Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been {Or, fully established}fulfilled among us,
even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,
it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus;
that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the {Greek: words.}things {Or, which thou wast taught by word of mouth}wherein thou wast instructed.
There was in the days of Herod, king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now {Greek: advanced in their days.}well stricken in years.
Now it came to pass, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to enter into the {Or, sanctuary}temple of the Lord and burn incense.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of incense.
And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor {Greek: sikera.}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 {Some ancient authorities read come nigh before his face.}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 {Greek: advanced in her days.}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 {Or, at his tarrying}while he tarried in the {Or, sanctuary}temple.
And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the {Or, sanctuary}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 {Or, endued with grace}highly favored, the Lord is with thee {Many ancient authorities add blessed art thou among women. See verse 42.}.
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 {Or, grace}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 {Greek: unto the ages.}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 {Or, that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God}the holy thing which is begotten {Some ancient authorities insert of thee.} 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 {Or, is}was called barren.
For no word from God shall be void of power.
And Mary said, Behold, the {Greek: bondmaid.}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 {Or, believed that there shall be}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 {Greek: bondmaid.}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 {Or, by}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 {Or, heart of mercy}tender mercy of our God,
{Or, Wherein}Whereby the dayspring from on high {Many ancient authorities read hath visited us.}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.
Querverweise zu Lukas 1,51 Lk 1,51
Thy right hand, O Jehovah, is glorious in power,Thy right hand, O Jehovah, dasheth in pieces the enemy.
The enemy said,I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;My desire shall be satisfied upon them;I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them:They sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods?Who is like thee, glorious in holiness,Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And in the greatness of thine excellency thou overthrowest them that rise up against thee:Thou sendest forth thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble.
Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods; yea, in the thing wherein they dealt proudly against them.
And Jehovah smelled the sweet savor; and Jehovah said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's {Or, sake; for the}sake, for that the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done.
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand,The earth swallowed them.
Talk no more so exceeding proudly;Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth;For Jehovah is a God of knowledge, {According to another reading, Though actions be not weighed.}And by him actions are weighed.
and it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this {Or, oath (and so verse 20, 21)}curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, {Or, to add drunkenness to thirst}to destroy the moist with the dry.
Thou in thy lovingkindness hast led the people that thou hast redeemed:Thou hast guided them in thy strength to thy holy habitation.
The bows of the mighty men are broken;And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
Jehovah will not pardon him, but then the anger of Jehovah and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie upon him, and Jehovah will blot out his name from under heaven.
Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
He will keep the feet of his {Or, godly ones Another reading is, holy one.}holy ones;But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness;For by strength shall no man prevail.
because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.
I will give thee thanks for ever, because thou hast done it;And I will hope in thy name, for it is good, in the presence of thy saints.
They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces;Against them will he thunder in heaven:Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth;And he will give strength unto his king,And exalt the horn of his anointed.
casting down {Or, reasonings Romans 2:15.}imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;
My soul shall be satisfied as with {Hebrew: fat.}marrow and fatness;And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips;
Or hast thou an arm like God?And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
Deck thyself now with excellency and dignity;And array thyself with honor and majesty.
Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger;And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.
Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;And tread down the wicked where they stand.
Thou hast {Hebrew: an arm with might.}a mighty arm;Strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
Why do the nations {Or, tumultuously assemble}rage,And the peoples meditate a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,And the rulers take counsel together,Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying,
Let us break their bonds asunder,And cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh:The Lord will have them in derision.
Then will he speak unto them in his wrath,And {Or, trouble}vex them in his sore displeasure:
Yet I have set my kingUpon my holy hill of Zion.
A Psalm.Oh sing unto Jehovah a new song;For he hath done marvellous things:His right hand, and his holy arm, hath wrought salvation for him.
Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to nought;He maketh the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous:The right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly.
Thou hast broken {Or, Egypt}Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain;Thou hast scattered thine enemies with the arm of thy strength.
Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will {Hebrew: visit upon.}punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
For he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and like a valiant man I have brought down {Or, the inhabitants}them that sit on thrones:
and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped.
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against him that wieldeth it? as if a rod should wield them that lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood.
Therefore will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and {Or, instead of}under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire.
And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.
And he will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and it shall be {Or, as when a sick man pineth away}as when a standard-bearer fainteth.
And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child may write them.
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Is it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the monster?
We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; his loftiness, and his pride, and his arrogancy, and the haughtiness of his heart.
Jehovah hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
I know his wrath, saith Jehovah, that it is nought; his boastings have wrought nothing.
that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? that divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is {Some ancient authorities omit the Lord.}the Lord God who judged her.
And this is the writing that was inscribed: {That is, Numbered, numbered, weighed, and divisions.}MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end;
TEKEL; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
{That is, Divided.}PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. {[Chapter 6:1 in Aramaic]}
And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
{Or, Likewise...elder; yea, all of you one to another. Gird yourselves with humility}Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.