Luke 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Dedication to Theophilus
1 Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,(A) 3 I, too, decided, as one having a grasp of everything from the start,[a] to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilus,(B) 4 so that you may have a firm grasp of the words in which you have been instructed.
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.(C) 6 Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.(D) 7 But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.
8 Once when he was serving as priest before God during his section’s turn of duty,(E) 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer incense.(F) 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.(G) 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified, and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.(H) 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,(I) 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.(J) 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.(K) 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”(L) 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that this will happen? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.”(M) 19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.(N) 20 But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”(O)
21 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was ended, he returned to his home.
24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me in this time, when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”(P)
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,(Q) 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.(R) 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”[b](S) 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.(T) 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.(U) 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”(V) 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”[c] 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d] will be holy; he will be called Son of God.(W) 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”(X) 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.(Y) 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?(Z) 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[e] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
Mary’s Song of Praise
46 And Mary[f] said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,(AA)
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,(AB)
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,(AC)
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;(AD)
50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.(AE)
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.(AF)
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;(AG)
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.(AH)
54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,(AI)
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(AJ)
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then 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 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.(AK)
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.(AL) 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.(AM)
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:(AN)
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on[g] his people and redeemed them.(AO)
69 He has raised up a mighty savior[h] for us
in the house of his child David,(AP)
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,(AQ)
71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors
and has remembered his holy covenant,(AR)
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,(AS) 75 in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.(AT)
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,(AU)
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.(AV)
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break[i] upon[j] us,
79 to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”(AW)
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.(AX)
Footnotes
- 1.3 Or for a long time
- 1.28 Other ancient authorities add Blessed are you among women
- 1.34 Gk I do not know a man
- 1.35 Other ancient authorities add of you
- 1.45 Or believed, for there will be
- 1.46 Other ancient authorities read Elizabeth
- 1.68 Or has visited
- 1.69 Gk a horn of salvation
- 1.78 Other ancient authorities read has broken
- 1.78 Gk will visit
Luke 1
English Standard Version
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,
(CB)“My (CC)soul (CD)magnifies the Lord,
47 (CE)and my (CF)spirit rejoices in (CG)God my Savior,
48 for (CH)he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations (CI)will call me blessed;
49 for (CJ)he who is mighty (CK)has done great things for me,
and (CL)holy is his name.
50 And (CM)his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 (CN)He has shown strength with his arm;
(CO)he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 (CP)he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
(CQ)and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled (CR)the hungry with good things,
and the rich (CS)he has sent away empty.
54 He has (CT)helped (CU)his servant Israel,
(CV)in remembrance of his mercy,
55 (CW)as he spoke to our fathers,
(CX)to 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 (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,
68 (DN)“Blessed be the Lord (DO)God of Israel,
for he has (DP)visited and (DQ)redeemed his people
69 and (DR)has raised up (DS)a horn of salvation for us
(DT)in the house of his servant David,
70 (DU)as (DV)he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 (DW)that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (DX)to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and (DY)to remember his holy (DZ)covenant,
73 (EA)the 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 (EB)without fear,
75 (EC)in holiness and righteousness before him (ED)all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called (EE)the prophet of (EF)the Most High;
for (EG)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
(EH)in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the (EI)tender mercy of our God,
whereby (EJ)the sunrise shall (EK)visit us[h] (EL)from on high
79 to (EM)give light to (EN)those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into (EO)the way of (EP)peace.”
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.
Footnotes
- Luke 1:5 Greek Zacharias
- Luke 1:27 That is, legally pledged to be married
- Luke 1:28 Some manuscripts add Blessed are you among women!
- Luke 1:34 Greek since I do not know a man
- Luke 1:35 Some manuscripts add of you
- Luke 1:38 Greek bondservant; also verse 48
- Luke 1:45 Or believed, for there will be
- Luke 1:78 Or when the sunrise shall dawn upon us; some manuscripts since the sunrise has visited us
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
