that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed.

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

They both did what was right in God's sight [by] living blamelessly according to all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

And it happened that [while] he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,

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

At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to him as he was standing on the right of the altar of incense.

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

and the messenger said unto him, 'Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John,

And 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.

And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and began to wonder [when] he was delayed in the temple.

But when he came out he could not speak to them, and they recognised that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he was making signs to them, and continued dumb.

When his time of priestly service was finished, he returned to his home.

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

it is the Lord, said she, who has thus favour'd me, at the time when he took care to remove the reproach I was under among men.

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

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

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

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

About that time Mary made a hurried trip to a Judean town in the hill country. [Note: This was be the same province in which Jerusalem was located].

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke with a loud voice, and said: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

For, behold, when the voice of thy greeting was in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

And blessed [is] she who believed that [there] will be a fulfillment to what was spoken to her from the Lord!"

And my spirit was glad on God my Saviour,

And Mary was with her for about three months and then went back to her house.

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

and the neighbours and her kindred heard that the Lord was making His kindness great with her, and they were rejoicing with her.

And it happened on the eighth day [i.e., since the baby was born] that they came to circumcise the child [i.e., to perform the Jewish rite of identity, signifying the responsibility to observe the law of Moses]. And they [i.e., probably the neighbors and/or relatives of Elizabeth and Zacharias] suggested that they name him Zacharias, after his father.

And they made signs to his father, to say what name was to be given to him.

He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And everyone was amazed.

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

And fear came on all those who were living round about them: and there was much talk about all these things in all the hill-country of Judaea.

And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

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

[This Agreement was] the oath by which He swore to Abraham, our forefather,

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

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

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

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:)

to enrol himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child.

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

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And lo, an angel of the Lord was there by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they feared with great fear.

because there was born to you to-day a Saviour -- who is Christ the Lord -- in the city of David,

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

And it was when the messenger departed from them into heaven, and the men, the shepherds, said to one another, Let us pass through now to Bethlehem, and see this word done,which the Lord made known to us.

And they went hurrying and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all who heard it were astounded at what was told them by the shepherds,

and Mary was preserving all these things, pondering in her heart;

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told 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.

Then when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed [Note: This was a set procedure required for a Jewish mother on the birth of a child. See Lev. 12:1-8], Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.

as it was written in the law of the Lord; That every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;

and to offer a sacrifice according to what was stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon 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.

Prompted by the Spirit, he came into the temple [enclosure]; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him the custom required by the Law,

A Light for revelation to the Gentiles [to disclose what was previously unknown],
And [to bring] the praise and honor and glory of Your people Israel.”

And His [legal] father and His mother were amazed at what was said about Him.

And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

and she, at that hour, having come in, was confessing, likewise, to the Lord, and was speaking concerning him, to all those looking for redemption in Jerusalem.

Now when they had completed everything that was in accordance with 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 the grace of God 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].

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

and as they were returning [to Nazareth], after spending the required number of days [at the Feast], the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. Now His parents did not know this,

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.

It was not till the third day that they found him in the Temple Courts, sitting among the Teachers, now listening to them, now asking them questions.

and everyone who heard him was astonished at his intelligence and at the answers he made.

when Joseph and his mother saw him, great was their surprize: and his mother said to him, son, why did you leave us thus? your father and I have been looking for you with great concern.

And he said to them, "{Why} were you searching for me? Did you not know that it was necessary [for] me to be in the [house] of my Father?"

But they did not understand what He had said to 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 Jesus was advancing in wisdom, and in stature, and in favour with God and men.

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 this time], while Annas and Caiaphas [Note: This man was Annas' son-in-law. See John 18:13] were head priests, God's message came to John [the Immerser], son of Zacharias, [when he was] in the desert [of Judea].

This was according to what is written in the book containing the words of Isaiah, the prophet [Isa. 40:3ff], "The voice of a man who speaks out in the desert [urging people] to make the road for the Lord ready [for Him to travel]; to make a straight pathway for Him [to walk on].

Therefore he was saying to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

The soldiers also once and again inquired of him, "And we, what are we to do?" His answer was, "Neither intimidate any one nor lay false charges; and be content with your pay."

As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ,

And, therefore, indeed with many other things, exhorting, he was proclaiming good news to the people,

But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done,

Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

and the Holy Spirit in bodily appearance like a dove descended on Him; and there was a voice from heaven, saying; Thou art my beloved Son, I am delighted in Thee.

And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,

Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,

Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,

Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,

Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,

Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,

Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,

Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,

Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,