The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

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

And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient [to walk] in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared [for him].

And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to bring thee these good tidings.

And behold, thou shalt be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou believedst not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marvelled while he tarried in the temple.

And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: and he continued making signs unto them, and remained dumb.

And it came to pass, when the days of his ministration were fulfilled, he departed unto his house.

And after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,

Thus hath the Lord done unto me in the days wherein he looked upon [me], to take away my reproach among men.

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

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

And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord [is] with thee.

But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be.

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

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

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

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

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

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.

And behold, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren.

For no word from God shall be void of power.

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

And Mary arose in these days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah;

and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth.

And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit;

and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb.

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

For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

And blessed [is] she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord.

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath looked upon the low estate of his handmaid: For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

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

And his mercy is unto generations and generations On them that fear him.

He hath showed strength with his arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.

He hath put down princes from [their] thrones, And hath exalted them of low degree.

The hungry he hath filled with good things; And the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath given help to Israel his servant, That he might remember mercy

(As he spake unto our fathers) Toward Abraham and his seed for ever.

And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned unto her house.

Now Elisabeth’s time was fulfilled that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

And her neighbors and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her.

And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

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

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

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

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

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue [loosed], and he spake, blessing God.

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

And all that heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.

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

Blessed [be] the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,

And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David

(As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old),

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

To show mercy towards our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant;

The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father,

To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear,

In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;

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

Because of the tender mercy of our God, Whereby the dayspring from on high shall visit us,

To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death; To guide our feet into the way of peace.

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

Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled.

This was the first enrolment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

And all went to enrol themselves, every one to his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;

to enrol himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child.

And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered.

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

And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.

And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people:

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

And this [is] the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.

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

Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.

And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger.

And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child.

And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them.

And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising him, his name was called JESUS, which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord

(as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord),

and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him after the custom of the law,

then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

Now lettest thou thy servant depart, Lord, According to thy word, in peace;

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples;

A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of thy people Israel.

And his father and his mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning him;

and Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this [child] is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which is spoken against;