ASV - Luke 1:1-25

1 Luke 1

¹Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, ²even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning wer eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, ³it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus; ⁴that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed.

⁵There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

⁸Now it came to pass, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, ⁹according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense. ¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of altar of incense. ¹²And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. ¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall be turn unto the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him. ¹⁸And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. ¹⁹And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. ²⁰And behold, thou shalt be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou believedst not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. ²¹And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marvelled while he tarried in the temple. ²²And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: and he continued making signs unto them, and remained dumb. ²³And it came to pass, when the days of his ministration were fulfilled, he departed unto his house. ²⁴And after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵Thus hath the Lord done unto me in the days wherein he looked upon me, to take away my reproach among men.