Judges 1-3

New International Version

Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites^(A)

1 After the death^(B) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first^(C) to fight against the Canaanites?^(D)”

²The Lord answered, “Judah^(E) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.^(F)”

³The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites^(G) went with them.

⁴When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites^(H) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.^(I) ⁵It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek^(J) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. ⁶Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

⁷Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back^(K) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem,^(L) and he died there.

⁸The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem^(M) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

⁹After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country,^(N) the Negev^(O) and the western foothills. ¹⁰They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron^(P) (formerly called Kiriath Arba^(Q)) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.^(R) ¹¹From there they advanced against the people living in Debir^(S) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

¹²And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” ¹³Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

¹⁴One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him^[a] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

¹⁵She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.^(T)

¹⁶The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,^(U) the Kenite,^(V) went up from the City of Palms^[b]^(W) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.^(X)

¹⁷Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites^(Y) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed^[c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.^[d]^(Z) ¹⁸Judah also took^[e] Gaza,^(AA) Ashkelon^(AB) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

¹⁹The Lord was with^(AC) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,^(AD) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.^(AE) ²⁰As Moses had promised, Hebron^(AF) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.^(AG) ²¹The Benjamites, however, did not drive out^(AH) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem;^(AI) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

²²Now the tribes of Joseph^(AJ) attacked Bethel,^(AK) and the Lord was with them. ²³When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),^(AL) ²⁴the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.^(AM)” ²⁵So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared^(AN) the man and his whole family. ²⁶He then went to the land of the Hittites,^(AO) where he built a city and called it Luz,^(AP) which is its name to this day.

²⁷But Manasseh did not^(AQ) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor^(AR) or Ibleam^(AS) or Megiddo^(AT) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites^(AU) were determined to live in that land. ²⁸When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.^(AV) ²⁹Nor did Ephraim^(AW) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer,^(AX) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.^(AY) ³⁰Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. ³¹Nor did Asher^(AZ) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon^(BA) or Ahlab or Akzib^(BB) or Helbah or Aphek^(BC) or Rehob.^(BD) ³²The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. ³³Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh^(BE) or Beth Anath^(BF); but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. ³⁴The Amorites^(BG) confined the Danites^(BH) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.^(BI) ³⁵And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,^(BJ) Aijalon^(BK) and Shaalbim,^(BL) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. ³⁶The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass^(BM) to Sela^(BN) and beyond.^(BO)

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord^(BP) went up from Gilgal^(BQ) to Bokim^(BR) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt^(BS) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.^(BT) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,^(BU) ²and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,^(BV) but you shall break down their altars.^(BW)’ Yet you have disobeyed^(BX) me. Why have you done this? ³And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;^(BY) they will become traps^(BZ) for you, and their gods will become snares^(CA) to you.’”

⁴When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,^(CB) ⁵and they called that place Bokim.^[f]^(CC) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Disobedience and Defeat^(CD)

⁶After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. ⁷The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.^(CE)

⁸Joshua son of Nun,^(CF) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. ⁹And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres^[g]^(CG) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

¹⁰After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.^(CH) ¹¹Then the Israelites did evil^(CI) in the eyes of the Lord^(CJ) and served the Baals.^(CK) ¹²They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods^(CL) of the peoples around them.^(CM) They aroused^(CN) the Lord’s anger^(CO) ¹³because they forsook^(CP) him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.^(CQ) ¹⁴In his anger^(CR) against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands^(CS) of raiders who plundered^(CT) them. He sold them^(CU) into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.^(CV) ¹⁵Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them^(CW) to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.^(CX)

¹⁶Then the Lord raised up judges,^[h]^(CY) who saved^(CZ) them out of the hands of these raiders. ¹⁷Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted^(DA) themselves to other gods^(DB) and worshiped them.^(DC) They quickly turned^(DD) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.^(DE) ¹⁸Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved^(DF) them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented^(DG) because of their groaning^(DH) under those who oppressed and afflicted^(DI) them. ¹⁹But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt^(DJ) than those of their ancestors,^(DK) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.^(DL) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn^(DM) ways.

²⁰Therefore the Lord was very angry^(DN) with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant^(DO) I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, ²¹I will no longer drive out^(DP) before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. ²²I will use them to test^(DQ) Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” ²³The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.^(DR)

3 These are the nations the Lord left to test^(DS) all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan ²(he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): ³the five^(DT) rulers of the Philistines,^(DU) all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites^(DV) living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon^(DW) to Lebo Hamath.^(DX) ⁴They were left to test^(DY) the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

⁵The Israelites lived^(DZ) among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,^(EA) Hivites and Jebusites.^(EB) ⁶They took their daughters^(EC) in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.^(ED)

Othniel

⁷The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord^(EE) their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.^(EF) ⁸The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold^(EG) them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim^(EH) king of Aram Naharaim,^[i]^(EI) to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. ⁹But when they cried out^(EJ) to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,^(EK) Othniel^(EL) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. ¹⁰The Spirit of the Lord came on him,^(EM) so that he became Israel’s judge^[j] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim^(EN) king of Aram^(EO) into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. ¹¹So the land had peace^(EP) for forty years,^(EQ) until Othniel son of Kenaz^(ER) died.

Ehud

¹²Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,^(ES) and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab^(ET) power over Israel. ¹³Getting the Ammonites^(EU) and Amalekites^(EV) to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.^[k]^(EW) ¹⁴The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab^(EX) for eighteen years.

¹⁵Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer^(EY)—Ehud^(EZ), a left-handed^(FA) man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute^(FB) to Eglon king of Moab. ¹⁶Now Ehud^(FC) had made a double-edged sword about a cubit^[l] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. ¹⁷He presented the tribute^(FD) to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.^(FE) ¹⁸After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. ¹⁹But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.

²⁰Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace^[m]^(FF) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose^(FG) from his seat, ²¹Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword^(FH) from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. ²²Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. ²³Then Ehud went out to the porch^[n]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

²⁴After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself^(FI) in the inner room of the palace.” ²⁵They waited to the point of embarrassment,^(FJ) but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

²⁶While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet^(FK) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

²⁸“Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab,^(FL) your enemy, into your hands.^(FM)” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan^(FN) that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. ²⁹At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. ³⁰That day Moab^(FO) was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace^(FP) for eighty years.

Shamgar

³¹After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath,^(FQ) who struck down six hundred^(FR) Philistines^(FS) with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Footnotes

Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take
Judges 2:5 Bokim means weepers.
Judges 2:9 Also known as Timnath Serah (see Joshua 19:50 and 24:30)
Judges 2:16 Or leaders; similarly in verses 17-19
Judges 3:8 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
Judges 3:10 Or leader
Judges 3:13 That is, Jericho
Judges 3:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24.
Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Judges 1-3

King James Version

1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

²And the Lord said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

³And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

⁴And Judah went up; and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

⁵And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

⁶But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

⁷And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

⁸Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

⁹And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

¹⁰And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

¹¹And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:

¹²And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

¹³And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

¹⁴And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?

¹⁵And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

¹⁶And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

¹⁷And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.

¹⁸Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.

¹⁹And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

²⁰And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.

²¹And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

²²And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the Lord was with them.

²³And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

²⁴And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

²⁵And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.

²⁶And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

²⁷Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

²⁸And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

²⁹Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

³⁰Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

³¹Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

³²But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

³³Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

³⁴And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

³⁵But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.

³⁶And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

2 And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

²And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

³Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

⁴And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

⁵And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord.

⁶And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

⁷And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel.

⁸And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

⁹And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

¹⁰And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

¹¹And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim:

¹²And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.

¹³And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

¹⁴And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

¹⁵Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

¹⁶Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

¹⁷And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.

¹⁸And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

¹⁹And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

²⁰And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;

²¹I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:

²²That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.

²³Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

3 Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

²Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;

³Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

⁴And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

⁵And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

⁶And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

⁷And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

⁸Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.

⁹And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

¹⁰And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the Lord delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.

¹¹And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

¹²And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹³And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

¹⁴So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

¹⁵But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

¹⁶But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

¹⁷And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.

¹⁸And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.

¹⁹But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.

²⁰And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.

²¹And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

²²And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.

²³Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

²⁴When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.

²⁵And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

²⁶And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.

²⁷And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

²⁸And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.

²⁹And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

³⁰So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

³¹And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

Luke 4

New International Version

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness^(A)

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,^(B) left the Jordan^(C) and was led by the Spirit^(D) into the wilderness, ²where for forty days^(E) he was tempted^[a] by the devil.^(F) He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God,^(G) tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’^[b]”^(H)

⁵The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.^(I) ⁶And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me,^(J) and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’^[c]”^(K)

⁹The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
¹¹they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[d]”^(L)

¹²Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[e]”^(M)

¹³When the devil had finished all this tempting,^(N) he left him^(O) until an opportune time.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁴Jesus returned to Galilee^(P) in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.^(Q) ¹⁵He was teaching in their synagogues,^(R) and everyone praised him.

¹⁶He went to Nazareth,^(S) where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue,^(T) as was his custom. He stood up to read,^(U) ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,^(V)
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news^(W) to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”^[f]^(X)

²⁰Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.^(Y) The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled^(Z) in your hearing.”

²²All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.^(AA)

²³Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown^(AB) what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”^(AC)

²⁴“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.^(AD) ²⁵I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.^(AE) ²⁶Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.^(AF) ²⁷And there were many in Israel with leprosy^[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”^(AG)

²⁸All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹They got up, drove him out of the town,^(AH) and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.^(AI)

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit^(AJ)

³¹Then he went down to Capernaum,^(AK) a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. ³²They were amazed at his teaching,^(AL) because his words had authority.^(AM)

³³In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴“Go away! What do you want with us,^(AN) Jesus of Nazareth?^(AO) Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are^(AP)—the Holy One of God!”^(AQ)

³⁵“Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly.^(AR) “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

³⁶All the people were amazed^(AS) and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority^(AT) and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” ³⁷And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.^(AU)

Jesus Heals Many^(AV)^(AW)

³⁸Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹So he bent over her and rebuked^(AX) the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

⁴⁰At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one,^(AY) he healed them.^(AZ) ⁴¹Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!”^(BA) But he rebuked^(BB) them and would not allow them to speak,^(BC) because they knew he was the Messiah.

⁴²At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. ⁴³But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God^(BD) to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.^(BE)

Footnotes

Luke 4:2 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
Luke 4:4 Deut. 8:3
Luke 4:8 Deut. 6:13
Luke 4:11 Psalm 91:11,12
Luke 4:12 Deut. 6:16
Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1,2 (see Septuagint); Isaiah 58:6
Luke 4:27 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.

Luke 4

King James Version

4 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

²Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

³And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

⁴And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

⁵And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

⁶And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

⁷If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

⁸And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

⁹And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

¹⁰For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:

¹¹And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

¹²And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

¹³And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

¹⁴And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

¹⁵And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

¹⁶And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

¹⁷And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

¹⁸The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

¹⁹To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

²⁰And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

²¹And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

²²And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

²³And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

²⁴And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

²⁵But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

²⁶But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

²⁷And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

²⁸And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

²⁹And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

³⁰But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

³¹And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.

³²And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.

³³And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,

³⁴Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.

³⁵And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

³⁶And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

³⁷And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.

³⁸And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her.

³⁹And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.

⁴⁰Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.

⁴¹And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.

⁴²And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.

⁴³And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

⁴⁴And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.

Luke 1-2

New International Version

Introduction^(A)

1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled^[a] among us, ²just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first^(B) were eyewitnesses^(C) and servants of the word.^(D) ³With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account^(E) for you, most excellent^(F) Theophilus,^(G) ⁴so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.^(H)

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵In the time of Herod king of Judea^(I) there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah;^(J) his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.^(K) ⁷But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

⁸Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,^(L) ⁹he was chosen by lot,^(M) according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.^(N) ¹⁰And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.^(O)

¹¹Then an angel^(P) of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.^(Q) ¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.^(R) ¹³But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid,^(S) Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.^(T) ¹⁴He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,^(U) ¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,^(V) and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit^(W) even before he is born.^(X) ¹⁶He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord,^(Y) in the spirit and power of Elijah,^(Z) to turn the hearts of the parents to their children^(AA) and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”^(AB)

¹⁸Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?^(AC) I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”^(AD)

¹⁹The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel.^(AE) I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and not able to speak^(AF) until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

²¹Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²²When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs^(AG) to them but remained unable to speak.

²³When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ²⁵“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace^(AH) among the people.”

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel^(AI) to Nazareth,^(AJ) a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph,^(AK) a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,^(AL) Mary; you have found favor with God.^(AM) ³¹You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.^(AN) ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.^(AO) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,^(AP) ³³and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom^(AQ) will never end.”^(AR)

³⁴“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you,^(AS) and the power of the Most High^(AT) will overshadow you. So the holy one^(AU) to be born will be called^[b] the Son of God.^(AV) ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child^(AW) in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.”^(AX)

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,^(AY) ⁴⁰where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.^(AZ) ⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women,^(BA) and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord^(BB) should come to me? ⁴⁴As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song^(BC)

⁴⁶And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord^(BD)
⁴⁷    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,^(BE)
⁴⁸for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.^(BF)
From now on all generations will call me blessed,^(BG)
⁴⁹    for the Mighty One has done great things^(BH) for me—
    holy is his name.^(BI)
⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.^(BJ)
⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;^(BK)
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.^(BL)
⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.^(BM)
⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things^(BN)
    but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful^(BO)
⁵⁵to Abraham and his descendants^(BP) forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise^(BQ) the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”^(BR)

⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶²Then they made signs^(BS) to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”^(BT) ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak,^(BU) praising God. ⁶⁵All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea^(BV) people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.^(BW)

Zechariah’s Song

⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit^(BX) and prophesied:^(BY)

⁶⁸“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,^(BZ)
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.^(CA)
⁶⁹He has raised up a horn^[c]^(CB) of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David^(CC)
⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),^(CD)
⁷¹salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
⁷²to show mercy to our ancestors^(CE)
    and to remember his holy covenant,^(CF)
⁷³    the oath he swore to our father Abraham:^(CG)
⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him^(CH) without fear^(CI)
⁷⁵    in holiness and righteousness^(CJ) before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet^(CK) of the Most High;^(CL)
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,^(CM)
⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,^(CN)
⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun^(CO) will come to us from heaven
⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,^(CP)
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”^(CQ)

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit^[d];^(CR) and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus^(CS) issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.^(CT) ²(This was the first census that took place while^[e] Quirinius was governor of Syria.)^(CU) ³And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem^(CV) the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him^(CW) and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel^(CX) of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.^(CY) I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior^(CZ) has been born to you; he is the Messiah,^(DA) the Lord.^(DB) ¹²This will be a sign^(DC) to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace^(DD) to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.^(DE) ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.^(DF) ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God^(DG) for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

²¹On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child,^(DH) he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.^(DI)

Jesus Presented in the Temple

²²When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,^(DJ) Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”^[f]),^(DK) ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”^[g]^(DL)

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.^(DM) He was waiting for the consolation of Israel,^(DN) and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,^(DO) ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,^(DP)
    you may now dismiss^[h] your servant in peace.^(DQ)
³⁰For my eyes have seen your salvation,^(DR)
³¹    which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”^(DS)

³³The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:^(DT) “This child is destined to cause the falling^(DU) and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

³⁶There was also a prophet,^(DV) Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

Footnotes

Luke 1:1 Or been surely believed
Luke 1:35 Or So the child to be born will be called holy,
Luke 1:69 Horn here symbolizes a strong king.
Luke 1:80 Or in the Spirit
Luke 2:2 Or This census took place before
Luke 2:23 Exodus 13:2,12
Luke 2:24 Lev. 12:8
Luke 2:29 Or promised, / now dismiss

Luke 1-8

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,

²Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

³It 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,

⁴That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

⁵There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

⁷And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

⁸And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

⁹According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But 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.

¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵For 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.

¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

¹⁷And 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.

¹⁸And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

¹⁹And 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.

²⁰And, 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.

²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

²²And 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.

²³And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

²⁵Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

²⁶And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

²⁷To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

²⁹And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

³⁰And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

³¹And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

³²He 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:

³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

³⁴Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

³⁵And 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.

³⁶And, 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.

³⁷For with God nothing shall be impossible.

³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

³⁹And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

⁴⁰And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

⁴¹And 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:

⁴²And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

⁴³And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

⁴⁵And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

⁴⁶And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

⁴⁸For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

⁴⁹For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

⁵⁰And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

⁵¹He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

⁵²He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

⁵³He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

⁵⁴He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

⁵⁵As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

⁵⁶And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

⁵⁷Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

⁵⁸And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹And 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.

⁶⁰And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

⁶¹And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

⁶²And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

⁶⁴And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

⁶⁵And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

⁶⁶And 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.

⁶⁷And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

⁶⁹And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

⁷⁰As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

⁷³The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

⁷⁴That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

⁷⁶And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

⁷⁷To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

⁷⁹To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

⁸⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

²¹And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²²And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

²³(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

²⁴And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

²⁵And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

²⁶And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

²⁷And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

²⁸Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

³⁰For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

³¹Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

³²A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

³³And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

³⁴And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

³⁵(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

³⁶And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

³⁷And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

³⁸And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

³⁹And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

⁴¹Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.

⁴²And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

⁴³And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.

⁴⁴But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

⁴⁵And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

⁴⁶And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

⁴⁷And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

⁴⁸And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

⁴⁹And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

⁵⁰And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

⁵¹And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

²Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

³And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

⁴As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

⁵Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

⁶And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

⁷Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

⁹And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

¹⁰And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

¹¹He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

¹²Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

¹³And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

¹⁴And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

¹⁵And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

¹⁶John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

¹⁷Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

¹⁸And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

¹⁹But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

²⁰Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

²¹Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

²²And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

²³And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

²⁴Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,

²⁵Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,

²⁶Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,

²⁷Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,

²⁸Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,

²⁹Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,

³⁰Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,

³¹Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,

³²Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,

³³Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,

³⁴Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,

³⁵Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,

³⁶Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,

³⁷Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,

³⁸Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.