Luke 1 — RVA
1Verse 1Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,Verse 2even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,Verse 3it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus;Verse 4that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed.Verse 5There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.Verse 6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.Verse 7And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.Verse 8Now it came to pass, while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,Verse 9according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.Verse 10And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense.Verse 11And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.Verse 12And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.Verse 13But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.Verse 14And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.Verse 15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.Verse 16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God.Verse 17And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.Verse 18And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.Verse 19And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to bring thee these good tidings.Verse 20And behold, thou shalt be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou believedst not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.Verse 21And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled while he tarried in the temple.Verse 22And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: and he continued making signs unto them, and remained dumb.Verse 23And it came to pass, when the days of his ministration were fulfilled, he departed unto his house.Verse 24And after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,Verse 25Thus hath the Lord done unto me in the days wherein he looked upon me, to take away my reproach among men.Verse 26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,Verse 27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.Verse 28And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee.Verse 29But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be.Verse 30And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.Verse 31And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.Verse 32He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:Verse 33and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.Verse 34And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?Verse 35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God.Verse 36And behold, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren.Verse 37For no word from God shall be void of power.Verse 38And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.Verse 39And Mary arose in these days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah;Verse 40and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth.Verse 41And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost;Verse 42and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.Verse 43And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me?Verse 44For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.Verse 45And blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord.Verse 46And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,Verse 47And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.Verse 48For he hath looked upon the low estate of his handmaiden: For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.Verse 49For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; And holy is his name.Verse 50And his mercy is unto generations and generations On them that fear him.Verse 51He hath shewed strength with his arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.Verse 52He hath put down princes from their thrones, And hath exalted them of low degree.Verse 53The hungry he hath filled with good things; And the rich he hath sent empty away.Verse 54He hath holpen Israel his servant, That he might remember mercyVerse 55(As he spake unto our fathers) Toward Abraham and his seed for ever.Verse 56And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned unto her house.Verse 57Now Elisabeth’s time was fulfilled that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.Verse 58And her neighbours and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her.Verse 59And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.Verse 60And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.Verse 61And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.Verse 62And they made signs to his father, what he would have him called.Verse 63And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled all.Verse 64And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, blessing God.Verse 65And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.Verse 66And all that heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.Verse 67And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,Verse 68Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,Verse 69And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant DavidVerse 70(As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began),Verse 71Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;Verse 72To shew mercy towards our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant;Verse 73The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father,Verse 74To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear,Verse 75In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.Verse 76Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;Verse 77To give knowledge of salvation unto his people In the remission of their sins,Verse 78Because of the tender mercy of our God, Whereby the dayspring from on high shall visit us,Verse 79To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death; To guide our feet into the way of peace.Verse 80And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.