Luke chapter 1
(1)Many people have tried to tell the story of what God has done among us. (2)They wrote what we had been told by the ones who were there in the beginning and saw what happened. (3)So I made a careful study [a] of everything and then decided to write and tell you exactly what took place. Honorable Theophilus, (4)I have done this to let you know the truth about what you have heard.
An Angel Tells about the Birth of John
(5)When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest by the name of Zechariah from the priestly group of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth was from the family of Aaron. [b] (6)Both of them were good people and pleased the Lord God by obeying all that he had commanded. (7)But they did not have children. Elizabeth could not have any, and both Zechariah and Elizabeth were already old. (8)One day Zechariah's group of priests were on duty, and he was serving God as a priest. (9)According to the custom of the priests, he had been chosen to go into the Lord's temple that day and to burn incense, [c] (10)while the people stood outside praying. (11)All at once an angel from the Lord appeared to Zechariah at the right side of the altar. (12)Zechariah was confused and afraid when he saw the angel. (13)But the angel told him:
"Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayers. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you must name him John. (14)His birth will make you very happy, and many people will be glad. (15)Your son will be a great servant of the Lord. He must never drink wine or beer, and the power of the Holy Spirit will be with him from the time he is born.
(16)"John will lead many people in Israel to turn back to the Lord their God. (17)He will go ahead of the Lord with the same power and spirit that Elijah [d] had. And because of John, parents will be more thoughtful of their children. And people who now disobey God will begin to think as they ought to. That is how John will get people ready for the Lord." (18)Zechariah said to the angel, "How will I know this is going to happen? My wife and I are both very old."
(19)The angel answered, "I am Gabriel, God's servant, and I was sent to tell you this good news. (20)You have not believed what I have said. So you will not be able to say a thing until all this happens. But everything will take place when it is supposed to."
(21)The crowd was waiting for Zechariah and kept wondering why he was staying so long in the temple. (22)When he did come out, he could not speak, and they knew he had seen a vision. He motioned to them with his hands, but did not say a thing.
(23)When Zechariah's time of service in the temple was over, he went home. (24)Soon after that, his wife was expecting a baby, and for five months she did not leave the house. She said to herself, (25)"What the Lord has done for me will keep people from looking down on me." [e]
An Angel Tells about the Birth of Jesus
(26)One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee (27)with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. (28)The angel greeted Mary and said, "You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you."
(29)Mary was confused by the angel's words and wondered what they meant. (30)Then the angel told Mary, "Don't be afraid! God is pleased with you, (31)and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. (32)He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. (33)He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end."
(34)Mary asked the angel, "How can this happen? I am not married!"
(35)The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God's power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. (36)Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. (37)Nothing is impossible for God!"
(38)Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said." And the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
(39)A short time later Mary hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea. (40)She went into Zechariah's home, where she greeted Elizabeth. (41)When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, her baby moved within her.
The Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth. (42)Then in a loud voice she said to Mary:
"God has blessed you more than any other woman! He has also blessed the child you will have. (43)Why should the mother of my Lord come to me? (44)As soon as I heard your greeting, my baby became happy and moved within me. (45)The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise." (56)Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she went back home.
The Birth of John the Baptist
(57)When Elizabeth's son was born, (58)her neighbours and relatives heard how kind the Lord had been to her, and they too were glad.
(59)Eight days later they did for the child what the Law of Moses commands. [f] They were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. (60)But Elizabeth said, "No! His name is John." (61)The people argued, "No one in your family has ever been named John." (62)So they motioned to Zechariah to find out what he wanted to name his son.
(63)Zechariah asked for a writing tablet. Then he wrote, "His name is John." Everyone was amazed. (64)Right away, Zechariah started speaking and praising God.
(65)All the neighbours were frightened because of what had happened, and everywhere in the hill country people kept talking about these things. (66)Everyone who heard about this wondered what this child would grow up to be. They knew that the Lord was with him.
Luke chapter 2
The Birth of Jesus
(1)About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. [g] (2)These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. [h] (3)Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. (4)So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family.
(5)Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby.
Part two ==>
Footnotes:
[a] Luke 1:3 a careful study: Or " a study from the beginning."
[b] Luke 1:5 Aaron: The brother of Moses and the first priest.
[c] Luke 1:9 burn incense: This was done twice a day, once in the morning and again in the late afternoon.
[d] Luke 1:17 Elijah: The prophet Elijah was known for his power to work miracles.
[e] Luke 1:25 keep people from looking down on me: When a married woman could not have children, it was thought that the Lord was punishing her.
[f] Luke 1:59 what the Law of Moses commands: This refers to circumcision. It is the cutting off of skin from the private part of Jewish boys eight days after birth to show that they belong to the Lord.
[g] Luke 2:1 names. . . listed in record books: This was done so that everyone could be made to pay taxes to the Emperor.
[h] Luke 2:2 Quirinius was governor of Syria: It is known that Quirinius made a record of the people in A.D. 6 or 7. But the exact date of the record taking that Luke mentions is not known.
Scripture quotations are from the Contemporary
English Version © American Bible Society 1991, 1992, 1995. Used by
permission/Anglicisations © British & Foreign Bible Society 1997.
|
