Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Luke’s Account of Things Fulfilled
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things that [a](A)have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those, who (B)from the beginning [b]were (C)eyewitnesses and [c](D)servants of (E)the [d]word, handed them down to us, 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 orderly sequence, (H)most excellent (I)Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty about the things you have been [f](J)taught.
John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold
5 (K)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the (L)division of [g]Abijah, and he had a wife [h]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both (M)righteous in the sight of God, walking (N)blamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the [i]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 order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot (P)to enter the [k]sanctuary of the [l]Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying (Q)outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And (R)an angel of the [m]Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and (S)fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “(T)Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will [n]bear you a son, and (U)you will call his name [o]John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the [p]Lord; and (V)he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit [q]while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will (W)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the [r]Lord their God. 17 And he will (X)go 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, to (AA)make ready a people prepared for the [s]Lord.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For (AB)I am an old man and my wife is advanced in [t]years.” 19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am (AC)Gabriel, who (AD)stands before God, and I was 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 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he (AE)kept [u]making signs to them, and remained mute. 23 And it happened that when the days of his priestly service were fulfilled, he went back home.
24 After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she [v]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 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 betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, (AJ)of the [w]house of David, and the virgin’s name was [x]Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, [y]favored one! The Lord [z]is with you.” 29 But she (AK)was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. 30 And 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 [aa]He will be great and will be called the Son of (AN)the Most High, and the [ab]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 there will be no end of His kingdom.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I [ac]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 [ad](AT)the holy Child shall be called (AU)the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For [ae](AV)nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the slave of the [af]Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now [ag]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 Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened that 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 [ah]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 believed [ai]that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her [aj]by the [ak]Lord.”
Mary Magnifies the Lord
46 And Mary said:
“(BA)My soul (BB)magnifies the [al]Lord,
47 And (BC)my spirit has rejoiced in (BD)God my Savior.
48 For (BE)He has looked upon the humble state of His slave,
For behold, from this time on, all generations will count me (BF)blessed.
49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 (BG)And His mercy is [am]upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 (BH)He has done a mighty deed with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the [an]thoughts of their heart.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has (BI)exalted those who were humble.
53 (BJ)He has filled the hungry with good things,
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 He has given help to Israel His servant,
[ao]In remembrance of His mercy,
55 (BK)As He spoke to our fathers,
(BL)To Abraham and his seed forever.”
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
John the Baptist Is Born
57 Now the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth to [ap]give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had (BM)magnified 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 Zechariah, after the name of his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No, but (BO)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 And they (BP)were making 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 all marveled. 64 (BR)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, blessing God. 65 And 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 And all who heard these things put them in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” For (BT)the hand of the [aq]Lord was indeed with him.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zechariah (BU)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and (BV)prophesied, saying:
68 “(BW)Blessed be the [ar]Lord God of Israel,
For He visited and accomplished (BX)redemption for His people,
69 And raised up a (BY)horn of salvation for us
In the house of David (BZ)His servant—
70 (CA)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (CB)from of old—
71 [as](CC)Salvation (CD)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 (CE)To show mercy toward our fathers,
(CF)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (CG)The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 (CH)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the (CI)prophet of (CJ)the Most High,
For you will go on (CK)before the [at]Lord to (CL)make ready His ways,
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
[au]By (CM)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (CN)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (CO)To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To direct our feet into the (CP)way of peace.”
80 (CQ)And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the desolate regions until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Jesus Is Born in Bethlehem
2 Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from (CR)Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken of (CS)all [av]the inhabited earth. 2 [aw]This was the first census taken while [ax]Quirinius was governor of (CT)Syria. 3 And everyone was going to be registered for the census, each to his own city. 4 And 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 betrothed to him, and was with child. 6 Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled 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 [ay]manger, because there was no place for them in the [az]guest room.
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 [ba]Lord (CX)stood before them, and the glory of the [bb]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 [bc](DA)Christ (DB)the Lord. 12 (DC)And this will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a [bd]manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
15 And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the [bf]manger. 17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary (DF)was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, (DG)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them.
Jesus Presented at the Temple
21 And when (DH)eight days were fulfilled so that they could circumcise Him, (DI)His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22 (DJ)And when the days for their cleansing according to the Law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the [bg]Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the [bh]Lord, “(DK)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the [bi]Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the [bj]Lord, “(DL)A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was (DM)righteous and devout, (DN)waiting for the [bk](DO)comfort of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And (DP)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not (DQ)see death before he had seen the [bl]Lord’s [bm]Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus [bn](DR)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now Master, You are releasing Your slave in peace,
(DS)According to Your word.
30 For my eyes have (DT)seen Your salvation,
31 Which You prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 (DU)A Light for revelation to the Gentiles,
And for the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And His father and (DV)mother were marveling at the things which were being said about Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary (DW)His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for (DX)the fall and [bo]rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce through your own soul as well—that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a (DY)prophetess, [bp]Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of (DZ)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in [bq]years (EA)having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with (EB)fastings and prayers. 38 And at that very [br]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were (EC)waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
The Return to Nazareth
39 And when they had finished everything according to the Law of the [bs]Lord, they returned to Galilee, to (ED)their own city of Nazareth. 40 (EE)Now the Child continued to grow and become strong, being filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
41 And His parents would go to Jerusalem every year at (EF)the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He became twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; 43 and as they were returning, after finishing the (EG)days of the Feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents did not know. 44 But supposing Him to be in the caravan, they went a day’s journey, and they began searching for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem searching for Him. 46 And it happened that 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 (EH)were astounded at His understanding and His answers. 48 When they saw Him, they were astonished, and (EI)His mother said to Him, “Child, why have You treated us this way? Behold, (EJ)Your father and I [bt]have been anxiously searching for You.” 49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were searching for Me? Did you not know that (EK)I had to be in My Father’s [bu]house?” 50 But (EL)they did not understand the statement which He had spoken to them. 51 And He went down with them and came to (EM)Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them, and (EN)His mother (EO)was treasuring all these [bv]things in her heart.
52 And Jesus was advancing in wisdom and [bw]stature, and in (EP)favor with God and men.
The Preaching of John the Baptist
3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when (EQ)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and (ER)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 during the high priesthood of (ES)Annas and (ET)Caiaphas, (EU)the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all (EV)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,
“(EW)The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the [bx]Lord,
Make His paths straight.
5 (EX)Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be [by]brought low;
The crooked will be straight,
And the rough roads smooth.
6 (EY)And all [bz]flesh will (EZ)see the salvation of God.’”
7 So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “(FA)You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and (FB)do not begin to say [ca]to yourselves, ‘(FC)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 But indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, (FD)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “(FE)Then what should we do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two [cb]tunics is to (FF)share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” 12 And (FG)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 And he said to them, “[cc]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 And soldiers were also questioning him, saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or (FH)extort anyone, and (FI)be content with your wages.”
15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were reasoning in their hearts about John, (FJ)as to whether he was the [cd]Christ, 16 (FK)John answered, saying 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 strap of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His (FL)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 (FM)unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the gospel to the people. 19 But when (FN)Herod the tetrarch was reproved by him because of (FO)Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which (FP)Herod had done, 20 Herod also added this to them all: (FQ)he locked John up in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 (FR)Now it happened that when all the people were being baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was (FS)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, “(FT)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
The Genealogy of Jesus
23 (FU)When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, [ce]as was supposed,
the son of (FV)Joseph,
[cf]the son of [cg]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 [ch]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,
(FW)the son of Zerubbabel,
the son of [ci]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 [cj]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 [ck]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 (FX)the son of Jesse,
the son of Obed,
the son of Boaz,
the son of [cl]Salmon,
the son of [cm]Nahshon,
33 the son of Amminadab,
the son of Admin,
the son of [cn]Ram,
the son of Hezron,
the son of Perez,
the son of Judah,
34 the son of Jacob,
the son of Isaac,
(FY)the son of Abraham,
the son of Terah,
the son of Nahor,
35 the son of Serug,
the son of [co]Reu,
the son of Peleg,
the son of [cp]Heber,
the son of Shelah,
36 the son of Cainan,
the son of Arphaxad,
the son of Shem,
(FZ)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.
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