King James Version · Under Rome
Luke 1
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Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely among us, Even as they them unto us, which were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. There was in the days of , the king of , a certain priest named , of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of , and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both before , walking in all and ordinances of blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was , and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to when he went into of . And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of . And there appeared unto him of standing on the right side of the . And when saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But said unto him, Fear not, : for thy is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name . And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of , and shall drink neither nor ; and he shall be filled with the Ghost, even from his mother’s . And many of the shall he turn to their . And he shall go before him in and of , to turn the of the fathers to the children, and the to the of the ; to make ready a people prepared for . And said unto , Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And answering said unto him, I am , that stand in the of ; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these . And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the people waited for , and marvelled that he tarried so long in . And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a in : for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. 24And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my among men. And in the sixth month was sent from unto a city of , named , To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was , of the house of ; and the virgin’s name was . And came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, is with thee: art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her what manner of salutation this should be. And said unto her, Fear not, : for thou hast found with . And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy , and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name . He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and shall give unto him of his : And he shall reign over the house of for ever; and of there shall be no end. 34Then said unto , How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And answered and said unto her, The Ghost shall come upon thee, and the of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of . 36And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called . For with nothing shall be impossible. And said, Behold the handmaid of ; be it unto me according to thy word. And departed from her. And arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of ; 40And entered into the house of , and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of , the babe leaped in her ; and Elisabeth was filled with the Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, art thou among women, and is the fruit of thy . And whence is this to me, that the mother of my should come to me? 44For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my for joy. And is she that : for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from . And said, doth magnify , And hath rejoiced in my . For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me . For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their . He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to , and to for ever. 56And abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house. Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be ; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. 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 . And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called . 61And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his , how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is . And they marvelled all. And his was opened immediately, and his loosed, and he spake, and praised . And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of . And all they that heard them laid them up in their , saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of was with him. And his was filled with the Ghost, and prophesied, saying, be of Israel; for he hath visited and his people, And hath up an for us in the house of his servant ; As he spake his , which have been since the world began: That we should be from our , and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his ; The which he sware to , That he would grant unto us, that we being out of the hand of our might him without fear, In and before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the of the Highest: for thou shalt go before to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of unto his people by the remission of their , Through the tender mercy of our ; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give to them that sit and in the shadow of , to guide our feet into of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in , and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.