Luke 1 (NMV)
1 Many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us,
2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
3 So it also seemed good to me, having investigated everything carefully from the start, to write it out for you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus,
4 so that you may fully know the truth about the things you have been taught.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, from the division of Abijah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were both righteous in God's sight, living blamelessly according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both of them were well advanced in years.
8 While he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense.
10 At the hour of incense, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overwhelmed with fear.
13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.
14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice at his birth,
15 for he will be great in the Lord's sight. He is never to drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth.
16 He will turn many of the children of Israel back to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and to turn the disobedient toward the wisdom of the righteous, to prepare a people who are ready for the Lord."
18 Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I know this will happen? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."
19 The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and bring you this good news.
20 Now listen: you will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. Then they realized he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23 When his days of service were completed, he went back home.
24 After these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months. She said,
25 "The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor on me, to take away my disgrace among the people."
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
28 The angel came to her and said, "Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you."
29 But she was deeply troubled by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this could be.
30 Then the angel told her: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 Now listen: you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name Him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will never end."
34 Mary asked the angel, "How can this be, since I have not been with a man intimately?"
35 The angel replied to her, "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 And consider your relative Elizabeth, even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren,
37 for nothing will be impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord's servant," said Mary. "Let it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel left her.
39 In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah.
40 She entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Then she exclaimed with a loud voice, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
43 How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
44 For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me.
45 Blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled."
46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
48 because He has looked with favor on the humble condition of His servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and His name is holy.
50 His mercy is from generation to generation on those who honor Him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel, remembering His mercy
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He spoke to our ancestors."
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months; then she returned to her home.
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.
59 When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
60 but his mother responded, "No! He will be called John."
61 Then they said to her, "None of your relatives has that name."
62 So they motioned to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called.
63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they were all amazed.
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was set free, and he began to speak, praising God.
65 Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea.
66 Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, saying, "What then will this child become?" For indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and purchased freedom for His people by paying the full ransom.
69 He has raised up a powerful Savior who brings deliverance for us, in the house of His servant David
70 just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets in ancient times,
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of those who hate us.
72 He has shown mercy to our ancestors and remembered His holy covenant,
73 the oath that He swore to our father Abraham, to give us,
74 having been rescued from the hand of our enemies, the ability to serve Him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness in His presence all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 to give His people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of our God's deep mercy, the dawn from on high will come to us
79 to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.