The Koine Bible

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative concerning the things fulfilled among us,

just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word have handed down to us,

It seemed good to me, having carefully followed everything from the beginning in order, to write to you, most excellent Theophilus,

so that you may know the certainty concerning the words you were taught.

In the days of Herod king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah from the division of Abijah, and his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Both were righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.

And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.

Now it happened, while he was serving as priest in the order of his division before God,

According to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen to offer incense when he entered into the temple of the Lord,

And the whole crowd of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to him standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

And Zechariah was troubled when he saw it, and fear came upon him.

But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John.

And there will be joy and gladness for you, and many will rejoice at his birth.

For he will be great before the Lord, and he will not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,

and he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God;

And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to children and the disobedient in the understanding of the righteous, to prepare for the Lord a people made ready.

And Zechariah said to the angel, How will I know this? For I am old, and my wife is advanced in her days.

And the angel answered him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.

And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering that he stayed so long in the temple.

And when he came out, he was not able to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he was making signs to them and remained mute.

And when the days of his service were completed, he went back to his house.

After these days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she kept herself hidden for five months, saying

Because the Lord has done this for me in the days he looked upon to take away my disgrace among people.

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee called Nazareth.

to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the name of the virgin was Mary.

And entering to her he said, Rejoice, favored one, the Lord is with you.

But she was troubled at the word and was considering what kind of greeting this might be.

And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace from God.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of David his father,

and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.

Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I do not know a man?

And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the one being born will be called holy, son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is now her sixth month, she who was called barren.

For no word will be impossible with God.

Mary said, Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.

Now Mary arose in those days and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,

And she entered into the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

And it happened that when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

And she cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And why is it granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For as soon as the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby leaped with joy in my womb.

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.

And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit rejoiced in God my Savior;

because he has looked upon the humility of his servant; for behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name,

And his mercy is to generations and generations to those fearing him.

He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down rulers from thrones and exalted the lowly,

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

He helped Israel his servant, remembering mercy,

just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.

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

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.

And the neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.

And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by the name of his father, Zechariah.

And his mother answered and said, No, but he will be called John.

And they said to her, No one from your relatives is called by this name.

He was signaling to his father what he wanted to be called.

And having asked for a writing tablet, he wrote, saying, John is his name. And all were amazed.

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he began to speak, blessing God.

And fear came upon all those living around them, and all these words were spoken throughout the entire hill country of Judea,

And all who heard them laid it up in their heart, saying, What then will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.

And Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, because he has visited and brought redemption to his people,

and he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

just as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times,

salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,

to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, to give us

to serve him without fear, having been rescued from the hand of enemies

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the sunrise from on high will visit us,

to give light to those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.