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Chapter 1 |
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1 | Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to
set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed
among us, |
| 2
| Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the
beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; |
| 3 | It seemed good
to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first,
to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, |
| 4 | That thou
mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been
instructed. |
| 5
| THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a
certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the
daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. |
| 6 | And they were
both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of
the Lord blameless. |
| 7 | And they had no child, because that Elisabeth
was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. |
| 8 | And it
came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the
order of his course, |
| 9 | According to the custom of the priest's
office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the
Lord. |
| 10 |
And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at
the time of incense. |
| 11 | And there appeared unto him an angel of the
Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. |
| 12 | And when
Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. |
| 13 | But the
angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife
Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. |
| 14 |
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his
birth. |
| 15
| For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall
drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost, even from his mother's womb. |
| 16 | And many of the children of
Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. |
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17 | And he shall go before
him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord. |
| 18 | And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby
shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in
years. |
| 19
| And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that
stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee
these glad tidings. |
| 20 | And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not
able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou
believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. |
| 21 |
And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in
the temple. |
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22 | And when he came out, he could not speak unto them:
and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned
unto them, and remained speechless. |
| 23 | And it came to pass, that, as
soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own
house. |
| 24
| And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and
hid herself five months, saying, |
| 25 | Thus hath the Lord dealt with
me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among
men. |
| 26 |
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God
unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, |
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27 | To a virgin espoused to a
man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was
Mary. |
| 28 |
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art
highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
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| 29 | And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her
mind what manner of salutation this should be. |
| 30 | And the
angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
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| 31 | And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and
shalt call his name JESUS. |
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32 | He shall be great, and shall be called
the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David: |
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33 | And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for
ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. |
| 34 | Then said
Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? |
| 35 |
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. |
| 36 |
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old
age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. |
| 37 |
For with God nothing shall be impossible. |
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38 | And Mary said, Behold the
handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel
departed from her. |
| 39 | And Mary arose in those days, and went into
the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; |
| 40 | And entered
into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. |
| 41 | And it came
to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in
her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: |
| 42 | And she
spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and
blessed is the fruit of thy womb. |
| 43 | And whence is this to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me? |
| 44 | For, lo, as
soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my
womb for joy. |
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45 | And blessed is she that believed: for there shall
be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. |
| 46 |
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, |
| 47 | And my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. |
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48 | For he hath regarded the
low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations
shall call me blessed. |
| 49 | For he that is mighty hath done to me great
things; and holy is his name. |
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50 | And his mercy is on them that fear him
from generation to generation. |
| 51 | He hath shewed strength with
his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
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| 52 | He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low
degree. |
| 53
| He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich
he hath sent empty away. |
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54 | He hath holpen his servant Israel, in
remembrance of his mercy; |
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55 | As he spake to our fathers, to
Abraham, and to his seed for ever. |
| 56 | And Mary abode with her about
three months, and returned to her own house. |
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57 | Now Elisabeth's full
time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. |
| 58 |
And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy
upon her; and they rejoiced with her. |
| 59 | And it came to pass, that on
the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him
Zacharias, after the name of his father. |
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60 | And his mother answered
and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. |
| 61 | And they
said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
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| 62 | And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
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| 63 | And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John.
And they marvelled all. |
| 64 | And his mouth was opened immediately, and
his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. |
| 65 | And fear
came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised
abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. |
| 66 | And all they
that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child
shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. |
| 67 | And his
father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
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| 68 | Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his
people, |
| 69
| And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the
house of his servant David; |
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70 | As he spake by the mouth of his holy
prophets, which have been since the world began: |
| 71 | That we
should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
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| 72 | To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy
covenant; |
| 73
| The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, |
| 74 |
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our
enemies might serve him without fear, |
| 75 | In holiness and righteousness
before him, all the days of our life. |
| 76 | And thou, child, shalt be
called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the
Lord to prepare his ways; |
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77 | To give knowledge of salvation unto
his people by the remission of their sins, |
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78 | Through the tender
mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
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| 79 | To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace. |
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80 | And the child grew, and
waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto
Israel. |
