Luk 1:2-32 | ESV | STEP | just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us ,

2 ^ajust as those who ^bfrom the beginning were ^ceyewitnesses and ^dministers of ^ethe word ^fhave delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write ^gan orderly account for you, ^hmost excellent ⁱTheophilus, 4 that you may have ^jcertainty concerning the things ^kyou have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 ^lIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, ^{▼▼Greek Zacharias} ⁿof ^othe division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both ^prighteous before God, walking ^qblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because ^rElizabeth was barren, and ^sboth were advanced in years.

8 Now ^twhile he was serving as priest before God when ^uhis division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^vto enter ^wthe temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people ^xwere praying ^youtside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^zthe altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^aafear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^abyour prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^acyou shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^adrejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be ^aegreat before the Lord. And ^afhe must not drink wine or strong ^agdrink, and ^ahhe will be ^aifilled with the Holy Spirit, ^ajeven from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and ^akhe will go before him ^alin the spirit and power of Elijah, ^amto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^anthe disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^aoto make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, ^ap“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 ^aqGabriel. ^arI stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, ^asyou 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 ^atthe temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^authe temple. And ^avhe kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And ^awwhen his time of ^axservice 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, ^ayto take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel ^azGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^baNazareth, 27 ^bbto a virgin betrothed ^{▼▼That is, legally pledged to be married} to a man whose name was Joseph, ^bdof the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^beO favored one, ^bfthe Lord is with you!” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add Blessed are you among women!} 29 But ^bhshe 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 ^biyou have found favor with God. 31 And behold, ^bjyou will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^bkyou shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of ^blthe Most High. And the Lord God ^bmwill give to him the throne of ^bnhis father David,