Thematic Bible
Luke 1:1 (show verse)
Inasmuch as a number of writers have essayed to draw up a narrative of the established facts in our religion
Luke 1:2 (show verse)
exactly as these have been handed down to us by the original eyewitnesses who were in the service of the Gospel Message,
Luke 1:3 (show verse)
and inasmuch as I have gone carefully over them all myself from the very beginning, I have decided, O Theophilus, to write them out in order for your excellency,
Luke 1:4 (show verse)
to let you know the solid truth of what you have been taught.
Luke 1:5 (show verse)
In the days of Herod king of Judaea there was a priest called Zechariah, who belonged to the division of Abijah; he had a wife who belonged to the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
Luke 1:6 (show verse)
They were both just in the sight of God, blameless in their obedience to all the commands and regulations of God;
Luke 1:7 (show verse)
but they had no child, for Elizabeth was barren. Both of them were advanced in years.
Luke 1:8 (show verse)
Now while he was officiating before God in the due course of his division,
Luke 1:9 (show verse)
it fell to him by lot, as was the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense,
Luke 1:10 (show verse)
the mass of the people all remaining in prayer outside at the hour of incense.
Luke 1:11 (show verse)
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Luke 1:12 (show verse)
When Zechariah saw him he was troubled, and fear fell on him;
Luke 1:13 (show verse)
but the angel said to him, "Fear not, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard; your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you must call his name John.
Luke 1:14 (show verse)
It will be joy and gladness for you, and many will rejoice over his birth:
Luke 1:15 (show verse)
for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, he will drink neither wine nor strong drink, he will be filled with the holy Spirit from his very birth;
Luke 1:16 (show verse)
he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,
Luke 1:17 (show verse)
he will go in front of Him with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, turning the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make a people ready and prepared for the Lord."
Luke 1:18 (show verse)
Zechariah said to the angel, "But how am I to be sure of this? I am an old man myself, and my wife is advanced in years."
Luke 1:19 (show verse)
The angel replied, "I am Gabriel, I stand before God; I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
Luke 1:20 (show verse)
But you will be silent and unable to speak till the day this happens, because you have not believed what I told you; it will be accomplished, for all that, in due time."
Luke 1:21 (show verse)
Now the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering that he stayed so long inside the sanctuary.
Luke 1:22 (show verse)
When he did come out he could not speak to them, so they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary; he made signs to them and remained dumb.
Luke 1:23 (show verse)
Then, after his term of service had elapsed, he went home.
Luke 1:24 (show verse)
After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and for five months she concealed herself.
Luke 1:25 (show verse)
"The Lord has done this for me," she said, "he has now deigned to remove my reproach among men."
Luke 1:26 (show verse)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazaret,
Luke 1:27 (show verse)
to a maiden who was betrothed to a man called Joseph, belonging to the house of David. The maiden's name was Mary.
Luke 1:28 (show verse)
The angel went in and said to her, "Hail, O favoured one! the Lord be with you!"
Luke 1:29 (show verse)
At this she was startled; she thought to herself, whatever can this greeting mean?
Luke 1:30 (show verse)
But the angel said to her, "Fear not, Mary, you have found favour with God.
Luke 1:31 (show verse)
You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must call his name Jesus.
Luke 1:32 (show verse)
He will be great, he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father;
Luke 1:33 (show verse)
he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and to his reign there will be no end."
Luke 1:34 (show verse)
"How can this be?" said Mary to the angel, "I have no husband."
Luke 1:35 (show verse)
The angel answered her, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you; hence what is born will be called holy, Son of God.
Luke 1:36 (show verse)
Look, there is your kinswoman Elizabeth! Even she has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month;
Luke 1:37 (show verse)
for with God nothing is ever impossible."
Luke 1:38 (show verse)
Mary said, "I am here to serve the Lord. Let it be as you have said." Then the angel went away.
Luke 1:39 (show verse)
In those days Mary started with haste for the hill-country, for a town of Judah;
Luke 1:40 (show verse)
she entered the house of Zechariah and saluted Elizabeth,
Luke 1:41 (show verse)
and when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leapt in her womb. Then Elizabeth was filled with the holy Spirit;
Luke 1:42 (show verse)
she called out with a loud cry, "Blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Luke 1:43 (show verse)
What have I done to have the mother of my Lord come to me?
Luke 1:44 (show verse)
Why, as soon as the sound of your salutation reached my ears, the babe leapt for joy within my womb.
Luke 1:45 (show verse)
And blessed is she who believed that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled."
Luke 1:46 (show verse)
Then Mary said "My soul magnifies the Lord,
Luke 1:47 (show verse)
My spirit has joy in God my Saviour:
Luke 1:48 (show verse)
for he has considered the humiliation of his servant. From this time forth all generations will call me blessed,
Luke 1:49 (show verse)
for He who is Mighty has done great things for me. His name is holy,
Luke 1:50 (show verse)
his mercy is on generation after generation, for those who reverence him.
Luke 1:51 (show verse)
He has done a deed of might with his arm, he has scattered the proud with their purposes,
Luke 1:52 (show verse)
princes he has dethroned and the poor he has uplifted,
Luke 1:53 (show verse)
he has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
Luke 1:54 (show verse)
He has succoured his servant Israel, mindful of his mercy
Luke 1:55 (show verse)
as he promised our fathers, to have mercy on Abraham and his offspring for ever."
Luke 1:56 (show verse)
Mary stayed with her about three months and then returned home.
Luke 1:57 (show verse)
Now the time for Elizabeth's delivery had elapsed, and she gave birth to a son.
Luke 1:58 (show verse)
When her neighbours and kinsfolk heard of the Lord's great mercy to her they rejoiced with her,
Luke 1:59 (show verse)
and on the eighth day came to circumcise the child. They were going to call it by the name of its father Zechariah,
Luke 1:60 (show verse)
but the mother told them, "No, the child is to be called John."
Luke 1:61 (show verse)
They said to her, "None of your family is called by that name."
Luke 1:62 (show verse)
Then they made signs to the father, to find out what he wanted the child to be called,
Luke 1:63 (show verse)
and he asked for a writing-tablet and wrote down, "His name is John," to the astonishment of all.
Luke 1:64 (show verse)
Instantly his mouth was opened, his tongue loosed, and he spoke out blessing God.
Luke 1:65 (show verse)
Then fear fell on all their neighbours, and all these events were talked of through the whole of the hill-country of Judaea.
Luke 1:66 (show verse)
All who heard of it bore it in mind; they said, "Whatever will this child become?" For the hand of the Lord was indeed with him.
Luke 1:67 (show verse)
And Zechariah his father was filled with the holy Spirit; he prophesied in these words,
Luke 1:68 (show verse)
"Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, for he has cared for his people and wrought them redemption;
Luke 1:69 (show verse)
he has raised up a strong saviour for us in the house of his servant David
Luke 1:70 (show verse)
as he promised of old by the lips of his prophets
Luke 1:71 (show verse)
to save us from our foes and from the hand of all who hate us,
Luke 1:72 (show verse)
to deal mercifully with our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant,
Luke 1:73 (show verse)
of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
Luke 1:74 (show verse)
that freed from fear and from the hand of our foes we should worship him
Luke 1:75 (show verse)
in holiness and uprightness all our days within his presence.
Luke 1:76 (show verse)
And you, my child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High; for you shall go in front of the Lord to make his ways ready,
Luke 1:77 (show verse)
to bring his people the knowledge of salvation through the remission of their sins
Luke 1:78 (show verse)
by the tender mercy of our God, who will make the Dawn visit us from on high,
Luke 1:79 (show verse)
to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our steps into the way of peace."
Luke 1:80 (show verse)
And the child grew, he became strong in the Spirit and remained in the desert till the day when he made his appearance before Israel.