Then you could know how reliable the information is that you have been told.

There 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.

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.

And he shall be to thee joy and rejoicing, and many shall rejoice at his birth.

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.

And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

And Zacharias said to the angel, How shall I know this, for I am an old man, and my wife advanced in years?

And the messenger, answering, said unto him - I, am Gabriel, - he that standeth near before God; and have been sent forth to speak unto thee, and to deliver the joyful message unto thee, as touching these things.

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

And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee.

But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.

Then Mary got up and went quickly into the high lands, to a town of Judah;

and she loudly exclaimed, "How blessed are you among women, and how blessed is the infant in your womb!

And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?

How blessed is this woman for believing that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled!"

for He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaid:

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

from generation to generation he is merciful to those who fear him.

He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

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

And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

And Zacharias, his father, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he prophesied, saying,

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

And He has raised up a horn of salvation [a mighty and valiant Savior] for us
In the house of David His servant—

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

that he would save us from our enemies and from the grip of all who hate us.

He has dealt mercifully with our fathers
and remembered His holy covenant—

The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

Yea 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;

by acquainting his people how they may be saved by the remission of their sins,

Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

And the child grew and was strengthened in spirit; and he was in the deserts until the day of his shewing to Israel.

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered.

and all went to be registered--every one to the town to which he belonged.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

He went there to be registered with Mary, who had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.

Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord.

Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.

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

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 there was then in Jerusalem a man whose name was Simeon; and he was an upright man, fearing God and waiting for the comfort of Israel: 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 by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

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;

Meanwhile, the child continued to grow and to become strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God's favor rested upon him.

And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

Assuming He was in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends.

And seeing that he was not there, they went back to Jerusalem, to make search for him.

while all who heard Him were astonished at His intelligence and at the answers He gave.

When His parents saw Him, they were utterly amazed, and yet His mother said to Him, "My child, why did you treat us so? Just see how your father and I, in agony of mind, have been searching for you!"

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

And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

And as Jesus grew older He gained in both wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

And in the fifteenth year in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother, tetrarch of Ituria and the Trachonitis country, and Lusanius tetrarch of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas

Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

as it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying aloud! 'In the Desert prepare ye a road for the Lord: make His highway straight.

And all mankind is to see how God can save!"

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

And the crowd began to ask him questions. "What shall we do then?" they asked. In reply he said to them.

He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

the Publicans likewise came to be baptized, and said to him, master, how are we to act?

And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

But Herod the Tetrarch, being repeatedly rebuked by him about Herodias his brother's wife, and about all the wicked deeds that he had done,

Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, the [visible] heaven was opened,

And Jesus himself, when he began to teach , was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the'son of Heli,

Then Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this realm and its glory [its power, its renown]; because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: