God's New Revelations

The Gospel According to St. Luke

Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic

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- Chapter 1 -

(Acts 1:1–3)
1
Seeing that many took in hand to set in order a narration of the matters that have been fully assured among us,
2
as they delivered to us, who from the beginning became eyewitnesses, and officers of the word,
3
it seemed good also to me, having followed from the first after all things exactly, to write to you in order, most noble Theophilus,
4
that you may know the certainty of the things wherein you were instructed.

Gabriel Foretells John’s Birth

5
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the division of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth;
6
and they were both righteous before God, going on in all the commands and righteousnesses of the LORD blameless,
7
and they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.
8
And it came to pass, in his acting as priest, in the order of his division before God,
9
according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot was to make incense, having gone into the temple of the LORD,
10
and all the multitude of the people were praying outside, at the hour of the incense.
11
And there appeared to him a messenger of the LORD standing on the right side of the altar of the incense,
12
and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him;
13
and the messenger said to him, “Do not fear, Zacharias, for your supplication was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you will call his name John,
14
and there will be joy to you, and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
15
for he will be great before the LORD, and wine and strong drink he may not drink, and he will be full of the Holy Spirit, even from his mothers womb;
16
and he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the LORD their God,
17
and he will go before Him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers to children, and disobedient ones to the wisdom of righteous ones, to make ready for the LORD, a people prepared.”
18
And Zacharias said to the messenger, “Whereby will I know this? For I am aged, and my wife is advanced in her days?”
19
And the messenger answering said to him, “I am Gabriel, who has been standing near before God, and I was sent to speak to you, and to proclaim this good news to you,
20
and behold, you will be silent, and not able to speak, until the day that these things will come to pass, because you did not believe my words that will be fulfilled in their season.”
21
And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and wondering at his lingering in the temple,
22
and having come out, he was not able to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he was beckoning to them, and remained mute.
23
And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he went away to his house,
24
and after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
25
Thus the LORD has done to me, in days in which He looked on [me], to take away my reproach among men.”

Gabriel Foretells Jesus’ Birth

26
And in the sixth month the messenger Gabriel was sent by God, to a city of Galilee, the name of which [is] Nazareth,
27
to a virgin, betrothed to a man, whose name [is] Joseph, of the house of David, and the name of the virgin [is] Mary.
28
And the messenger having come in to her, said, “Greetings, favored one, the LORD [is] with you; blessed [are] you among women”;
29
and she, having seen, was troubled at his word, and was reasoning of what kind this salutation may be.
30
And the messenger said to her, “Do not fear, Mary, for you have found favor with God;
31
and behold, you will conceive in the womb, and will bring forth a Son, and call His Name Jesus;
32
He will be great, and He will be called Son of the Highest, and the LORD God will give Him the throne of His father David,
33
and He will reign over the house of Jacob for all ages; and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34
And Mary said to the messenger, “How will this be, seeing I do not know a husband?”
35
And the messenger answering said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore also the holy-begotten thing will be called Son of God;
36
and behold, Elizabeth, your relative, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her who was called barren;
37
because nothing will be impossible with God.”
38
And Mary said, “Behold, the maidservant of the LORD; let it be to me according to your saying,” and the messenger went away from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39
And Mary having arisen in those days, went into the hill-country, with haste, to a city of Judea,
40
and entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth.
41
And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the baby leapt in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
42
and spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed [are] you among women, and blessed [is] the Fruit of your womb;
43
and from where [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord might come to me?
44
For behold, when the voice of your salutation came to my ears, the baby in my womb leapt in gladness;
45
and blessed [is] she who believed, for there will be a completion to the things spoken to her from the LORD.”

Mary’s Song

(1 Samuel 2:1–11)
46
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the LORD,
47
And my spirit was glad on God my Savior,
48
Because He looked on the lowliness of His maidservant, || For behold, from now on all the generations will call me blessed,
49
For He who is mighty did great things to me, || And holy [is] His Name,
50
And His kindness [is] to generations of generations, || To those fearing Him;
51
He did powerfully with His arm, || He scattered abroad the proud in the thought of their heart,
52
He brought down the mighty from thrones, || And He exalted the lowly,
53
He filled the hungry with good, || And the rich He sent away empty;
54
He has taken hold of His servant Israel, || To remember kindness,
55
As He spoke to our fathers, || To Abraham and to his seedthroughout the age.”
56
And Mary remained with her about three months, and turned back to her house.

The Birth of John the Baptist

57
And to Elizabeth was the time fulfilled for her bringing forth, and she bore a son,
58
and the neighbors and her relatives heard that the LORD was making His kindness great with her, and they were rejoicing with her.
59
And it came to pass, on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they were calling him by the name of his father, Zacharias,
60
and his mother answering said, “No, but he will be called John.”
61
And they said to her, “There is none among your relatives who is called by this name,”
62
and they were making signs to his father, what he would wish him to be called,
63
and having asked for a tablet, he wrote, saying, “John is his name”; and they all wondered;
64
and his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he was speaking, praising God.
65
And fear came on all those dwelling around them, and in all the hill-country of Judea were all these sayings spoken of,
66
and all who heard laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” And the hand of the LORD was with him.

Zechariah’s Song

67
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68
Blessed [is] the LORD, the God of Israel, || Because He looked on, || And worked redemption for His people,
69
And raised a horn of salvation to us, || In the house of His servant David,
70
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, || Which have been from the age;
71
Salvation from our enemies, || And out of the hand of all hating us,
72
To do kindness with our fathers, || And to be mindful of His holy covenant,
73
An oath that He swore to Abraham our father,
74
To give to us, without fear, || Having been delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
75
To serve Him, in holiness and righteousness || Before Him, all the days of our life.
76
And you, child, || Prophet of the Highest will you be called; For you will go before the face of the LORD, || To prepare His ways.
77
To give knowledge of salvation to His people || In forgiveness of their sins,
78
Through the yearnings of our God, || In which the rising from on high looked on us,
79
To give light to those sitting in darkness and death-shade, || To guide our feet to a way of peace.”
80
And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts until the day of his showing to Israel.
(Acts 1:1–3)
1
Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,
2
even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,
3
it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;
4
that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.

Gabriel Foretells John’s Birth

5
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6
They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
8
Now while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division
9
according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10
The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11
An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12
Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13
But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14
You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mothers womb.
16
He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’(a) and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”
18
Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19
The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20
Behold,(b) you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
21
The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple.
22
When he came out, he could not speak to them. They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute.
23
When the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.
24
After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying,
25
Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”

Gabriel Foretells Jesus’ Birth

26
Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27
to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28
Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
29
But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.
30
The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name himJesus.’
32
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
34
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
35
The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
36
Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37
For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”(c)
38
Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39
Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah,
40
and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42
She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43
Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44
For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!
45
Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”

Mary’s Song

(1 Samuel 2:1–11)
46
Mary said,My soul magnifies the Lord.
47
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
48
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
49
For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.
50
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
51
He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52
He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly.
53
He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
54
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
55
as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring(d) forever.”
56
Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.

The Birth of John the Baptist

57
Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son.
58
Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
59
On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60
His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called John.”
61
They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”
62
They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.
63
He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” They all marveled.
64
His mouth was opened immediately and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God.
65
Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea.
66
All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Song

67
His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people;
69
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
71
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
72
to show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant,
73
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
74
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear,
75
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
77
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
78
because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
79
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80
The child was growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Footnotes

(a)1:17 ℘ Malachi 4:6
(b)1:20 “Behold”, from “ἰδοὺ”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
(c)1:37 or, “For everything spoken by God is possible.”
(d)1:55 or, seed