Luke 1

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Jesus Delivered to Pilate

15 cAnd as soon as it was morning, the chief priests dheld a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And ethey bound Jesus and fled him away and gdelivered him over to hPilate. iAnd Pilate asked him, jAre you the King of the Jews? And he answered him, kYou have said so. And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, lHave you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you. But Jesus lmade no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

mNow at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had ncommitted murder oin the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews? 10 For he perceived that pit was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, Then what shall I do with qthe man you call the King of the Jews? 13 And they cried out again, Crucify him. 14 And Pilate said to them, Why? rWhat evil has he done? But they shouted all the more, Crucify him. 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having sscourged1 Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

16 tAnd the soldiers led him away inside uthe palace (that is, vthe governor’s headquarters),2 and they called together the whole wbattalion.3 17 And they clothed him in xa purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, yHail, King of the Jews! 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and zspitting on him and akneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had bmocked him, they stripped him of xthe purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they cled him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

21 dAnd they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 eAnd they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with fmyrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and gdivided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And hit was the third hour4 when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, iThe King of the Jews. 27 And with him they crucified two jrobbers, kone on his right and one on his left.5 29 And lthose who passed by derided him, mwagging their heads and saying, nAha! oYou who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross! 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, pHe saved others; qhe cannot save himself. 32 Let rthe Christ, sthe King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may tsee and believe. uThose who were crucified with him also reviled him.

The Death of Jesus

33 And when the sixth hour6 had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.7 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus vcried with a loud voice, wEloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, Behold, he is calling Elijah. 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with xsour wine, put it on a reed yand gave it to him to drink, saying, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down. 37 And Jesus zuttered a loud cry and abreathed his last. 38 And bthe curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 cAnd when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he8 breathed his last, he said, dTruly this man was the Son9 of God!

40 There were also ewomen looking on ffrom a distance, among whom were gMary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and iSalome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and gministered to him, and there were also many other women who jcame up with him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

42 kAnd when evening had come, since it was lthe day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, ma respected member of the council, who nwas also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.10 And summoning othe centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from othe centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph11 bought pa linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and qlaid him in a tomb rthat had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled sa stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 tMary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

The Resurrection

16 uvWhen the Sabbath was past, wMary Magdalene, wMary the mother of James, and iSalome xbought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, Who will roll away ythe stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled backzit was very large. And aentering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, bdressed in ca white robe, and dthey were alarmed. And he said to them, dDo not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that ehe is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, ejust as he told you. And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

[Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:920.]1

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

[[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, fhe appeared first to gMary Magdalene, gfrom whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 hShe went and told those who had been with him, ias they jmourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they kwould not believe it.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

12 lAfter these things mhe appeared in nanother form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 oAnd they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

The Great Commission

14 Afterward mhe appeared pto the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their qunbelief and rhardness of heart, because sthey had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, tGo into all the world and uproclaim the gospel to vthe whole creation. 16 wWhoever believes and is xbaptized ywill be saved, but zwhoever wdoes not believe will be condemned. 17 And athese signs will accompany those who believe: bin my name they will cast out demons; cthey will speak in new tongues; 18 dthey will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; ethey will lay their hands fon the sick, and they will recover.

19 So then the Lord Jesus, gafter he had spoken to them, hwas taken up into heaven and isat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while jthe Lord worked with them and confirmed kthe message lby accompanying signs.]]

Luke Illustration

Luke

Dedication to Theophilus

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ahave been accomplished among us, bjust as those who cfrom the beginning were deyewitnesses and eministers of fthe word ghave delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write han orderly account for you, imost excellent jTheophilus, that you may have kcertainty concerning the things lyou have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

mIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,1 nof othe division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both prighteous before God, walking qblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because rElizabeth was barren, and sboth were advanced in years.

Now twhile he was serving as priest before God when uhis division was on duty, 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 afear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for byour prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and cyou shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will drejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be egreat before the Lord. And fhe must not drink wine or strong gdrink, and ghe will be hfilled with the Holy Spirit, ieven from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and jhe will go before him kin the spirit and power of Elijah, lto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and mthe disobedient to the wisdom of the just, nto make ready for the Lord a people prepared.

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, oHow 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 pGabriel. qI stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, ryou 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 sthe temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in sthe temple. And the kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And uwhen his time of vservice 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, wto take away my reproach among people.

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel xGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named yNazareth, 27 zto a virgin betrothed2 to a man whose name was Joseph, aof the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, Greetings, bO favored one, cthe Lord is with you!3 29 But dshe 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 eyou have found favor with God. 31 And behold, fyou will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and gyou shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of hthe Most High. And the Lord God iwill give to him the throne of jhis father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob kforever, 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?4

35 And the angel answered her, lThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of hthe Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born5 will be called mholynthe 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 owho was called barren. 37 For pnothing will be impossible with God. 38 And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant6 of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. And qthe angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into rthe hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth swas filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, tBlessed are you among women, and ublessed is vthe fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of wmy Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And xblessed is she who believed that there would be7 a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

yMy zsoul amagnifies the Lord,

47  band my zspirit rejoices in cGod my Savior,

48  for dhe has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations ewill call me blessed;

49  for fhe who is mighty ghas done great things for me,

and hholy is his name.

50  And ihis mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

51  jHe has shown strength with his arm;

khe has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

52  jhe has brought down the mighty from their thrones

land exalted those of humble estate;

53  he has filled mthe hungry with good things,

and the rich nhe has sent away empty.

54  He has ohelped phis servant Israel,

qin remembrance of his mercy,

55  ras he spoke to our fathers,

qto Abraham and to his offspring forever.

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord shad shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And ton the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, No; uhe shall be called John. 61 And they said to her, None of your relatives is called by this name. 62 And vthey made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for wa writing tablet and wrote, uHis name is John. And they all wondered. 64 xAnd immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue yloosed, and he spoke, zblessing God. 65 And afear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all bthe hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them claid them up in their hearts, saying, What then will this child be? For dthe hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah ewas filled with the Holy Spirit and fprophesied, saying,

68  gBlessed be the Lord hGod of Israel,

for he has ivisited and jredeemed his people

69  and khas raised up la horn of salvation for us

min the house of his servant David,

70  nas ohe spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

71  pthat we should be saved from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us;

72  qto show the mercy promised to our fathers

and rto remember his holy scovenant,

73  tthe oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

74  that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him uwithout fear,

75  vin holiness and righteousness before him wall our days.

76  And you, child, will be called xthe prophet of ythe Most High;

for zyou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

77  to give knowledge of salvation to his people

ain the forgiveness of their sins,

78  because of the btender mercy of our God,

whereby cthe sunrise shall dvisit us8 efrom on high

79  to fgive light to gthose who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into hthe way of ipeace.

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

The Birth of Jesus Christ

In those days la decree went out from mCaesar Augustus that all the world should be nregistered. This was the first nregistration when1 Quirinius owas governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up pfrom Galilee, from the town of qNazareth, to Judea, to rthe city of David, which is called sBethlehem, tbecause he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,2 who was with child. And twhile they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and uwrapped him in swaddling cloths and vlaid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in wthe inn.3

The Shepherds and the Angels

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord xappeared to them, and ythe glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all zthe people. 11 For aunto you is born this day in bthe city of David ca Savior, who is dChrist ethe Lord. 12 And fthis will be a sign for you: you will find a baby gwrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel ha multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14  iGlory to God jin the highest,

jand on earth kpeace lamong those with whom he is pleased!4

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby mlying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But nMary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, oglorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

21 And pat the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, qhe was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

22 And rwhen the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem sto present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in tthe Law of the Lord, uEvery male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in tthe Law of the Lord, va pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was wrighteous and xdevout, ywaiting for zthe consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not asee death before he had seen bthe Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when cthe parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and dblessed God and said,

29  Lord, now you are letting your servant5 depart ein peace,

faccording to your word;

30  for gmy eyes have seen your hsalvation

31  ithat you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

32  ja light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and kfor glory to lyour people Israel.

33 And mhis father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is appointed nfor the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign othat is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

36 And there was pa prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.6 She did not depart from the temple, qworshiping with rfasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were swaiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

39 And when they had performed everything according to tthe Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of uNazareth. 40 vAnd the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

41 Now whis parents went xto Jerusalem every year at ythe Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, zthey went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast awas ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. wHis parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, bsitting among cthe teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents7 saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, dyour father and I have been searching for you in great distress. 49 And he said to them, Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that eI must be in fmy Father’s house?8 50 And gthey did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And hhis mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

52 And Jesus iincreased in wisdom and in stature9 and in ifavor with God and man.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

In the fifteenth year of the reign of jTiberius Caesar, kPontius Pilate lbeing governor of Judea, and mHerod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during nthe high priesthood of Annas and oCaiaphas, pthe word of God came to qJohn the son of Zechariah in rthe wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming sa baptism of repentance tfor the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in uthe book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

vThe voice of one crying in the wilderness:

wPrepare the way of the Lord,1

make his paths straight.

xEvery valley shall be filled,

yand every mountain and hill shall be made low,

zand the crooked shall become straight,

and the rough places shall become level ways,

aand all flesh shall see bthe salvation of God.

He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, cYou brood of dvipers! Who warned you to flee from ethe wrath to come? Bear fruits fin keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, gWe have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from hthese stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. iEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

10 And the crowds asked him, jWhat then shall we do? 11 And he answered them, kWhoever has two tunics2 is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise. 12 lTax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, Teacher, jwhat shall we do? 13 And he said to them, mCollect no more than you are authorized to do. 14 Soldiers also asked him, And we, jwhat shall we do? And he said to them, mDo not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your nwages.

15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, owhether he might be pthe Christ, 16 qJohn answered them all, saying, I baptize you with water, but rhe who is mightier than I is coming, sthe strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you twith the Holy Spirit and ufire. 17 His vwinnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to wgather the wheat into his barn, xbut the chaff he will burn with yunquenchable fire.

18 So zwith many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But aHerod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that bhe locked up John in prison.

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when cJesus also had been baptized and was praying, dthe heavens were opened, 22 and ethe Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and fa voice came from heaven, gYou are my beloved Son;3 with you I am well pleased.4

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

23 Jesus, hwhen he began his ministry, was about ithirty years of age, being jthe son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, kthe son of Zerubbabel, the son lof Shealtiel,5 the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of mNathan, the son of David, 32 nthe son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 othe son of Jacob, pthe son of Isaac, qthe son of Abraham, rthe son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.