Day 1
1 Many have undertaken to
draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2just
as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses
and servants of the word. 3 Therefore, since I myself have
carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me
to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so
that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
5 In the time of Herod
king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly
division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both
of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments
and regulations blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because
Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years. 8Once
when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before
God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the
priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And
when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers
were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to
him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When
Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But
the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been
heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the
name John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many
will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in
the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and
he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16 Many
of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And
he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the
hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of
the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 18 Zechariah
asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife
is well along in years." 19 The angel answered, "I
am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to
you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be
silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not
believe my words, which will come true at their proper time." 21Meanwhile,
the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in
the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them.
They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to
them but remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service
was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife
Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 "The
Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his
favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
26 In the sixth month, God
sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a
virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The
virgin's name was Mary.28 The angel went to her and said,
"Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29Mary
was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might
be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid,
Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child
and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 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; his kingdom will never end." 34 "How
will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a
virgin?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the
holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even
Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who
was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is
impossible with God." 38 "I am the Lord's
servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."
Then the angel left her.
39 At that time Mary got
ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where
she entered Zechariah's home 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 In a loud voice she exclaimed:
"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will
bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord
should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting
reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed
is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be
accomplished!"
46 And Mary said: "My
soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his
servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,49 for
the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name. 50 His
mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 51 He
has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud
in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from
their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled
the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He
has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to
Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers." 56 Mary
stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
57 When it was time for
Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her
neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they
shared her joy. 59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise
the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,60 but
his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John." 61 They
said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that
name." 62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out
what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a
writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is
John." 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue
was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 The
neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea
people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who
heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to
be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.
67 His father Zechariah
was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: 68 "Praise
be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his
people. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the
house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy
prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from
the hand of all who hate us-- 72 to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our
father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and
righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, my child,
will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the
knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because
of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from
heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." 80 And
the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he
appeared publicly to Israel.
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1 In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He
was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were
made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In
him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light
shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There
came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came
as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men
might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as
a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to
every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world,
and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize
him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not
receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children
born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but
born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from
the Father, full of grace and truth.
