Luke 1
Dedication to
Theophilus |
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Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to
set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most
surely believed among us,
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even as they delivered them unto us,
which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the
word;
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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 The-oph'ilus,
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that thou mightest know the certainty of
those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
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The Birth of John the
Baptist Foretold |
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There was in the days of Herod, the
king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechari'ah, of the course of
Abi'jah: 1 Chr. 24.10 and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her
name was Elisabeth.
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And they were both righteous before God,
walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord
blameless.
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And they had no child, because that
Elisabeth was barren; and they both were now well stricken in
years.
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And it came to pass, that, while he
executed the priest's office before God in the order of his
course,
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according to the custom of the priest's
office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of
the Lord.
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And the whole multitude of the people
were praying without at the time of incense.
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And there appeared unto him an angel of
the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of
incense.
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And when Zechari'ah saw him, he
was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
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But the angel said unto him, Fear not,
Zechari'ah: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall
bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
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And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and
many shall rejoice at his birth.
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For he shall be great in the sight of the
Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; Num. 6.3 and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his
mother's womb.
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And many of the children of Israel shall
he turn to the Lord their God.
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And he shall go before him in the spirit
and power of Eli'jah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, Mal. 4.5, 6 and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord.
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And Zechari'ah said unto the angel,
Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well
stricken in years.
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And the angel answering said unto him, I
am Gabriel, Dan. 8.16 ; 9.21 that
stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to
show thee these glad tidings.
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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.
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And the people waited for Zechari'ah, and
marveled that he tarried so long in the temple.
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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.
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And it came to pass, that, as soon as the
days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own
house.
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And after those days his wife Elisabeth
conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
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Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the
days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among
men.
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Jesus' Birth
Foretold |
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And in the sixth month the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named
Nazareth,
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to a virgin espoused to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. Mt. 1.18
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And the angel came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with
thee: blessed art thou among women.
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And when she saw him, she was
troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of
salutation this should be.
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And the angel said unto her, Fear not,
Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.
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And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy
womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Mt. 1.21
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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:
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and he shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Is. 9.7
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Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall
this be, seeing I know not a man?
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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.
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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.
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For with God nothing shall be impossible. Gen. 18.14
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And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the
Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed
from her.
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Mary Visits
Elisabeth |
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And Mary arose in those days, and went
into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah;
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and entered into the house of Zechari'ah,
and saluted Elisabeth.
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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:
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and she spake out with a loud voice, and
said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the
fruit of thy womb.
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And whence is this to me, that the
mother of my Lord should come to me?
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For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy
salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for
joy.
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And blessed is she that believed:
for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her
from the Lord.
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And Mary said,
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My soul doth magnify the
Lord, |
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and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Saviour.
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For he hath regarded the low estate of
his handmaiden:
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for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall
call me
blessed. |
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For he that is mighty hath done to me
great things;
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And his mercy is on them that fear
him
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from generation to
generation. |
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He hath showed strength with his arm;
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he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of
their
hearts. |
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He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
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and exalted them of low
degree. |
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He hath filled the hungry with good
things;
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and the rich he hath sent empty
away. |
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He hath holpen his servant Israel,
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in remembrance of his mercy; |
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as he spake to our fathers,
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And Mary abode with her about three
months, and returned to her own house.
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The Birth of John the
Baptist |
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Now Elisabeth's full time came that she
should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
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And her neighbors and her cousins heard
how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with
her.
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And it came to pass, that on the eighth
day they came to circumcise the child; Lev. 12.3 and they called him Zechari'ah, after the name of his
father.
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And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
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And they said unto her, There is none of
thy kindred that is called by this name.
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And they made signs to his father, how he
would have him called.
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And he asked for a writing table, and
wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled all.
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And his mouth was opened immediately, and
his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
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And fear came on all that dwelt round
about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all
the hill country of Judea.
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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.
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Zechariah's
Prophecy |
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And his father Zechari'ah was filled
with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
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Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel;
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for he hath visited and redeemed his
people, |
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and hath raised up a horn of salvation
for us
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in the house of his servant
David; |
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as he spake by the mouth of his holy
prophets,
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which have been since the world
began: |
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that we should be saved from our
enemies,
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and from the hand of all that hate
us; |
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to perform the mercy promised to
our fathers,
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and to remember his holy
covenant; |
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the oath which he sware to our father
Abraham,
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that he would grant unto us, that we,
being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
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might serve him without
fear, |
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in holiness and righteousness before him,
all the days of our life.
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And thou, child, shalt be called the
prophet of the Highest:
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for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to
prepare his ways; Mal.
3.1 |
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to give knowledge of salvation unto his
people
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by the remission of their
sins, |
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through the tender mercy of our God;
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whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited
us, |
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to give light to them that sit in
darkness Is. 9.2 and in the shadow of death,
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to guide our feet into the way of
peace. |
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And the child grew, and waxed strong in
spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto
Israel.
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