Luke 1-3

New American Standard Bible 1995

Introduction

1 Inasmuch as 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 for me as well, ^(F)having ^[e]investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you ^(G)in consecutive order, ^(H)most excellent ^(I)Theophilus; ⁴ so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been ^[f](J)taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

^5 (K)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named ^[g]Zacharias, 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 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, 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 And ^(R)an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zacharias 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, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(U)you will ^[l]give him the name John. ¹⁴ 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 he will ^(V)drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ^[m]while yet in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will ^(W)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ 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 the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to ^(AA)make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For ^(AB)I am an old man and my wife is advanced in ^[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 have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, you shall 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 in their proper time.”

²¹ The people were waiting for Zacharias, 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 ^(AE)kept ^[p]making signs to them, and remained mute. ²³ When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.

²⁴ After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she ^[q]kept herself 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 men.”

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel ^(AG)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called ^(AH)Nazareth, ²⁷ to ^(AI)a virgin ^[r]engaged 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, ^[u]favored one! The Lord ^[v]is with you.” ²⁹ But she ^(AK)was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. ³⁰ 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 bear 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 Mary said to the angel, “How ^[w]can this be, since I ^[x]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; and for that reason ^(AT)the ^[y]holy Child shall be called ^(AU)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and ^[z]she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For ^[aa](AV)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, the ^[ab]bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ Now ^[ac]at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to ^(AW)the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias 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 ^[ad]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 ^[ae]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ^[af]by the Lord.”

The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

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

John Is Born

⁵⁷ Now the time ^[an]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 ^[ao](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 Zacharias, ^[ap]after his father. ⁶⁰ But his mother answered 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 that name.” ⁶² And they ^(BP)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. ⁶³ And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “^(BQ)His name is John.” And they were all astonished. ^64 (BR)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. ⁶⁵ Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all ^(BS)the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For ^(BT)the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

Zacharias’s Prophecy

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

^80 (CQ)And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

2 Now in those days a decree went out from ^(CR)Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of ^(CS)all ^[as]the inhabited earth. ^2 [at]This was the first census taken while ^[au]Quirinius was governor of ^(CT)Syria. ³ And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because ^(CU)he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. ⁶ While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷ And she ^(CV)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a ^[av]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And ^(CW)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(CX)stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “^(CY)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a ^(CZ)Savior, who is ^[aw](DA)Christ ^(DB)the Lord. ^12 (DC)This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a ^[ax]manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the ^[az]manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary ^(DF)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds went back, ^(DG)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹ And when ^(DH)eight days had passed, ^[ba]before His circumcision, ^(DI)His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

^22 (DJ)And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “^(DK)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “^(DL)A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ^(DM)righteous and devout, ^(DN)looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And ^(DO)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(DP)see death before he had seen the Lord’s ^[bb]Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^[bc](DQ)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸ then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

³³ And His father and ^(DU)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary ^(DV)His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for ^(DW)the fall and ^[be]rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— ³⁵ and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was a ^(DX)prophetess, ^[bf]Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(DY)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[bg]years ^(DZ)and had lived with her husband seven years after her ^[bh]marriage, ³⁷ and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with ^(EA)fastings and prayers. ³⁸ At that very ^[bi]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were ^(EB)looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹ When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^(EC)their own city of Nazareth. ^40 (ED)The Child continued to grow and become strong, ^[bj]increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

⁴¹ Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at ^(EE)the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; ⁴³ and as they were returning, after spending the ^(EF)full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, ⁴⁴ but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. ⁴⁶ Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard Him ^(EG)were amazed at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸ When they saw Him, they were astonished; and ^(EH)His mother said to Him, “^[bk]Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^(EI)Your father and I ^[bl]have been anxiously looking for You.” ⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that ^(EJ)I had to be in My Father’s ^[bm]house?” ⁵⁰ But ^(EK)they did not understand the statement which He ^[bn]had made to them. ⁵¹ And He went down with them and came to ^(EL)Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and ^(EM)His mother ^(EN)treasured all these ^[bo]things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and ^[bp]stature, and in ^(EO)favor with God and men.

John the Baptist Preaches

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^(EP)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^(EQ)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, ² in the high priesthood of ^(ER)Annas and ^(ES)Caiaphas, ^(ET)the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all ^(EU)the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

⁷ So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “^(EZ)You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and ^(FA)do not begin to say ^[bs]to yourselves, ‘^(FB)We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹ Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so ^(FC)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “^(FD)Then what shall we do?” ¹¹ And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to ^(FE)share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” ¹² And some ^(FF)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” ¹³ And he said to them, “^[bt]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” ¹⁴ Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or ^(FG)accuse anyone falsely, and ^(FH)be content with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were ^[bu]wondering in their hearts about John, ^(FI)as to whether he was ^[bv]the Christ, ^16 (FJ)John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you ^[bw]with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His ^(FK)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with ^(FL)unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. ¹⁹ But when ^(FM)Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of ^(FN)Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which ^(FO)Herod had done, ²⁰ Herod also added this to them all: ^(FP)he locked John up in prison.

Jesus Is Baptized

^21 (FQ)Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was ^(FR)praying, heaven was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “^(FS)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Genealogy of Jesus

^23 (FT)When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, ^[bx]as was supposed, the son of ^(FU)Joseph, ^[by]the son of ^[bz]Eli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of ^[ca]Hesli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, ^(FV)the son of Zerubbabel, the son of ^[cb]Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of ^[cc]Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of ^[cd]Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ^32 (FW)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of ^[ce]Salmon, the son of ^[cf]Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of ^[cg]Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, ^(FX)the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of ^[ch]Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of ^[ci]Heber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, ^(FY)the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.