¹ And the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day.

² And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing near him: and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground.

³ And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant:

⁴ But I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and rest ye under the tree.

⁵ And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you come aside to your servant. And they said: Do as thou hast spoken.

⁶ Abraham made haste into the tent to Sera, and said to her: Make haste, temper together three measures of flour, and make cakes upon the hearth.

⁷ And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a calf very tender and very good, and gave it to a young man: who made haste and boiled it.

⁸ He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set before them: but he stood by them under the tree.

⁹ And when they had eaten, they said to him: Where is Sara thy wife? He answered: Lo, she is in the tent.

¹⁰ And he said to him: I will return and come to thee at this time, life accompanying and Sara thy wife shall have a son. Which when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of the tent.

¹¹ Now they were both old, and far advanced in years, and it had ceased to be with Sara after the manner of women.

¹² And she laughed secretly, saying: After I am grown old, and my lord is an old man, shall I give myself to pleasure?

¹³ And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sera laugh, saying: Shall I who am an old woman bear a child indeed ?

¹⁴ Is there any thing hard to God? according to appointment I will return to thee at this same time, life accompanying, and Sara shall have a son.

¹⁵ Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: for she was afraid. But the Lord said, Nay: but thou didst laugh:

¹⁶ And when the men rose up from thence, they turned their eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing them on the way.

¹⁷ And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do:

¹⁸ "Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed?

¹⁹ For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham's sake the Lord may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him.

²⁰ And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous.

²¹ I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so, that I may know.

²² And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord.

²³ And drawing nigh he said: Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked?

²⁴ If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein?

²⁵ Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as the wicked, this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest all the earth, wilt not make this judgment.

²⁶ And the Lord said to him: If I And in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.

²⁷ And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.

²⁸ What if there be Ave less than fifty just persons? wilt thou for five and forty destroy the whole city? And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty.

²⁹ And again he said to him: But if forty be found there, what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty.

³⁰ Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak: What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will not do it, if I And thirty there.

³¹ Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.

³² I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if tell should be found there ? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.

³³ And the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.

¹ Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,

² even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,

³ it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;

⁴ that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.

⁵ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶ They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.

⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.

⁸ Now it happened, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his division,

⁹ according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

¹⁰ The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

¹¹ An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

¹² Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

¹³ But the angel said to him, "Don't be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

¹⁴ You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

¹⁶ He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God.

¹⁷ He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord."

¹⁸ Zacharias said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."

¹⁹ The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.

²⁰ Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because you didn't believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

²¹ The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple.

²² When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute.

²³ It happened, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.

²⁴ After these days Elizabeth, his wife, conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying,

²⁵ "Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men."

²⁶ Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸ Having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!"

²⁹ But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.

³⁰ The angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

³¹ Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name 'Jesus.'

³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,

³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom."

³⁴ Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?"

³⁵ The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.

³⁶ Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

³⁷ For everything spoken by God is possible."

³⁸ Mary said, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word." The angel departed from her.

³⁹ Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah,

⁴⁰ and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹ It happened, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, that the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴² She called out with a loud voice, and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

⁴³ Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴ For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!

⁴⁵ Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!"

⁴⁶ Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord.

⁴⁷ My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,

⁴⁸ for he has looked at the humble state of his handmaid. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.

⁴⁹ For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.

⁵⁰ His mercy is for generations of generations on those who fear him.

⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

⁵² He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly.

⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.

⁵⁴ He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,

⁵⁵ As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever."

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.

⁵⁷ Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she brought forth a son.

⁵⁸ Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹ It happened on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father.

⁶⁰ His mother answered, "Not so; but he will be called John."

⁶¹ They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name."

⁶² They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.

⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." They all marveled.

⁶⁴ His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God.

⁶⁵ Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶ All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, "What then will this child be?" The hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷ His father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸ "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and worked redemption for his people;

⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David

⁷⁰ (as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),

⁷¹ salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;

⁷² to show mercy towards our fathers, to remember his holy covenant,

⁷³ the oath which he spoke to Abraham, our father,

⁷⁴ to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear,

⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷ to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,

⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn from on high will visit us,

⁷⁹ to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace."

⁸⁰ The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.