Chronological
Explanatory Preface
1 Now[a] many have undertaken to compile an account[b] of the things[c] that have been fulfilled[d] among us, 2 like the accounts[e] passed on[f] to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word[g] from the beginning.[h] 3 So[i] it seemed good to me as well,[j] because I have followed[k] all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account[l] for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know for certain[m] the things you were taught.[n]
Birth Announcement of John the Baptist
5 During the reign[o] of Herod[p] king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to[q] the priestly division of Abijah,[r] and he had a wife named Elizabeth,[s] who was a descendant of Aaron.[t] 6 They[u] were both righteous in the sight of God, following[v] all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.[w] 7 But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren,[x] and they were both very old.[y]
8 Now[z] while Zechariah[aa] was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,[ab] 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood,[ac] to enter[ad] the Holy Place[ae] of the Lord and burn incense. 10 Now[af] the whole crowd[ag] of people were praying[ah] outside at the hour of the incense offering.[ai] 11 An[aj] angel of the Lord,[ak] standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared[al] to him. 12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel,[am] was seized with fear.[an] 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard,[ao] and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you[ap] will name him John.[aq] 14 Joy and gladness will come[ar] to you, and many will rejoice at[as] his birth,[at] 15 for he will be great in the sight of[au] the Lord. He[av] must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.[aw] 16 He[ax] will turn[ay] many of the people[az] of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord[ba] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,[bb] to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”
18 Zechariah[bc] said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this?[bd] For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.”[be] 19 The[bf] angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands[bg] in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring[bh] you this good news. 20 And now,[bi] because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time,[bj] you will be silent, unable to speak,[bk] until the day these things take place.”
21 Now[bl] the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder[bm] why he was delayed in the Holy Place.[bn] 22 When[bo] he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They[bp] realized that he had seen a vision[bq] in the Holy Place,[br] because[bs] he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak.[bt] 23 When his time of service was over,[bu] he went to his home.
24 After some time[bv] his wife Elizabeth became pregnant,[bw] and for five months she kept herself in seclusion.[bx] She said,[by] 25 “This is what[bz] the Lord has done for me at the time[ca] when he has been gracious to me,[cb] to take away my disgrace[cc] among people.”[cd]
Birth Announcement of Jesus the Messiah
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,[ce] the angel Gabriel[cf] was sent by[cg] God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,[ch] 27 to a virgin engaged[ci] to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David,[cj] and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The[ck] angel[cl] came[cm] to her and said, “Greetings, favored one,[cn] the Lord is with you!”[co] 29 But[cp] she was greatly troubled[cq] by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting.[cr] 30 So[cs] the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,[ct] Mary, for you have found favor[cu] with God! 31 Listen:[cv] You will become pregnant[cw] and give birth to[cx] a son, and you will name him[cy] Jesus.[cz] 32 He[da] will be great,[db] and will be called the Son of the Most High,[dc] and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father[dd] David. 33 He[de] will reign over the house of Jacob[df] forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 34 Mary[dg] said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not been intimate with[dh] a man?” 35 The angel replied,[di] “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow[dj] you. Therefore the child[dk] to be born[dl] will be holy;[dm] he will be called the Son of God.
36 “And look,[dn] your relative[do] Elizabeth has also become pregnant with[dp] a son in her old age—although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month![dq] 37 For nothing[dr] will be impossible with God.” 38 So[ds] Mary said, “Yes,[dt] I am a servant[du] of the Lord; let this happen to me[dv] according to your word.”[dw] Then[dx] the angel departed from her.
Mary and Elizabeth
39 In those days[dy] Mary got up and went hurriedly into the hill country, to a town of Judah,[dz] 40 and entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When[ea] Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped[eb] in her[ec] womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.[ed] 42 She[ee] exclaimed with a loud voice,[ef] “Blessed are you among women,[eg] and blessed is the child[eh] in your womb! 43 And who am I[ei] that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me? 44 For the instant[ej] the sound of your greeting reached my ears,[ek] the baby in my womb leaped for joy.[el] 45 And blessed[em] is she who believed that[en] what was spoken to her by[eo] the Lord would be fulfilled.”[ep]
Mary’s Hymn of Praise
“My soul exalts[es] the Lord,[et]
47 and my spirit has begun to rejoice[eu] in God my Savior,
48 because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant.[ev]
For[ew] from now on[ex] all generations will call me blessed,[ey]
49 because he who is mighty[ez] has done great things for me, and holy is his name;
50 from[fa] generation to generation he is merciful[fb] to those who fear[fc] him.
51 He has demonstrated power[fd] with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance[fe] of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the mighty[ff] from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position;[fg]
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,[fh] and has sent the rich away empty.[fi]
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering[fj] his mercy,[fk]
55 as he promised[fl] to our ancestors,[fm] to Abraham and to his descendants[fn] forever.”
56 So[fo] Mary stayed with Elizabeth[fp] about three months[fq] and then returned to her home.
The Birth of John
57 Now the time came[fr] for Elizabeth to have her baby,[fs] and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her[ft] neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown[fu] great mercy to her, and they rejoiced[fv] with her.
59 On[fw] the eighth day[fx] they came to circumcise the child, and they wanted to name[fy] him Zechariah after his father. 60 But[fz] his mother replied,[ga] “No! He must be named[gb] John.”[gc] 61 They[gd] said to her, “But[ge] none of your relatives bears this name.”[gf] 62 So[gg] they made signs to the baby’s[gh] father,[gi] inquiring what he wanted to name his son.[gj] 63 He[gk] asked for a writing tablet[gl] and wrote,[gm] “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.[gn] 64 Immediately[go] Zechariah’s[gp] mouth was opened and his tongue[gq] released,[gr] and he spoke, blessing God. 65 All[gs] their neighbors were filled with fear, and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about. 66 All[gt] who heard these things[gu] kept them in their hearts,[gv] saying, “What then will this child be?”[gw] For the Lord’s hand[gx] was indeed with him.
Zechariah’s Praise and Prediction
67 Then[gy] his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,[gz]
68 “Blessed[ha] be the Lord God of Israel,
because he has come to help[hb] and has redeemed[hc] his people.
69 For[hd] he has raised up[he] a horn of salvation[hf] for us in the house of his servant David,[hg]
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago,[hh]
71 that we should be saved[hi] from our enemies,[hj]
and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 He has done this[hk] to show mercy[hl] to our ancestors,[hm]
and to remember his holy covenant[hn]—
73 the oath[ho] that he swore to our ancestor[hp] Abraham.
This oath grants[hq]
74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our[hr] enemies,
may serve him without fear,[hs]
75 in holiness and righteousness[ht] before him for as long as we live.[hu]
76 And you, child,[hv] will be called the prophet[hw] of the Most High.[hx]
For you will go before[hy] the Lord to prepare his ways,[hz]
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation[ia] through the forgiveness[ib] of their sins.
78 Because of[ic] our God’s tender mercy[id]
the dawn[ie] will break[if] upon us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,[ig]
to guide our feet into the way[ih] of peace.”
80 And the child kept growing[ii] and becoming strong[ij] in spirit, and he was in the wilderness[ik] until the day he was revealed[il] to Israel.
The Prologue to the Gospel
1 In the beginning[a] was the Word, and the Word was with God,[b] and the Word was fully God.[c] 2 The Word[d] was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created[e] by him, and apart from him not one thing was created[f] that has been created.[g] 4 In him was life,[h] and the life was the light of mankind.[i] 5 And the light shines on[j] in the darkness,[k] but[l] the darkness has not mastered it.[m]
6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John.[n] 7 He came as a witness[o] to testify[p] about the light, so that everyone[q] might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify[r] about the light. 9 The true light, who gives light to everyone,[s] was coming into the world.[t] 10 He was in the world, and the world was created[u] by him, but[v] the world did not recognize[w] him. 11 He came to what was his own,[x] but[y] his own people[z] did not receive him.[aa] 12 But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name[ab]—he has given the right to become God’s children 13 —children not born[ac] by human parents[ad] or by human desire[ae] or a husband’s[af] decision,[ag] but by God.
14 Now[ah] the Word became flesh[ai] and took up residence[aj] among us. We[ak] saw his glory—the glory of the one and only,[al] full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.
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