¹ Now it came to the ears of Jacob that Laban's sons were saying, Jacob has taken away all our father's property, and in this way he has got all this wealth.

² And Jacob saw that Laban's feeling for him was no longer what it had been before.

³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, Go back to the land of your fathers, and to your relations, and I will be with you.

⁴ And Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come to him in the field among his flock.

⁵ And he said to them, It is clear to me that your father's feeling is no longer what it was to me; but the God of my father has been with me

⁶ And you have seen how I have done all in my power for your father,

⁷ But your father has not kept faith with me, and ten times he has made changes in my payment; but God has kept him from doing me damage.

⁸ If he said, All those in the flock which have marks are to be yours, then all the flock gave birth to marked young; and if he said, All the banded ones are to be yours, then all the flock had banded young.

⁹ So God has taken away your father's cattle and has given them to me.

¹⁰ And at the time when the flock were with young, I saw in a dream that all the he-goats which were joined with the she-goats were banded and marked and coloured.

¹¹ And in my dream the angel of the Lord said to me, Jacob: and I said, Here am I.

¹² And he said, See how all the he-goats are banded and marked and coloured: for I have seen what Laban has done to you.

¹³ I am the God of Beth-el, where you put oil on the pillar and took an oath to me: now then, come out of this land and go back to the country of your birth.

¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah said to him in answer, What part or heritage is there for us in our father's house?

¹⁵ Are we not as people from a strange country to him? for he took a price for us and now it is all used up.

¹⁶ For the wealth which God has taken from him is ours and our children's; so now, whatever God has said to you, do.

¹⁷ Then Jacob put his wives and his sons on camels;

¹⁸ And sending on before him all his cattle and his property which he had got together in Paddan-aram, he made ready to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹ Now Laban had gone to see to the cutting of the wool of his sheep; so Rachel secretly took the images of the gods of her father's house.

²⁰ And Jacob went away secretly, without giving news of his flight to Laban the Aramaean.

²¹ So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead.

²² And on the third day Laban had news of Jacob's flight.

²³ And taking the men of his family with him, he went after him for seven days and overtook him in the hill-country of Gilead.

²⁴ Then God came to Laban in a dream by night, and said to him, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob.

²⁵ Now when Laban overtook him, Jacob had put up his tent in the hill-country; and Laban and his brothers put up their tents in the hill-country of Gilead.

²⁶ And Laban said to Jacob, Why did you go away secretly, taking my daughters away like prisoners of war?

²⁷ Why did you make a secret of your flight, not giving me word of it, so that I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with melody and music?

²⁸ You did not even let me give a kiss to my sons and my daughters. This was a foolish thing to do.

²⁹ It is in my power to do you damage: but the God of your father came to me this night, saying, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob.

³⁰ And now, it seems, you are going because your heart's desire is for your father's house; but why have you taken my gods?

³¹ And Jacob, in answer, said to Laban, My fear was that you might take your daughters from me by force.

³² As for your gods, if anyone of us has them, let him be put to death: make search before us all for what is yours, and take it. For Jacob had no knowledge that Rachel had taken them.

³³ So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent, and into the tents of the two servant-women, but they were not there; and he came out of Leah's tent and went into Rachel's.

³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the images, and had put them in the camels' basket, and was seated on them. And Laban, searching through all the tent, did not come across them.

³⁵ And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry because I do not get up before you, for I am in the common condition of women. And with all his searching, he did not come across the images.

³⁶ Then Jacob was angry with Laban, and said, What crime or sin have I done that you have come after me with such passion?

³⁷ Now that you have made search through all my goods, what have you seen which is yours? Make it clear now before my people and your people, so that they may be judges between us.

³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your sheep and your goats have had young without loss, not one of your he-goats have I taken for food.

³⁹ Anything which was wounded by beasts I did not take to you, but myself made up for the loss of it; you made me responsible for whatever was taken by thieves, by day or by night.

⁴⁰ This was my condition, wasted by heat in the day and by the bitter cold at night; and sleep went from my eyes.

⁴¹ These twenty years I have been in your house; I was your servant for fourteen years because of your daughters, and for six years I kept your flock, and ten times was my payment changed.

⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away with nothing in my hands. But God has seen my troubles and the work of my hands, and this night he kept you back.

⁴³ Then Laban, answering, said, These women are my daughters and these children my children, the flocks and all you see are mine: what now may I do for my daughters and for their children?

⁴⁴ Come, let us make an agreement, you and I; and let it be for a witness between us.

⁴⁵ Then Jacob took a stone and put it up as a pillar.

⁴⁶ And Jacob said to his people, Get stones together; and they did so; and they had a meal there by the stones.

⁴⁷ And the name Laban gave it was Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob gave it the name of Galeed.

⁴⁸ And Laban said, These stones are a witness between you and me today. For this reason its name was Galeed,

⁴⁹ And Mizpah, for he said, May the Lord keep watch on us when we are unable to see one another's doings.

⁵⁰ If you are cruel to my daughters, or if you take other wives in addition to my daughters, then though no man is there to see, God will be the witness between us.

⁵¹ And Laban said, See these stones and this pillar which I have put between you and me;

⁵² They will be witness that I will not go over these stones to you, and you will not go over these stones or this pillar to me, for any evil purpose.

⁵³ May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, be our judge. Then Jacob took an oath by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴ And Jacob made an offering on the mountain, and gave orders to his people to take food: so they had a meal and took their rest that night on the mountain.

⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban, after kissing and blessing his daughters, went on his way back to his country.

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.