² The earth produced ^[n]vegetation, ^[o]plants yielding seed according to ^[p]their kind, and trees bearing fruit ^[q]with seed in them, according to ^[r]their kind; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be ^[s](T)lights in the ^[t](U)expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall ^[u]serve as ^(V)signs and for ^(W)seasons, and for days and years; ¹⁵ and they ^[v]shall serve as lights in the ^[w]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights, the ^(X)greater light ^[x]to govern the day, and the lesser light ^[y]to govern the night; He made ^(Y)the stars also. ^17 (Z)God placed them in the ^[z]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ and ^[aa]to ^(AA)govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters ^[ab]teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth ^[ac]in the open ^[ad]expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ And God created ^(AB)the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

^24 (AC)Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to ^[ae]their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to ^[af]their kind”; and it was so. ²⁵ God made the ^(AD)animals of the earth according to ^[ag]their kind, and the livestock according to ^[ah]their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “^[ai]Let ^(AE)Us make ^(AF)mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and ^[aj]let them ^(AG)rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man ^(AH)in His own image, in the image of God He created him; ^(AI)male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “^(AJ)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that ^[ak]moves on the earth.” ²⁹ Then God said, “Behold, ^(AK)I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the ^[al]surface of all the earth, and every tree ^[am]which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; ³⁰ and ^(AL)to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that ^[an]moves on the earth ^[ao]which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. ³¹ And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very ^(AM)good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

BOOK 1

The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.

Introduction

1 Since many have undertaken to compile an account of the things ^[a](A)accomplished among us, ² just as they were handed down to us by those who ^(B)from the beginning ^[b]were ^(C)eyewitnesses and ^[c](D)servants of ^(E)the ^[d]word, ³ it seemed fitting to me as well, ^(F)having ^[e]investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you ^(G)in an orderly sequence, ^(H)most excellent ^(I)Theophilus; ⁴ so that you may know the exact truth about the ^[f]things you have been ^[g](J)taught.

John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold

^5 (K)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the ^(L)division of ^[h]Abijah; and he had a wife ^[i]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ They were both ^(M)righteous in the sight of God, walking ^(N)blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. ⁷ And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in ^[j]years.

⁸ Now it happened that while ^(O)he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ^(P)to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer ^(Q)outside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹ Now ^(R)an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and ^(S)fear ^[k]gripped him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “^(T)Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(U)you shall ^[l]name him John. ¹⁴ You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will ^(V)drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ^[m]while still in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will ^(W)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And it is he who will ^(X)go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of ^(Y)Elijah, ^(Z)to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to ^(AA)make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For ^(AB)I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her ^[n]years.” ¹⁹ The angel answered and said to him, “I am ^(AC)Gabriel, who ^[o](AD)stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

²¹ And meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. ²² But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he repeatedly ^(AE)[p]made signs to them, and remained speechless. ²³ When the days of his priestly service were concluded, he went back home.

²⁴ Now after these days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and she kept herself ^[q]in seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵ “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to ^(AF)take away my disgrace among people.”

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel ^(AG)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named ^(AH)Nazareth, ²⁷ to ^(AI)a virgin ^[r]betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(AJ)of the ^[s]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was ^[t]Mary. ²⁸ And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord ^[u]is with you.” ²⁹ But she ^(AK)was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “^(AL)Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you ^(AM)shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(AN)the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him ^(AO)the throne of His father David; ^33 (AP)and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ^(AQ)and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I ^[v]am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and said to her, “^(AR)The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(AS)the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also ^(AT)the ^[w]holy Child will be called ^(AU)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and ^[x]she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For ^(AV)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ Now ^[y]at this time Mary set out and went in a hurry to ^(AW)the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was ^(AX)filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And ^[z]how has it happened to me that the mother of ^(AY)my Lord would come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ And ^(AZ)blessed is she who ^[aa]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ^[ab]by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song: The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

John the Baptist Is Born

⁵⁷ Now the time ^[aj]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had ^[ak](BM)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

⁵⁹ And it happened that on ^(BN)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, ^[al]after his father. ⁶⁰ And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; but ^(BO)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶² And they ^[am](BP)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. ⁶³ And he asked for a tablet and wrote ^[an]as follows, “^(BQ)His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ^64 (BR)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God. ⁶⁵ And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in ^(BS)the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed ^(BT)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(BU)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(BV)prophesied, saying:

^80 (CQ)Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.