1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things thata2 Tim. 4:5, 17 (Gk.); [Acts 3:18] have been accomplished among us, 2 b[Heb. 2:3] just as those whocJohn 15:27; 16:4; [Mark 1:1; Acts 11:15] from the beginning wered2 Pet. 1:16; 1 John 1:1, 3; [Acts 4:20; 1 Pet. 5:1] eyewitnesses andeActs 26:16; 1 Cor. 4:1 ministers offSee Mark 4:14 the wordg1 Cor. 11:2, 23 have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to writehActs 11:4 an orderly account for you,iActs 23:26; 24:3; 26:25 most excellentjActs 1:1 Theophilus, 4 that you may havekActs 2:36 (Gk.); [2 Pet. 1:16, 19] certainty concerning the thingslActs 18:25; Rom. 2:18; 1 Cor. 14:19; Gal. 6:6 (Gk.) you have been taught.
5 mMatt. 2:1 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,n1 Chr. 24:10 ofover. 8 the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were bothpch. 2:25 righteous before God, walkingqPhil. 2:15; 3:6; 1 Thess. 2:10; 3:13; 5:23; [Acts 23:1; 24:16] blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, becauserver. 36; [Judg. 13:2; 1 Sam. 1:2] Elizabeth was barren, ands[Gen. 18:11; Heb. 11:11, 12] both were advanced in years.
8 Nowt1 Chr. 24:19; 2 Chr. 8:14; 31:2; [ver. 23] while he was serving as priest before God whenuver. 5 his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lotvEx. 30:7, 8; 1 Sam. 2:28; 1 Chr. 23:13; 2 Chr. 29:11 to enterwver. 21, 22; Rev. 11:2, 19; [Heb. 9:2, 3] the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the peoplexPs. 141:2; [Rev. 5:8; 8:3, 4] were prayingy[Lev. 16:17] outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side ofzEx. 30:1-10; 40:26, 27 the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, andaActs 19:17 fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, forb[Acts 10:4, 31] your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, andcver. 60, 63 you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many willd[ver. 58] rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will beech. 7:28; Matt. 11:11 great before the Lord. Andfch. 7:33; Num. 6:3; Judg. 13:4, 7, 14; Matt. 11:18 he must not drink wine or strongg[Acts 2:15, 17; Eph. 5:18] drink, andg[Acts 2:15, 17; Eph. 5:18] he will behver. 41, 67; See Acts 2:4 filled with the Holy Spirit,iIsa. 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15 even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 andjver. 76; John 3:28 he will go before himkSee Matt. 11:14 in the spirit and power of Elijah,lCited from Mal. 4:6 to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, andmRom. 10:21 the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,nch. 7:27; Mal. 3:1; Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2 to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. ”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel,oGen. 15:8; [Gen. 17:17] “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. ” 19 And the angel answered him, “I ampver. 26; Dan. 8:16; 9:21 Gabriel,qRev. 8:2; [1 Kgs. 17:1; Job 1:6; Isa. 63:9; Matt. 18:10] who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold,r[Ezek. 3:26; 24:27] you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. ” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay insSee ver. 9 the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision ins[See ver. 21 above] the temple. Andtver. 62 he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 Andu2 Chr. 23:8; [ver. 8; 2 Kgs. 11:5; 1 Chr. 9:25] when his time ofvHeb. 10:11 service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me,w[Gen. 30:23; 1 Sam. 1:6; Ps. 113:9; Isa. 4:1] to take away my reproach among people. ”
26 In the sixth month the angelxver. 19 Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee namedySee Matt. 2:23 Nazareth, 27 zMatt. 1:16, 18 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,ach. 2:4; Matt. 1:20 of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings,b[Ps. 45:2; Dan. 9:23] O favored one,cJudg. 6:12 the Lord is with you! ” 29 ButdSee ver. 12 she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, foreActs 7:46 you have found favor with God. 31 And behold,fIsa. 7:14 you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, andgch. 2:21; Matt. 1:21, 25 you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son ofhver. 76; ch. 6:35; Acts 7:48; See Mark 5:7 the Most High. And the Lord Godiver. 69; 2 Sam. 7:11-13, 16; Ps. 89:4; 132:11; Isa. 9:6, 7; 16:5; Acts 2:30; [Rev. 3:7] will give to him the throne ofjSee Matt. 1:1 his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of JacobkDan. 2:44; 7:14, 18, 27; Heb. 1:8; Rev. 11:15; [John 12:34] forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. ”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin? ”
35 And the angel answered her,lMatt. 1:18, 20 “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power ofh[See ver. 32 above] the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be calledmJohn 6:69 holy—nSee Matt. 14:33 the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with herover. 7 who was called barren. 37 ForpCited from Gen. 18:14 (Gk.); See Matt. 19:26 nothing will be impossible with God. ” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. ” Andq[Judg. 6:21; Acts 12:10] the angel departed from her.
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste intorver. 65; Josh. 20:7; 21:11 the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabethsver. 15, 67 was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry,t[Judg. 5:24] “Blessed are you among women, andu[Deut. 28:4] blessed isvPs. 127:3 the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother ofwch. 20:42; John 20:28; [ch. 2:11] my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 AndxJohn 20:29; [ver. 20] blessed is she who believed that there would be1Or believed, for there will be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. ”
46 And Mary said,
yFor ver. 46-53, [1 Sam. 2:1-10] “Myz1 Thess. 5:23 soulaPs. 34:2, 3; 69:30; Acts 10:46; 19:17 magnifies the Lord,
47 bPs. 35:9; Isa. 61:10; Hab. 3:18; [Acts 16:34] and myz[See ver. 46 above] spirit rejoices incPs. 106:21; 1 Tim. 1:1; 2:3; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4; Jude 25; [2 Tim. 1:9] God my Savior,
48 ford1 Sam. 1:11; Ps. 138:6; [ch. 9:38] he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generationsech. 11:27; Ps. 72:17; [Mal. 3:12] will call me blessed;
49 forfPs. 89:8; Zeph. 3:17 he who is mightygPs. 71:19; 126:2, 3 has done great things for me,
andhPs. 99:3; 111:9; Isa. 57:15 holy is his name.
50 AndiDeut. 5:10; 7:9; Ps. 89:1, 2; 103:17 his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 jPs. 89:10; 98:1; 118:16; Isa. 51:9 He has shown strength with his arm;
kDan. 4:37; See James 4:6 he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 j[See ver. 51 above] he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
lJob 5:11; Ps. 75:7; 107:40, 41; 113:7, 8; 147:6; Ezek. 21:26; [James 4:10] and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filledmPs. 34:10; 107:9; [ch. 6:21, 24, 25] the hungry with good things,
and the richnJob 22:9 he has sent empty away.
54 He hasoIsa. 41:8, 9; Heb. 2:16 helpedpIsa. 44:21; 49:3 his servant Israel,
qPs. 98:3; Mic. 7:20; [ver. 72, 73] in remembrance of his mercy,
55 rGen. 17:19; Ps. 132:11; Gal. 3:16 as he spoke to our fathers,
q[See ver. 54 above] to Abraham and to his offspring forever. ”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the LordsGen. 19:19 had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 Andtch. 2:21; Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3; Phil. 3:5 on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No;uver. 13 he shall be called John. ” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name. ” 62 Andvver. 22 they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked forwIsa. 8:1; 30:8 a writing tablet and wrote,u[See ver. 60 above] “His name is John. ” And they all wondered. 64 xver. 20 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongueyMark 7:35 loosed, and he spoke,zch. 2:28; 24:53 blessing God. 65 Andach. 7:16 fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through allbSee ver. 39 the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard themc[ch. 2:19, 51] laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be? ” FordActs 11:21; 13:11 the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zechariahever. 15, 41 was filled with the Holy Spirit andfJoel 2:28 prophesied, saying,
68 g1 Kgs. 1:48; 1 Chr. 29:10; Ezra 7:27; Ps. 41:13; 72:18; 106:48 “Blessed be the LordhIsa. 29:23; Matt. 15:31; Acts 13:17 God of Israel,
for he hasich. 7:16; Ex. 4:31; [ver. 78; Acts 15:14; Heb. 2:6] visited andjch. 2:38; Ps. 111:9; 130:7, 8; [ch. 24:21; Isa. 43:1; 59:20] redeemed his people
69 andk1 Sam. 2:1, 10; Ps. 132:17; Ezek. 29:21 has raised upl2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 18:2 a horn of salvation for us
mver. 32 in the house of his servant David,
70 nRom. 1:2; [Jer. 23:5, 6] asoActs 3:21 he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 pPs. 106:10 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 qMic. 7:20 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
andrLev. 26:42; Ps. 105:8, 9; [ver. 54, 55] to remember his holysSee Rom. 9:4 covenant,
73 tGen. 22:16-18; 26:3; Heb. 6:13, 14 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve himuZeph. 3:15 without fear,
75 vEph. 4:24; [1 Thess. 2:10; Titus 2:12] in holiness and righteousness before himw[Jer. 32:39 (Heb.); Matt. 28:20 (Gk.)] all our days.
76 And you, child, will be calledxch. 7:26; 20:6; Matt. 11:9; 14:5 the prophet ofySee ver. 32 the Most High;
forzver. 17; ch. 3:4; 7:27; Mal. 3:1; Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:2, 3 you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
a[Matt. 26:28; Mark 1:4] in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of thebCol. 3:12 (Gk.) tender mercy of our God,
wherebycMal. 4:2; Eph. 5:14; 2 Pet. 1:19 the sunrise shalldSee ver. 68 visit us1Or when the sunrise shall dawn upon us; some manuscripts since the sunrise has visited usech. 24:49 from on high
79 tofIsa. 9:2; Matt. 4:16; [Acts 26:18]; See John 8:12 give light togPs. 107:10; Isa. 42:7 those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet intohRom. 3:17 the way ofiSee ch. 2:14 peace. ”
80 jch. 2:40 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he waskMatt. 3:1; 11:7 in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.