1 Inasmuch as many have set their hand to draw up a narrative of the matters that have been fully carried out among us,
2 even as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning became eyewitnesses and servants of the word,
3 I too resolved, having traced everything accurately from the start, to write it out for you in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 that you may come to know the sure truth of the words in which you have been taught.
5 There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a priest named Zechariah, from the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was one of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 Both of them were righteous before God, walking without blame in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7 Yet they had no child, since Elizabeth was barren, and both of them were well along in their days.
8 Now it happened that, as he was carrying out his priestly duty before God in the turn of his division,
9 the lot fell to him, by the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And all the gathered people were praying outside at the hour of the incense.
11 There appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right of the altar of incense.
12 Zechariah was shaken when he saw him, and fear came over him.
13 But the angel said to him, "Stop being afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.
14 He will be joy and gladness to you, and many will rejoice over his birth.
15 For he will be great before the Lord. Wine and strong drink he must never drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb.
16 Many of the children of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of fathers to children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."
18 Zechariah said to the angel, "By what will I know this? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in her days."
19 In answer the angel said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce this good news to you.
20 And now you will be silent, not able to speak, until the day these things happen, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time."
21 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered why he was taking so long in the temple.
22 When he came out he was not able to speak to them, and they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept signaling to them and stayed mute.
23 And when the days of his ministry were fulfilled, he went away to his home.
24 After those days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,
25 "This is how the Lord has dealt with me in the days when he looked on me, to remove my disgrace among people."
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 The angel came to her and said, "Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you; blessed are you among women."
29 But she, on seeing him, was deeply disturbed at his words, and she kept wondering what sort of greeting this could be.
30 The angel said to her, "Do not fear, Mary; you have found grace with God.
31 Listen: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob to the ages, and his kingdom will have no end."
34 Mary said to the angel, "How will this happen, since I do not know a man?"
35 The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason the Holy One who is to be born of you will also be called the Son of God.
36 And look, Elizabeth your relative has herself conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37 For with God no word will be impossible."
38 Mary said, "Here is the servant of the Lord; may it happen to me as you have said." And the angel left her.
39 In those days Mary got up and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a town of Judah.
40 She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it happened that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped within her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 She called out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 How has this come to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped with joy.
45 Blessed is she who believed, because what the Lord has told her will be carried out."
46 And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit has exulted in God my Savior,
48 because he has looked on the lowliness of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for generation after generation, for those who fear him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in the thought of their heart.
52 He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.
53 The hungry he has filled with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has come to the aid of Israel his servant, remembering mercy,
55 just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever."
56 Mary stayed with her about three months and then went back to her home.
57 Now Elizabeth's time to give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had made his mercy great toward her, and they shared her joy.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, by his father's name.
60 But his mother spoke up: "Not so; he will be called John."
61 They said to her, "None of your relatives goes by that name."
62 So they gestured to his father to learn what he wanted him named.
63 He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name." And all of them were astonished.
64 At once his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.
65 Fear came upon all their neighbors, and through the whole hill country of Judea all these events were being discussed.
66 Everyone who heard stored them up in their hearts, saying, "What, then, will this child become?" And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, because he has visited his people and worked redemption for them,
69 and has raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of David his servant,
70 as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from ages past:
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 to deal mercifully with our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to Abraham our father, to grant us
74 that, rescued from the hand of our enemies, we might serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High; for you will go ahead before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,
78 through the heart of mercy of our God, by which the Dayspring from on high has visited us,
79 to shine on those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace."
80 The child kept growing and getting strong in spirit, and he lived in the desert places until the day he was shown publicly to Israel.