Thematic Bible
Luke 1:1 (show verse)
Many writers have undertaken to compose accounts of the movement which has developed among us,
Luke 1:2 (show verse)
just as the original eye-witnesses who became teachers of the message have handed it down to us.
Luke 1:3 (show verse)
For that reason, Theophilus, and because I have investigated it all carefully from the beginning, I have determined to write a connected account of it for Your Excellency,
Luke 1:4 (show verse)
so that you may be reliably informed about the things you have been taught.
Luke 1:5 (show verse)
In the days when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the division of Abijah. His wife was also a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
Luke 1:6 (show verse)
They were both upright in the sight of God, blamelessly observing all the Lord's commands and requirements.
Luke 1:7 (show verse)
They had no children, for Elizabeth was barren; and they were both advanced in life.
Luke 1:8 (show verse)
Once when he was acting as priest before God, when his division was on duty,
Luke 1:9 (show verse)
it fell to his lot, according to the priests' practice, to go into the sanctuary of the Lord and burn the incense,
Luke 1:10 (show verse)
while all the throng of people was outside, praying at the hour of the incense offering.
Luke 1:11 (show verse)
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Luke 1:12 (show verse)
When Zechariah saw him he was startled and overcome with fear.
Luke 1:13 (show verse)
And the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.
Luke 1:14 (show verse)
This will bring gladness and delight to you, and many will rejoice over his birth.
Luke 1:15 (show verse)
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink no wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with the holy Spirit from his very birth,
Luke 1:16 (show verse)
and he will turn many of Israel's descendants to the Lord their God.
Luke 1:17 (show verse)
He will go before him with the spirit and the power of Elijah, to reconcile fathers to their children, and to bring the disobedient back to the wisdom of upright men, to make a people perfectly ready for the Lord."
Luke 1:18 (show verse)
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."
Luke 1:19 (show verse)
The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the very presence of God. I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
Luke 1:20 (show verse)
Now you will keep silent and be unable to speak until the day when this happens, because you have not believed what I have said, for it will all be fulfilled in due time."
Luke 1:21 (show verse)
The people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondering that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
Luke 1:22 (show verse)
But when he came out he could not speak to them, and they knew that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. For his part, he kept making signs to them, and remained dumb.
Luke 1:23 (show verse)
And when his period of service was over, he went back to his home.
Luke 1:24 (show verse)
Soon afterward his wife Elizabeth began to expect a child, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months.
Luke 1:25 (show verse)
"This is what the Lord has done for me," she said, "now that he has deigned to remove the disgrace I have endured."
Luke 1:26 (show verse)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
Luke 1:27 (show verse)
to a maiden there who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The maiden's name was Mary.
Luke 1:28 (show verse)
And the angel went into the town and said to her, "Good morning, favored woman! The Lord be with you!"
Luke 1:29 (show verse)
But she was startled at what he said, and wondered what this greeting meant.
Luke 1:30 (show verse)
And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have gained God's approval.
Luke 1:31 (show verse)
You are to become a mother and you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus.
Luke 1:32 (show verse)
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his forefather David,
Luke 1:33 (show verse)
and he will reign over Jacob's house forever; his reign will have no end."
Luke 1:34 (show verse)
Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, when I have no husband?"
Luke 1:35 (show verse)
The angel answered, "The holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason your child will be called holy, and the Son of God.
Luke 1:36 (show verse)
And your relative, Elizabeth, although she is old, is going to give birth to a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was said to be barren.
Luke 1:37 (show verse)
For nothing is ever impossible for God."
Luke 1:38 (show verse)
And Mary said, "I am the Lord's slave. Let it be as you say." Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:39 (show verse)
In those days Mary set out and hurried to the hill-country, to a town in Judah,
Luke 1:40 (show verse)
and she went to Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.
Luke 1:41 (show verse)
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe stirred within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the holy Spirit
Luke 1:42 (show verse)
and she gave a great cry, and said, "You are the most favored of women, And blessed is your child!
Luke 1:43 (show verse)
Who am I, To have the mother of my Lord come to me?
Luke 1:44 (show verse)
"For the moment your greeting reached my ears, The child stirred with joy within me!
Luke 1:45 (show verse)
Blessed is she who has believed, For what the Lord has promised her will be fulfilled!"
Luke 1:46 (show verse)
And Mary said, "My heart extols the Lord,
Luke 1:47 (show verse)
My spirit exults in God my Savior.
Luke 1:48 (show verse)
For he has noticed his slave in her humble station, For from this time all the ages will think me favored!
Luke 1:49 (show verse)
"For the Almighty has done wonders for me, How holy his name is!
Luke 1:50 (show verse)
He shows his mercy age after age To those who fear him.
Luke 1:51 (show verse)
"He has done mighty deeds with his arm, He has routed the proud-minded,
Luke 1:52 (show verse)
He has dethroned monarchs and exalted the poor,
Luke 1:53 (show verse)
He has satisfied the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty-handed.
Luke 1:54 (show verse)
"He has helped his servant Israel, Remembering his mercy,
Luke 1:55 (show verse)
As he promised our forefathers To have mercy on Abraham and his descendants forever!"
Luke 1:56 (show verse)
So Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned home.
Luke 1:57 (show verse)
Now the time came for Elizabeth's child to be born, and she gave birth to a son.
Luke 1:58 (show verse)
Her neighbors and relatives heard of the great mercy the Lord had shown her, and they came and congratulated her.
Luke 1:59 (show verse)
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father.
Luke 1:60 (show verse)
But his mother said, "No! He is to be named John."
Luke 1:61 (show verse)
They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who bears that name."
Luke 1:62 (show verse)
But they made signs to the child's father and asked him what he wished to have the child named.
Luke 1:63 (show verse)
He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John."
Luke 1:64 (show verse)
And they were all amazed. Then his voice and the use of his tongue were immediately restored, and he blessed God aloud.
Luke 1:65 (show verse)
And all their neighbors were overcome with fear, and all over the hill-country of Judea all these stories were told,
Luke 1:66 (show verse)
and everyone who heard them kept them in mind, and said, "What is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.
Luke 1:67 (show verse)
And his father Zechariah was filled with the holy Spirit and he uttered a divine message, saying,
Luke 1:68 (show verse)
"Blessings on the Lord, the God of Israel, Because he has turned his attention to his people, and brought about their deliverance,
Luke 1:69 (show verse)
And he has produced a mighty Savior for us In the house of his servant David.
Luke 1:70 (show verse)
"By the lips of his holy prophets he promised of old to do this??71 To save us from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us,
Luke 1:71 (show verse)
Luke 1:72 (show verse)
Thus showing mercy to our forefathers, And keeping his sacred agreement,
Luke 1:73 (show verse)
"And the oath that he swore to our forefather Abraham,
Luke 1:74 (show verse)
That we should be delivered from the hands of our enemies,
Luke 1:75 (show verse)
And should serve him in holiness and uprightness, unafraid, In his own presence all our lives.
Luke 1:76 (show verse)
"And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, For you will go before the Lord to make his way ready,
Luke 1:77 (show verse)
Bringing his people the knowledge of salvation Through the forgiveness of their sins.
Luke 1:78 (show verse)
"Because the heart of our God is merciful, And so the day will dawn upon us from on high,
Luke 1:79 (show verse)
To shine on men who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, And guide our feet into the way of peace."
Luke 1:80 (show verse)
And the child grew up and became strong in the Spirit, and he lived in the desert until the day when he proclaimed himself to Israel.