Luke 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,

Since many people have decided to write down the beliefs we hold firmly,

Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

Just like they passed down the information to us from the start, those who actually saw it happen and shared the message.

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,

It made sense to me too, after fully understanding everything right from the start, to write a clear and organized message to you, dear Theophilus.

That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

So that you can understand for sure the things you have been taught.

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.

In King Herod's time, a priest named Zacharias from the Abia group served. His wife, Elisabeth, was related to Aaron's daughters.

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

They both followed God's rules perfectly.

And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

They had no children because Elizabeth couldn't have any, and they were both very old.

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,

Then, as he was performing his duties as a priest in front of God according to his scheduled turn,

According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

As a priest, it was his job to light incense whenever he entered the Lord's temple.

And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

All the people were praying outside while the incense was being burned.

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

An angel from God showed up next to the incense altar on his right side.

And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

When Zacharias saw the child, he got worried and became scared.

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.

But the angel told him, "Don't be afraid, Zacharias. Your prayer has been answered. Your wife, Elizabeth, will have a baby, and you will name him John."

And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

You will have happiness and celebration, and many people will be happy when he is born.

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.

He will be important to God, not drinking alcohol or anything strong. He will have the Holy Spirit with him from inside his mom's belly.

And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Many Israeli kids will turn to God.

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.

He will go ahead, with the power of Elijah, to guide people's hearts back to each other and to wise choices; this will get a group ready for the Lord.

And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

Zacharias asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I'm an older man, and my wife is also quite advanced in age."

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.

The angel replied, "I'm Gabriel, who stands with God. He sent me to talk to you and share this good news."

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.

And look, you won't be able to talk until the day all this happens, because you don't believe my words. These words will come true when the time is right.

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

The people waited for Zacharias and were amazed that he took so much time in the temple.

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.

When he left, he couldn't talk to them. They saw that he had a vision at the temple. He gestured to them but couldn't speak.

And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

Then, when his time at the temple was done, he went back to his home.

And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

After that time, Elizabeth, his wife, became pregnant, and kept herself hidden for five months.

Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

So, the Lord has treated me this way when He showed care for me, to remove my shame in front of others.

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

In the sixth month, an angel named Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth.

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

To a woman promised to a man named Joseph from the family of David; this woman was called Mary.

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.

The angel appeared to her and said, "Hello, you are very special and loved by God. He is with you; you are blessed among all women."

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

When she saw him, she got worried about what he said and thought about how to greet him properly.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

And the angel told her, Don't be afraid, Mary: because you have God's approval.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

And suddenly, you will become pregnant with a boy, and you will give birth to him and name him Jesus.

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:

He will be great and have the title "Son of the Highest." God will give him David's throne.

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

He will rule over Jacob's family forever, and his kingdom will never end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Then Mary asked the angel, "How will this happen since I have never been with a man?"

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.

The angel replied, "God's Spirit will give you strength, and the Highest Power will protect you. So, the special baby you'll have will be called the Son of God."

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.

And look, your cousin Elizabeth is pregnant too, even though she's very old; she's now six months along, and she was unable to have children before.

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

With God, nothing is too hard to achieve.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Mary replied, "I am the Lord's servant. May it happen as you have said." Then the angel left her.

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

In those days, Mary got up quickly and went to a city in the hills of Juda.

And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

And went inside Zacharias' home and greeted Elizabeth.

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:

One day, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, John inside her tummy jumped for joy; and Elizabeth was filled with God's Spirit.

And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

She shouted loudly and said, "You are blessed among women, and your womb's fruit is also blessed."

And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Why is it happening that the mother of my Lord is coming to me?

For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

As soon as I heard your greeting, the baby inside me jumped with happiness.

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Blessed is the one who trusted, because what the Lord said will indeed happen.

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And Mary said, My spirit honors or praises God greatly.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

My spirit is happy because of God, my rescuer.

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

He looked at my lowly situation, and because of that, everyone from now on will call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

Because the powerful one did amazing things for me, and his name is holy.

And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

His kindness stays with those who respect him, passing down through many years.

He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has shown power through his strength; he has made the arrogant less confident in their thoughts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

He has brought down powerful people from their positions and lifted up those who were not important before.

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich, he has sent empty away.

He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

He has helped his servant, Israel, remembering his kindness.

As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

As he spoke to our ancestors, to Abraham, and to his descendants forever.

And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

Mary stayed with her for around three months and then went back to her home.

Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

Now it was time for Elisabeth to give birth; she had a baby boy.

And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

Her neighbors and relatives heard about how kind the Lord was to her, and they were happy for her.

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.

On the eighth day, they had a ceremony to cut the baby's private part, and they named him Zacharias, like his dad.

And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

And his mom replied, No, not that; he will be named John.

And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

They told her, "No one in your family has a name like this."

And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

They used hand gestures to tell their dad the name they wanted for him.

And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

He requested a desk to write on and wrote, "His name is John." Everyone was amazed.

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

His mouth opened right away, his tongue became free, and he started talking, praising God.

And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

Fear spread to everyone living nearby, and everyone talked about these stories throughout the hills of Judaea.

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.

Everyone who heard about them remembered what they heard, wondering, "What kind of child will he grow up to be?" The Lord's power was with him.

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

Zachariah, his dad, was given the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy, saying,

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

Praised is the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to help and save his people.

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

And has lifted up a saving strength for us from the family of David, His servant.

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

As he spoke through the mouths of his holy prophets, who have been since the world started.

That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

So that we can be protected from those who want to harm us and from everyone who doesn't like us.

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

To do the kind act he promised long ago and to keep his sacred agreement;

The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

The promise he made to our father Abraham.

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

So that he would give us the ability to be free from our enemies, so we can serve him without being afraid.

In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

In holiness and doing what is right, we should live every day in front of him.

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;

And you, child, will be known as a messenger of the Most High. You will go ahead of God's path to make it ready.

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

To teach his people about saving them by forgiving their wrongs.

Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

Through God's kind compassion; by which sunlight from above has shined upon us.

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

To bring light to those in darkness and near death's shadow, to lead us on the path of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

The child got bigger and became stronger inside, living in the desert until it was time to show himself to the people of Israel.