Acts, i. 1.

to us;

3 it seemed good to me, also,

who have traced them all ac

curately from the first, to write them to thee in order, most excellent Theophilus;

4 that thou mayest know the certainty of the things in which thou hast been instructed.

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zachariah, of the weekly course of Abijah: his wife also was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth:

6 and they were both just in the sight of God, walking in all the commandments and

ordinances of the Lord blameless :

7 and they had no child, for Elisabeth was barren; and both were advanced in their days.

8 And it came to pass, in executing the priest's service before God, in the order of his weekly course,

9 that it fell to his lot, ac

cording to the custom of the priesthood, to go in to the temple of the Lord, and to

burn the incense:

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

11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right hand of the altar of incense:

12 and when Zachariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him:

13 but the angel said to him, Fear not, Zachariah: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a

H

14 and thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth:

15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord: he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb:

16 and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God;

17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn all hearts, from fathers even to children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; that he may make ready a people prepared

for the Lord.

18 And Zachariah said to the angel, By what shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife advanced in her days:

19 and the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I am sent to speak to thee, and to tell thee these good tidings:

20 and, behold, thou shalt be mute and unable to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass; because thou believedst not my words, which will be fulfilled in their

season.

21 And the people were wait

:

22 And when he came out, he was not able to speak to them and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he made signs to them, and remained speechless.

23 And it came to pass, as soon as the days of his ministry were accomplished, that he departed to his own house. 24 And after those days, his wife Elisabeth conceived; and she concealed concealed herself five months, saying,

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

26 And in her sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, whose name is Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary: 28 and, going in to her, he said, Hail! thou highly favoured, the Lord is with thee!

29 and she was terrified at his word, and questioned in her mind what kind of salutation this might be:

30 and the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God:

31 and, behold, thou shalt

forthwith conceive in thy womb;

and thou shalt bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS:

32 he will be great, and will be called, Son of the Highest: and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David:

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

34 And Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a husband?

35 and the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon thee, and the power of the Highest will overshadow thee: wherefore, also, the holy thing begotten, will be called, Son of God:

36 and, behold, thy kinswoman Elisabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren:

40 and she entered into the house of Zachariah, and saluted Elisabeth:

41 and it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb :

42 and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and called out with a loud voice, and said; Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!

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

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

45 and blessed is she that believed; for there will be a fulfilment of the things which were told her from the Lord.

46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour;

47 for he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden:

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

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

all generations will call me Blessed :

48 for, he who is mighty hath done for me great things; and holy is his name:

49 and his mercy is on them that fear him, from generation to generation.

50 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scat

tered the proud in the imagination of their hearts:

51 He hath cast down the mighty from their seats, and hath exalted the lowly:

52 He hath filled the hungry with good things; but the rich he hath sent away empty :

53 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembering his mercy, as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed, for ever!

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

55 And Elisabeth's full time came when she should be delivered; and she brought forth

a son:

56 and her neighbours and kindred heard how the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her.

57 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him, after the name of his father, Zachariah:

58 and his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called JOHN:

59 and they said to her, There is no one of thy kindred who is called by that name:

60 and they made a sign to his father, how he would have him called:

61 and he asked for a writing-table, and wrote, saying,

His name is JOHN; and they all marvelled:

62 and immediately his mouth was opened, and his tonguewas loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

63 And fear came on all that dwelt around them: and all these things were told throughout all the hill-country of Judea :

64 and all that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What will this child be! For the hand of the Lord was with him.

65 And his father Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

66 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited, and wrought redemption for his people:

67 and hath raised up for us an horn of Salvation, in the house of his servant David; (as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, ever since the world began):

68 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

69 performing his mercy to our fathers; and remembering his holy Covenant, the oath which he sware to our father Abraham:

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

71 in holiness, and justification in his sight, all our days.

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

73 by giving knowledge of salvation to his people, by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercies of our God; 74 by which a day-spring will visit us from on high, to give to us who sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, light to guide our feet into the way of peace!

75 And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit; and was in the deserts, until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

CHAPTER II.

A ND it came to pass, that during those days a decree went forth from Cesar Augustus, that all the inhabited earth should be enrolled:

2 the enrolment itself first took place, while Quirinius governed Syria; and all went to be enrolled, each to his own city:

3 and Joseph, also, went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage of David ;)

4 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was great with child.

5 And it came to pass, while they were there, that the days were accomplished when she should be delivered:

6 and she brought forth her first-born son; and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

7 And in the same country were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night:

8 and an angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were greatly afraid :

9 and the angel said to them, Fear not for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people;

10 for to you is born, this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord:

11 and this will be a sign to you; Ye will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

12 And suddenly, a multitude of the heavenly host was with the angel, praising God, and saying,

66

66

13" Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace, good will toward men!"