¹ “Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts. ²But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. ³And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. ⁴Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by. ⁵“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts. ⁶ “Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed. ⁷Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you ask, ‘How can we return?’ ⁸Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings. ⁹You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. ¹⁰Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure. ¹¹I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts. ¹²“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts. ¹³ “Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ ¹⁴You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts? ¹⁵So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’” ¹⁶At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name. ¹⁷“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. ¹⁸So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

¹ “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.” ²“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall. ³Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts. ⁴“Remember the law of My servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him for all Israel at Horeb. ⁵Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. ⁶And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

¹ This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: ²Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. ³Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. ⁴Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. ⁵Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶and Jesse the father of David the king. Next: David was the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife, ⁷Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. ⁸Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. ⁹Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. ¹⁰Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, ¹¹and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. ¹²After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. ¹⁴Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. ¹⁵Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. ¹⁷In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ. ¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” ²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”). ²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife. ²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.

¹ Many have undertaken to compose an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, ²just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word. ³Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. ⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron. ⁶Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord. ⁷But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years. ⁸One day while Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And at the hour of the incense offering, the whole congregation was praying outside. ¹¹Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and gripped with fear. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. ¹⁴He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” ¹⁸“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.” ¹⁹“I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day this comes to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.” ²¹Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he took so long in the temple. ²²When he came out and was unable to speak to them, they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them but remained speechless. ²³And when the days of his service were complete, he returned home. ²⁴After these days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. She declared, ²⁵“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” ²⁶ In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. ³²He 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, ³³and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!” ³⁴“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.” ³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her. ³⁹ In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, ⁴⁰where she entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.” ⁴⁶ Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! ⁴⁸For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹For the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is His name. ⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. ⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble. ⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful, ⁵⁵as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.” ⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. ⁵⁷ When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah. ⁶⁰But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.” ⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who bears this name.” ⁶²So they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted to name the child. ⁶³Zechariah asked for a tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁶⁴Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events. ⁶⁶And all who heard this wondered in their hearts and asked, “What then will this child become?” For the Lord’s hand was with him. ⁶⁷ Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: ⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people. ⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, ⁷⁰as He spoke through His holy prophets, those of ages past, ⁷¹salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷²to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, ⁷³the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us ⁷⁴deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear, ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. ⁷⁶And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, ⁷⁷to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high, ⁷⁹to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” ⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. ³Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ⁶ There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe. ⁸He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. ⁹The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹²But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God. ¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.