Your Excellency Theophilus: Since so many people have undertaken the task of compiling a narrative of events that have happened among us,

As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word,

it seemed fitting for me as well, [and so I have decided] after having carefully searched out and investigated all the events accurately, from the very beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus;

so that you may know the certainty concerning the things about which you were taught.

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord.

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

And he saw an angel of the Lord in his place on the right side of the altar.

And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

He will bring many of Israel's descendants back to the Lord their God.

It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah said to the angel, "How am I to know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in life."

And the angel, answering, said, I am Gabriel, whose place is before God; I have been sent to say these words to you and to give you this good news.

Now, see, you will be without voice or language till the day when these things come about, because you had not faith in my words, which will have effect at the right time.

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

And when he came out he was not able to say anything, and they saw that he had seen a vision in the Temple; and he was making signs to them without words.

And so it happened, when he had completed the [required] days of his ministry, he went home.

After that time, Elisabeth, being certain that she was to become a mother, kept herself from men's eyes for five months, saying,

So the Lord has dealt with me in the days in which He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

So Gabriel went into the house and said to her, "Joy be to you, favoured one! the Lord is with you."

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said to her, Have no fear, Mary, for you have God's approval.

And see, you will give birth to a son, and his name will be Jesus.

and he will reign over Jacob's house forever; his reign will have no end."

Then the angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a cloud]; for that reason the holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called the Son of God.

And see, your relative Elizabeth--she also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God's promises."

So Mary said, "Behold, the Lord's female slave! May it happen to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him.

Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me!

And blessed is she who believed that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled."

His help he has given to Israel, his servant, so that he might keep in mind his mercy to Abraham and his seed for ever,

So Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home.

Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

When her neighbours and kinsfolk heard of the Lord's great mercy to her they rejoiced with her,

And on the eighth day they came to see to the circumcision of the child, and they would have given him the name of Zacharias, his father's name;

And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

So they made signs to his father [asking] what he wanted him to be named,

So he asked for a writing-tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all wondered.

Immediately Zechariah's mouth was opened and his tongue released, and he spoke, blessing God.

And all who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then will this child be? And the Lord's hand was with him.

To grant us to be rescued from the power of our foes And so render worship to Him free from fear,

And so you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways,

Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high will visit us

To give light to those in dark places, and in the shade of death, so that our feet may be guided into the way of peace.

So, the child [i.e., John] grew and became strong in [his] spirit and stayed in the desert until the day when he appeared publicly to the Israelites.

So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.

and Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city Nazareth to Judaea, to David's city, the which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

So, she bore her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in [linen] cloths and laid Him in an animal's feeding trough because there was no room for them in the lodge.

Then an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, so that they were fearfully frightened.

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for see, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.

for to-day a Saviour has been born to you in David's city, who is Christ the Lord.

And this is the sign to you: you will see a young child folded in linen, in the place where the cattle have their food.

Then a host of heaven's army suddenly appeared beside the angel extolling God and saying,

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the Baby as He lay in the manger.

And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child.

and the shepherds turned back, glorifying and praising God, for all those things they heard and saw, as it was spoken unto them.

And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

And when the time for their purification came [that is, the mother’s purification and the baby’s dedication] according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord [set apart as the Firstborn]

(As it says in the law of the Lord, Every mother's first male child is to be holy to the Lord),

There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus so that they could do for him according to what was customary under the law,

because mine eyes did see Thy salvation,

which you prepared for all people to see

[to be] a light for revealing [God's way of salvation] to the [unconverted] Gentiles, and a [source of] glory to your people, the Israelites."

And while the child's father and mother were wondering at the words of Symeon concerning Him,

And Simeon gave them his blessing and said to Mary, his mother, See, this child will be the cause of the downfall and the lifting up of great numbers of people in Israel, and he will be a sign against which hard words will be said;

(and even a sword shall go through thine own soul;) so that the thoughts may be revealed from many hearts.

And there was a woman prophet named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher [i.e., she was a descendant of one of Jacob's son]. (She was very old, having lived with her husband for [only] seven years after being married,

So when Joseph and Mary had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and God's grace was upon him.

Now Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem every year to attend the Passover Festival. [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership].

But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

So, Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and [continued] to obey them. And His mother kept all these things [stored up] in her heart.

Now in the fifteenth year of [Emperor] Tiberius Caesar’s reign—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod [Antipas] was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene—

during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

as the book of the sermons of the prophet Isaiah says, "Hark! Someone is shouting in the desert, Get the Lord's way ready! Make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth: And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

So he began saying to the crowds who were coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath [of God that is] to come?

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Even now the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; so every tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.”

So the crowds were asking him, "What then should we do?"

And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”

So he said to them, "Stop collecting any more than is prescribed for you."

Likewise the soldiers asked him, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

Now as people were anticipating [what would happen] and everyone was wondering in their hearts if perhaps John were the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one],

John answered [their concerns] by saying to all of them, "I am [the one] immersing you in water, but One who is more powerful than I will follow my [ministry]. I am not [even] worthy to loosen the straps of His sandals. He will immerse you people with the Holy Spirit and with fire [i.e., the punishment of hell. See Matt. 3:10-12].

So with many other appeals and various admonitions John preached the good news (gospel) to the people.