Luke 1

¹Forsothe for manye men enforceden to ordeyne the tellyng of thingis, whiche ben fillid in vs,

²as thei that seyn atte the bigynnyng, and weren ministris of the word,

³bitaken, it is seen also to me, hauynge alle thingis diligentli bi ordre, to write to thee,

⁴thou best Theofile, that thou knowe the treuthe of tho wordis, of whiche thou art lerned.

⁵In the daies of Eroude, kyng of Judee, ther was a prest, Sakarie bi name, of the sorte of Abia, and his wijf was of the douytris of Aaron, and hir name was Elizabeth.

⁶And bothe weren iust bifor God, goynge in alle the maundementis and iustifiyngis of the Lord, withouten pleynt.

⁷And thei hadden no child, for Elizabeth was bareyn, and bothe weren of grete age in her daies.

⁸And it bifel, that whanne Zacarie schulde do the office of preesthod, in the ordre of his cours tofor God,

⁹aftir the custome of the preesthod, he wente forth bi lot, and entride in to the temple, to encense.

¹⁰And al the multitude of the puple was with outforth, and preiede in the our of encensyng.

¹¹And an aungel of the Lord apperide to hym, and stood on the riythalf of the auter of encense.

¹²And Zacarie seynge was afraied, and drede fel vpon hym.

¹³And the aungel seide to hym, Zacarie, drede thou not; for thi preyer is herd, and Elizabeth, thi wijf, schal bere to thee a sone, and his name schal be clepid Joon.

¹⁴And ioye and gladyng schal be to thee; and many schulen `haue ioye in his natyuyte.

¹⁵For he schal be greet bifor the Lord, and he schal not drynke wyn and sidir, and he schal be fulfillid with the Hooli Goost yit of his modir wombe.

¹⁶And he schal conuerte many of the children of Israel to her Lord God;

¹⁷and he schal go bifor hym in the spirit and the vertu of Helie; and he schal turne the hertis of the fadris in to the sones, and men out of bileue to the prudence of iust men, to make redi a perfit puple to the Lord.

¹⁸And Zacarie seide to the aungel, Wherof schal Y wite this? for Y am eld, and my wijf hath gon fer in to hir daies.

¹⁹And the aungel answeride, and seide to hym, For Y am Gabriel, that stonde niy bifor God; and Y am sent to thee to speke, and to euangelize to thee these thingis.

²⁰And lo! thou schalt be doumbe, and thou schalt not mow speke til in to the dai, in which these thingis schulen be don; for thou hast not bileued to my wordis, whiche schulen be fulfillid in her tyme.

²¹And the puple was abidynge Zacarie, and thei wondriden, that he tariede in the temple.

²²And he yede out, and myyte not speke to hem, and thei knewen that he hadde seyn a visioun in the temple. And he bikenyde to hem, and he dwellide stille doumbe.

²³And it was don, whanne the daies of his office weren fulfillid, he wente in to his hous.

²⁴And aftir these daies Elizabeth, his wijf, conseyuede, and hidde hir fyue monethis, and seide,

²⁵For so the Lord dide to me in the daies, in whiche he bihelde, to take awei my repreef among men.

²⁶But in the sixte moneth the aungel Gabriel was sent fro God in to a citee of Galilee, whos name was Nazareth,

²⁷to a maidyn, weddid to a man, whos name was Joseph, of the hous of Dauid; and the name of the maidun was Marie.

²⁸And the aungel entride to hir, and seide, Heil, ful of grace; the Lord be with thee; blessid be thou among wymmen.

²⁹And whanne sche hadde herd, sche was troublid in his word, and thouyte what maner salutacioun this was.

³⁰And the aungel seide to hir, Ne drede thou not, Marie, for thou hast foundun grace anentis God.

³¹Lo! thou schalt conceyue in wombe, and schalt bere a sone, and thou schalt clepe his name Jhesus.

³²This schal be greet, and he schal be clepid the sone of the Hiyeste; and the Lord God schal yeue to hym the seete of Dauid, his fadir, and he schal regne in the hous of Jacob with outen ende,

³³and of his rewme schal be noon ende.

³⁴And Marie seide to the aungel, On what maner schal this thing be doon, for Y knowe not man?

³⁵And the aungel answeride, and seide to hir, The Hooly Goost schal come fro aboue in to thee, and the vertu of the Hiyeste schal ouerschadewe thee; and therfor that hooli thing that schal be borun of thee, schal be clepid the sone of God.

³⁶And lo! Elizabeth, thi cosyn, and sche also hath conceyued a sone in hir eelde, and this moneth is the sixte to hir that is clepid bareyn;

³⁷for euery word schal not be inpossible anentis God.

³⁸And Marie seide, Lo! the handmaydyn of the Lord; be it don to me aftir thi word. And the aungel departide fro hir.

³⁹And Marie roos vp in tho daies, and wente with haaste in to the mounteyns, in to a citee of Judee.

⁴⁰And sche entride in to the hous of Zacarie, and grette Elizabeth.

⁴¹And it was don, as Elizabeth herde the salutacioun of Marie, the yong child in hir wombe gladide. And Elizabeth was fulfillid with the Hooli Goost,

⁴²and criede with a greet vois, and seide, Blessid be thou among wymmen, and blessid be the fruyt of thi wombe.

⁴³And whereof is this thing to me, that the modir of my Lord come to me?

⁴⁴For lo! as the voice of thi salutacioun was maad in myn eeris, the yong child gladide in ioye in my wombe.

⁴⁵And blessid be thou, that hast bileued, for thilke thingis that ben seid of the Lord to thee, schulen be parfitli don.

⁴⁶And Marie seide, Mi soule magnyfieth the Lord,

⁴⁷and my spirit hath gladid in God, myn helthe.

⁴⁸For he hath biholdun the mekenesse of his handmaidun.

⁴⁹For lo! of this alle generaciouns schulen seie that Y am blessid. For he that is myyti hath don to me grete thingis, and his name is hooli.

⁵⁰And his mercy is fro kynrede in to kynredes, to men that dreden hym.

⁵¹He made myyt in his arme, he scaterede proude men with the thouyte of his herte.

⁵²He sette doun myyti men fro sete, and enhaunside meke men.

⁵³He hath fulfillid hungri men with goodis, and he hath left riche men voide.

⁵⁴He, hauynge mynde of his mercy, took Israel, his child;

⁵⁵as he hath spokun to oure fadris, to Abraham and to his seed, in to worldis.

⁵⁶And Marie dwellide with hir, as it were thre monethis, and turnede ayen in to hir hous.

⁵⁷But the tyme of beryng child was fulfillid to Elizabeth, and sche bare a sone.

⁵⁸And the neiyboris and cosyns of hir herden, that the Lord hadde magnyfied his mercy with hir; and thei thankiden hym.

⁵⁹And it was don in the eiyte dai, thei camen to circumcide the child; and thei clepiden hym Zacarie, bi the name of his fadir.

⁶⁰And his moder answeride, and seide, Nay, but he schal be clepid Joon.

⁶¹And thei seiden to hir, For no man is in thi kynrede, that is clepid this name.

⁶²And thei bikeneden to his fadir, what he wolde that he were clepid.

⁶³And he axynge a poyntil, wroot, seiynge, Joon is his name.

⁶⁴And alle men wondriden. And anoon his mouth was openyd, and his tunge, and he spak, and blesside God.

⁶⁵And drede was maad on alle her neiyboris, and alle these wordis weren pupplischid on alle the mounteyns of Judee.

⁶⁶And alle men that herden puttiden in her herte, and seiden, What maner child schal this be? For the hoond of the Lord was with hym.

⁶⁷And Zacarie, his fadir, was fulfillid with the Hooli Goost, and prophesiede,

⁶⁸and seide, Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visitid, and maad redempcioun of his puple.

⁶⁹And he hath rerid to vs an horn of heelthe in the hous of Dauid, his child.

⁷⁰As he spak bi the mouth of hise hooli prophetis, that weren fro the world.

⁷¹Helthe fro oure enemyes, and fro the hoond of alle men that hatiden vs.

⁷²To do merci with oure fadris, and to haue mynde of his hooli testament.

⁷³The greet ooth that he swoor to Abraham, oure fadir, to yyue hym silf to vs.

⁷⁴That we with out drede delyuered fro the hoond of oure enemyes,

⁷⁵serue to hym, in hoolynesse and riytwisnesse bifor hym in alle oure daies.

⁷⁶And thou, child, schalt be clepid the prophete of the Hiyest; for thou schalt go bifor the face of the Lord, to make redi hise weies.

⁷⁷To yyue scyence of helthe to his puple, in to remyssioun of her synnes;

⁷⁸bi the inwardnesse of the merci of oure God, in the whiche he spryngynge vp fro an hiy hath visitid vs.

⁷⁹To yyue liyt to hem that sitten in derknessis and in schadewe of deeth; to dresse oure feet in to the weie of pees.

⁸⁰And the child wexide, and was coumfortid in spirit, and was in desert placis `til to the dai of his schewing to Israel.

Luke 1

¹Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

²Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

³It 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,

⁴That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

⁵There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was 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.

⁸And it came to pass, that 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 burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But 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.

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 shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

¹⁷And 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.

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 am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

²⁰And, 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.

²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long 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: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

²³And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

²⁵Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

²⁶And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

²⁷To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

²⁹And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

³⁰And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

³¹And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

³²He 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:

³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

³⁴Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

³⁵And 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.

³⁶And, 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.

³⁷For with God nothing shall be impossible.

³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

³⁹And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

⁴⁰And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

⁴¹And 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:

⁴²And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

⁴³And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

⁴⁵And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

⁴⁶And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

⁴⁸For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

⁴⁹For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

⁵⁰And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

⁵¹He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

⁵²He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

⁵³He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

⁵⁴He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

⁵⁵As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

⁵⁶And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

⁵⁷Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

⁵⁸And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹And 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.

⁶⁰And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

⁶¹And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

⁶²And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

⁶⁴And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

⁶⁵And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶And 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.

⁶⁷And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

⁶⁹And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

⁷⁰As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

⁷³The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

⁷⁴That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

⁷⁶And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

⁷⁷To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

⁷⁹To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

⁸⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.