Luke 1
Wycliffe Bible
[1 Forsooth for many men endeavoured to ordain the telling of things, which be filled in us,
2 as they that saw at the beginning, and were ministers of the word, betaken,
3 it is seen also to me, having from the beginning all things diligently by order, to write to thee, thou best Theophilus,
4 that thou know the truth of those words, of which thou art learned.][a]
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, there was a priest [there was some priest], Zacharias by name, of the sort of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And [they] both were just before God, going in all the commandments and justifyings of the Lord, without plaint.
7 And they had no child, for [that] Elisabeth was barren, and both were of great age in their days [and both had gone far in their days].
8 And it befell [Soothly it was done], that when Zacharias should do the office of priesthood, in the order of his course before God,
9 after the custom of the priesthood, he went forth by lot [by sort he went forth], and entered into the temple [of the Lord], to incense.
10 And all the multitude of the people was withoutforth, and prayed in the hour of incensing [praying in the hour of incense].
11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, and stood on the right half of the altar of incense [standing on the right half of the altar of incense].
12 And Zacharias seeing was afraid [And Zacharias seeing was distroubled], and dread fell upon him.
13 And the angel said to him, Zacharias, dread thou not; for thy prayer is heard, and Elisabeth, thy wife, shall bear to thee a son, and his name shall be called John.
14 And joy and gladding shall be to thee; and many shall have joy in his nativity, or birth.
15 For he shall be great before the Lord, and he shall not drink wine nor cider, and he shall be full-filled with the Holy Ghost [and he shall be filled of the Holy Ghost] yet from his mother's womb.
16 And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to their Lord God; [And he shall convert many of the sons of Israel to the Lord God of them;]
17 and he shall go before him in the spirit and virtue of Elias; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers into the sons [and shall turn the hearts of the fathers into the sons], and men out of belief to the prudence of just men, to make ready a perfect people to the Lord.
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, Whereof shall I know this? for I am old, and my wife hath gone far in her days.
19 And the angel answered, and said to him [And the angel answering said to him], For I am Gabriel, that stand nigh before God; and I am sent to thee to speak, and to evangelize to thee these things [and to evangelize, or tell, to thee these things].
20 And lo! thou shalt be dumb, and thou shalt not be able to speak till into the day, in which these things shall be done; for thou hast not believed to my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.
21 And the people was abiding Zacharias, and they wondered, that he tarried in the temple.
22 And he went out, and might not speak to them, and they knew that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he beckoned to them, and dwelled still dumb.
23 And it was done, when the days of his office were fulfilled, he went into his house.
24 And after these days Elisabeth, his wife, conceived, and hid her(self) five months, and said [saying],
25 For so the Lord did to me in the days, in which he beheld, to take away my reproof among men.
26 But in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, whose name was Nazareth [to which the name Nazareth],
27 to a maiden [to a virgin], wedded to a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the maiden was Mary.
28 And the angel entered to her, and said, Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed be thou among women.
29 And when she had heard, she was troubled in his word, and thought what manner salutation this was.
30 And the angel said to her, Dread thou not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
31 Lo! thou shalt conceive in [the] womb, and shalt bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
32 This shall be great [He shall be great], and he shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give to him the seat of David, his father,
33 and he shall reign in the house of Jacob without end [and he shall reign in the house of Jacob into without end], and of his realm shall be none end.
34 And Mary said to the angel, On what manner shall this thing be done, for I know not man?
35 And the angel answered, and said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come from above into thee, and the virtue of the Highest shall overshadow thee; and therefore that holy thing that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.
36 And lo! Elisabeth, thy cousin, and she also hath conceived a son in her old (age), and this month is the sixth to her that is called barren;
37 for every word shall not be impossible with God.
38 And Mary said, Lo! the handmaid of the Lord[b]; be it done to me after thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary rose up in those days, and went with haste into the mountains, into a city of Judaea. [Soothly Mary rising up in those days, went with haste into the hilly places, into a city of Judaea.]
40 And she entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elisabeth.
41 And it was done, as Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the young child in her womb gladded. And Elisabeth was full-filled with the Holy Ghost [And Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost],
42 and cried with a great voice, and said, Blessed be thou among women, and blessed be the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whereof is this thing to me, that the mother of my Lord come to me?
44 For lo! as the voice of thy salutation was made in mine ears, the young child gladded in joy in my womb [the young child gladded with joy in my womb].
45 And blessed be thou, that hast believed, for those things that be said of the Lord to thee [for those things that be said to thee from the Lord], shall be perfectly done.
46 And Mary said, My soul magnifieth the Lord,
47 and my spirit hath gladded in God, mine health [mine health-giver].
48 For he hath beheld the meekness of his handmaiden. For lo! of this all generations shall say that I am blessed.[c]
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and his name is holy.
50 And his mercy is from kindred into kindreds [from kindreds into kindreds], to men that dread him.
51 He made might in his arm, he scattered proud men with the thought of his heart.
52 He put down mighty men from their seats, and enhanced meek men.
53 He hath full-filled hungry men with goods [He hath filled hungry men with good things], and he hath left rich men void.
54 He, having mind of his mercy, took Israel, his child;
55 as he hath spoken to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed, into worlds.
56 And Mary dwelled with her, as it were three months [Forsooth Mary dwelled with her as three months], and turned again into her house.
57 But the time of bearing child was fulfilled to Elisabeth, and she bare a son.
58 And the neighbours and the cousins of her heard, that the Lord had magnified his mercy with her; and they thanked him [and they together joyed to her].
59 And it was done in the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, by the name of his father.
60 And his mother answered, and said, Nay, but he shall be called John.
61 And they said to her, For no man is in thy kindred, that is called [by] this name.
62 And they beckoned to his father, what he would that he were called. [Soothly they made a sign to his father, whom he would him to be called.]
63 And he asking a stylus [a pointel], wrote, saying, John is his name. And all men wondered.
64 And at once his mouth was opened [Forsooth his mouth was opened anon], and his tongue, and he spake, and blessed God.
65 And dread was made on all their neighbours, and all these words were published on all the mountains of Judaea [on all the hilly places of Judaea].
66 And all men that heard putted in their heart, and said, What manner child shall this be? For the hand of the Lord was with him. [And all men that heard put in their heart, saying, Who guessest thou, this child shall be? And soothly the hand of the Lord was with him.]
67 And Zacharias, his father, was full-filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, and said, [And Zacharias, his father, was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,]
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited, and made redemption of his people.
69 And he hath raised to us an horn of health in the house of David, his child.
70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, that were from the world.
71 Health from our enemies, and from the hand of all men that hated us [and from the hand of all that hated us].
72 To do mercy with our fathers, and to have mind of his holy testament.
73 The great oath [The oath] that he swore to Abraham, our father,
74 to give himself to us. That we without dread delivered from the hand of our enemies, serve to him [That we delivered from the hand of our enemies, serve to him without dread],
75 in holiness and rightwiseness before him in 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 make ready his ways.
77 To give science of health to his people, into remission of their sins;
78 by the inwardness of the mercy of our God, in the which [in which] he springing up from on high hath visited us.
79 To give light to them that sit in darknesses and in the shadow of death; to direct [to dress] our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child waxed, and was comforted in spirit, and was in desert places unto the day [and was in desert till the day] of his showing to Israel.
Luke 1
New Matthew Bible
The conception and birth of John the Baptist. The conception of Christ. The thankful songs of Mary and Zacharias.
1 Since many have taken in hand to compile an account of those things that are known for certain among us, 2 as told to us by those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning, and ministered at the doing of them, 3 I determined also that, as soon as I had searched out diligently all things from the beginning, then I would write to you, good Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of those things of which you are informed.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the shift of Abijah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 Both were perfect before God, and walked in all the laws and observances of the Lord, and no man could find fault with them. 7 And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were well stricken in age.
8 And it came to pass as he executed the priest’s office before God, when his shift came 9 according to the custom of the priest’s office, the lot fell to him to burn incense. And he went into the temple of the Lord, 10 and the whole host of the people were outside in prayer while the incense was a-burning. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was startled, and fear came on him.
13 And the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard. And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to their Lord God. 17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the unbelievers to the wisdom of the just men: to make the people ready for the Lord.
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be sure of this, seeing that I am old, and my wife well stricken in years?
19 And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God, and have been sent to speak to you and to show you these glad tidings. 20 And behold, you shall be dumb and not able to speak until the time that these things are performed, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and wondered that he was so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them, whereby they perceived that he had seen some vision in the temple. And he gestured to them and remained speechless.
23 And eventually, as soon as the time of his ministration was up, he departed home to his own house. 24 And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus has God dealt with me in the days when he looked on me, to take from me the disgrace that I suffered among men.
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named 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 went in to her and said, Hail, thou full of grace! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.
29 When she saw him, she was bewildered at his words, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this could be. 30 And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary, for you have found grace with God. 31 Lo, you shall conceive in your womb, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will give to him the seat of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary to the angel, How will this be, seeing I do not know a man?
35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you. Therefore also, that holy thing which will be born of you will be called the Son of God. 36 And behold: your cousin Elizabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is her sixth month, though she be called barren. 37 For with God, nothing is impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaiden of the Lord! Be it unto me even as you have said.
And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the mountains with haste, into a town of Judea, 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, as Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe sprang in her belly. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And how does it happen that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For lo, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe sprang in my belly for joy. 45 And blessed are you who believed, for those things will be performed that were told you from the Lord.
46 And Mary said, My soul does magnify the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour. 48 For he has looked on the poor degree of his handmaiden. Behold, now from henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For he who is mighty has done great things unto me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on them who fear him, throughout all generations. 51 He shows strength with his arm. He scatters those who are proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He puts down the mighty from their seats and exalts those of low degree. 53 He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty. 54 He remembers mercy and helps his servant Israel, 55 even as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.
56 And Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and returned again to her own house.
57 Elizabeth’s time came to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 And her neighbours and her relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy upon her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 And when it was the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and were calling him by the name Zacharias, after his father. 60 However his mother spoke and said, Not so, but he shall be called John. 61 And they said to her, There is no one in your family called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. 63 And he asked for writing tablets and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marvelled. 64 And Zacharias’ mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue also, and he spoke, lauding God.
65 And awe came on all those who dwelt near to them. And also these stories were spread abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea, 66 and everyone who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child will this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. 69 And he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 just as he promised by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began: 71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us, 72 to fulfil the mercy promised to our fathers, to remember his holy covenant, 73 and to perform the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, 74 to give us, so that we, delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear all the days of our life, 75 in such holiness and righteousness as are accepted before him.
76 And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest. For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 and to give knowledge of salvation to his people for the remission of sins, 78 through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high has visited us, 79 to give light to those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was out in the wilderness till the day came when he was to show himself to the Israelites.
Luke 1
Authorized (King James) Version
1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, 9 according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. 23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named 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 came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 and she spake 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, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
46 And Mary said,
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm;
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath holpen his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy;
55 as he spake to our fathers,
to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. 60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. 61 And they said unto 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 he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. 64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judæa. 66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
69 and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David;
70 as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets,
which have been since the world began:
71 that we should be saved from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us;
72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers,
and to remember his holy covenant;
73 the oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
74 that he would grant unto us,
that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him,
all the days of our life.
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 unto his people
by the remission of their sins,
78 through the tender mercy of our God;
whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
2001 by Terence P. Noble
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.