Luke 1:8-38

English Standard Version

⁸ Now ^(A)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(B)his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(C)to enter ^(D)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people ^(E)were praying ^(F)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(G)the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(H)fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(I)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(J)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(K)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(L)great before the Lord. And ^(M)he must not drink wine or strong ^(N)drink, and ^(O)he will be ^(P)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(Q)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(R)he will go before him ^(S)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(T)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(U)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(V)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(W)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel answered him, “I am ^(X)Gabriel. ^(Y)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, ^(Z)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(AA)the temple. ²² And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^(AB)the temple. And ^(AC)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³ And ^(AD)when his time of ^(AE)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^(AF)to take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(AG)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(AH)Nazareth, ^27 (AI)to a virgin betrothed^[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(AJ)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(AK)O favored one, ^(AL)the Lord is with you!”^{[b] 29} But ^(AM)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(AN)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(AO)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(AP)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(AQ)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(AR)will give to him the throne of ^(AS)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(AT)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^[c]

³⁵ And the angel answered her, ^(AU)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(AV)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[d] will be called ^(AW)holy—^(AX)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her ^(AY)who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(AZ)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^[e] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^(BA)the angel departed from her.