Da mange har forsøkt å gi en sammenhengende beretning om de hendelsene som har funnet sted blant oss,

As a number of attempts have been made to put together in order an account of those events which took place among us,

slik de ble overlevert oss av dem som fra begynnelsen av var øyenvitner og ble forkynnere av ordet,

As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word,

besluttet jeg, etter å ha undersøkt alt nøye fra begynnelsen av, å skrive det ned for deg, høyt ærede Teofilus;

It seemed good to me, having made observation, with great care, of the direction of events in their order, to put the facts in writing for you, most noble Theophilus;

slik at du kan få sikkerhet for det som du har blitt undervist i.

So that you might have certain knowledge of those things about which you were given teaching.

I de dager da Herodes var konge i Judea, var det en prest ved navn Sakarias, av Abias skifte; og han hadde en kone av Arons slekt som het Elisabet.

In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the order of Abijah; and he had a wife of the family of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

De var rettferdige for Gud og holdt alle Herrens bud og forskrifter uten feil.

They were upright in the eyes of God, keeping all the rules and orders of God, and doing no wrong.

Men de hadde ingen barn, for Elisabet var ufruktbar, og begge var i høye alder.

And they were without children, because Elisabeth had never given birth, and they were at that time very old.

En gang mens han gjorde tjeneste som prest for Gud etter tur,

Now it came about that in his turn he was acting as priest before God,

var det hans plikt, som prestene hadde for vane, å gå inn i templet for å brenne røkelse.

And as was the way of the priests, he had to go into the Temple to see to the burning of perfumes.

Og hele folkemengden sto utenfor og bad på røkelsesofferets tid.

And all the people were offering prayers outside, at the time of the burning of perfumes.

Da viste en Herrens engel seg for ham, stående til høyre for røkelsesalteret.

And he saw an angel of the Lord in his place on the right side of the altar.

Da Sakarias så ham, ble han forvirret, og frykt kom over ham.

And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear came on him.

Men engelen sa, Ikke vær redd, Sakarias; for din bønn er blitt hørt, og din kone Elisabet skal føde deg en sønn, og du skal gi ham navnet Johannes.

But the angel said, Have no fear, Zacharias, for your prayer has come to the ears of God, and your wife Elisabeth will have a son, and his name will be John.

Og du skal ha glede og fryd, og mange skal glede seg over hans fødsel.

And you will be glad and have great delight; and numbers of people will have joy at his birth.

For han skal være stor i Herrens øyne; han skal ikke drikke vin eller sterk drikk, og han skal fylles med Den hellige ånd fra sin mors liv.

For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the Spirit of God from his birth.

Og han skal føre mange av Israels barn tilbake til Herren deres Gud.

And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.

Han skal gå foran Herren i Elias' ånd og kraft, for å vende fedrenes hjerter til barna og de ulydige til de rettferdiges sindelag, for å gjøre et beredt folk for Herren.

And he will go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, turning the hearts of fathers to their children, and wrongdoers to the way of righteousness; to make ready a people whose hearts have been turned to the Lord.

Og Sakarias sa til engelen, Hvordan kan jeg være sikker på dette? For jeg er en gammel mann, og min kone er langt oppe i årene.

And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be certain of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far on in years.

Og engelen svarte og sa, Jeg er Gabriel, som står for Gud; jeg er sendt for å tale til deg og bringe deg dette gledelige budskap.

And the angel, answering, said, I am Gabriel, whose place is before God; I have been sent to say these words to you and to give you this good news.

Se, du skal være stum og ikke i stand til å tale før den dagen dette skjer, fordi du ikke trodde mine ord, som skal bli oppfylt i sin tid.

Now, see, you will be without voice or language till the day when these things come about, because you had not faith in my words, which will have effect at the right time.

Og folket ventet på Sakarias og undret seg over at han ble så lenge i templet.

And the people were waiting for Zacharias and were surprised because he was in the Temple for such a long time.

Da han kom ut, kunne han ikke tale til dem, og de forsto at han hadde sett et syn i templet; og han gjorde tegn til dem, men forble stum.

And when he came out he was not able to say anything, and they saw that he had seen a vision in the Temple; and he was making signs to them without words.

Og da hans dager med tjeneste i templet var til ende, dro han hjem.

And when the days of his work in the Temple were ended, he went back to his house.

Etter noen tid ble Elisabet sikker på at hun skulle bli mor, og hun holdt seg skjult i fem måneder, mens hun sa,

After that time, Elisabeth, being certain that she was to become a mother, kept herself from men's eyes for five months, saying,

Herren har gjort dette for meg, for å ta bort min skam blant folk.

The Lord has done this to me, for his eyes were on me, to take away my shame in the eyes of men.

I den sjette måneden ble engelen Gabriel sendt fra Gud til en by i Galilea, som heter Nasaret,

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

til en jomfru som var forlovet med en mann ved navn Josef, av Davids hus; og jomfruens navn var Maria.

To a virgin who was to be married to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary.

Og engelen kom inn til henne og sa, Fred være med deg, du som er høyt benådet; Herren er med deg.

And the angel came in to her and said, Peace be with you, to whom special grace has been given; the Lord is with you.

Men hun ble forferdet over hans ord og overveide hva slags hilsen dette kunne være.

But she was greatly troubled at his words, and said to herself, What may be the purpose of these words?

Og engelen sa til henne, Frykt ikke, Maria, for du har funnet nåde hos Gud.

And the angel said to her, Have no fear, Mary, for you have God's approval.

Og se, du skal bli med barn og føde en sønn, og du skal gi ham navnet Jesus.

And see, you will give birth to a son, and his name will be Jesus.

Han skal være stor, og han skal kalles Den Høyestes Sønn; og Herren Gud skal gi ham Davids trone, hans far;

He will be great, and will be named the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his father:

og han skal herske over Jakobs hus til evig tid, og hans rike skal aldri få ende.

He will have rule over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Og Maria sa til engelen, Hvordan skal dette gå til, da jeg ikke har vært nær noen mann?

And Mary said to the angel, How may this be, because I have had no knowledge of a man?

Engelen svarte og sa til henne, Den hellige ånd skal komme over deg, og Den Høyestes kraft skal overskygge deg; derfor skal det hellige barnet som blir født, kalles Guds Sønn.

And the angel in answer said to her, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will come to rest on you, and so that which will come to birth will be named holy, Son of God.

Og se, Elisabet, din slektning, skal også få en sønn i sin alderdom; og dette er den sjette måneden for henne som kaltes ufruktbar.

Even now Elisabeth, who is of your family, is to be a mother, though she is old: and this is the sixth month with her who was without children.

For Gud er ingenting umulig.

For there is nothing which God is not able to do.

Og Maria sa: Jeg er Herrens tjenerinne; la det skje med meg som du har sagt. Og engelen forlot henne.

And Mary said: I am the servant of the Lord; may it be to me as you say. And the angel went away.

Da reiste Maria seg og dro i all hast til fjellbygdene, til en by i Juda;

Then Mary got up and went quickly into the high lands, to a town of Judah;

og hun kom til Sakarias' hus og hilste Elisabet.

And went into the house of Zacharias and took Elisabeth in her arms.

Da Elisabet hørte Marias hilsen, rørte barnet seg sterkt i hennes liv. Og Elisabet ble fylt med Den hellige ånd,

And when the voice of Mary came to the ears of Elisabeth, the baby made a sudden move inside her; then Elisabeth was full of the Holy Spirit,

og sa med høy røst: Velsignet er du blant kvinner, og velsignet er frukten av ditt liv.

And she said with a loud voice: May blessing be on you among women, and a blessing on the child of your body.

Men hvordan kan det skje at min Herres mor kommer til meg?

How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me?

For se, da lyden av din hilsen nådde mine ører, spratt barnet i meg av glede.

For, truly, when the sound of your voice came to my ears, the baby in my body made a sudden move for joy.

Salig er hun som trodde, for det som Herren har sagt til henne, skal fullbyrdes.

Happy will she be who had faith that the things which the Lord has said to her will be done.

Og Maria sa: Min sjel opphøyer Herren;

And Mary said: My soul gives glory to God;

og min ånd fryder seg over Gud, min frelser.

My spirit is glad in God my Saviour.

For han har sett til sin tjenerinnes ringhet; se, fra nå av skal alle slekter prise meg salig.

For he has had pity on his servant, though she is poor and lowly placed: and from this hour will all generations give witness to the blessing which has come to me.

For den mektige har gjort store ting for meg, og hellig er hans navn.

For he who is strong has done great things for me; and holy is his name.

Hans miskunn varer fra slekt til slekt over dem som frykter ham.

His mercy is for all generations in whom is the fear of him.

Han har gjort storverk med sin arm; han har spredt dem som har stolte tanker i sitt hjerte.

With his arm he has done acts of power; he has put to flight those who have pride in their hearts.

Han har støtt de mektige ned fra tronen, og han har opphøyet de ringe.

He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree.

De som var sultne, har han mettet med gode gaver, og de rike har han sendt tomhendte bort;

Those who had no food he made full of good things; the men of wealth he sent away with nothing in their hands;

Han har tatt seg av Israel, sin tjener, for han har husket å være barmhjertig,

His help he has given to Israel, his servant, so that he might keep in mind his mercy to Abraham and his seed for ever,

som han lovet våre fedre, Abraham og hans ætt, for evig tid.

As he gave his word to our fathers.

Og Maria ble hos henne i omtrent tre måneder og vendte så tilbake til sitt hjem.

And Mary was with her for about three months and then went back to her house.

Da tiden kom for Elisabet til å føde, fikk hun en sønn.

Now it was time for Elisabeth to give birth, and she had a son.

Og hennes naboer og slektninger hørte at Herren hadde vært svært god mot henne, og de gledet seg sammen med henne.

And it came to the ears of her neighbours and relations that the Lord had been very good to her, and they took part in her joy.

På den åttende dagen kom de for å omskjære barnet, og de ville gi ham navnet Sakarias, etter faren;

And on the eighth day they came to see to the circumcision of the child, and they would have given him the name of Zacharias, his father's name;

Men hans mor svarte og sa: Nei, han skal hete Johannes.

But his mother made answer and said, No, his name is John.

Og de sa til henne: Det er ingen i din slekt som har det navnet.

And they said, Not one of your relations has that name.

Og de gjorde tegn til hans far, for å finne ut hva han ønsket at barnet skulle hete.

And they made signs to his father, to say what name was to be given to him.

Han ba om et skrivebrett og skrev: Hans navn er Johannes; og alle ble forundret.

And he sent for writing materials and put down: His name is John; and they were all surprised.

Straks ble hans munn åpnet og tungen løst, og han priste Gud.

And straight away his mouth was open and his tongue was free and he gave praise to God.

Og en frykt kom over alle dem som bodde rundt omkring, og det ble talt mye om disse tingene i hele fjellbygdene i Judea.

And fear came on all those who were living round about them: and there was much talk about all these things in all the hill-country of Judaea.

Og alle som hørte om det, tok det til sitt hjerte og sa: Hva skal det bli av dette barnet? For Herrens hånd var med ham.

And all who had word of them kept them in their minds and said, What will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.

Og hans far, Sakarias, ble fylt med Den hellige ånd og profeterte:

And his father, Zacharias, was full of the Holy Spirit, and with the voice of a prophet said these words:

Lovpriset være Herren, Israels Gud, for han har sett til sitt folk og forløst det,

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and made them free,

og han har oppreist for oss et frelsens horn i sin tjener Davids hus,

Lifting up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

(som han har sagt ved sine hellige profeters munn fra eldgamle tider),

(As he said, by the mouth of his holy prophets, from the earliest times,)

en frelse fra våre fiender og fra alle som hater oss;

Salvation from those who are against us, and from the hands of those who have hate for us;

for å vise barmhjertighet mot våre fedre og huske sin hellige pakt,

To do acts of mercy to our fathers and to keep in mind his holy word,

den ed han sverget til Abraham, vår far,

The oath which he made to Abraham, our father,

at vi, frelst fra våre fienders hånd, skulle tjene ham uten frykt,

That we, being made free from the fear of those who are against us, might give him worship,

i hellighet og rettferdighet for hans åsyn alle våre dager.

In righteousness and holy living before him all our days.

Og du, barn, skal kalles Den Høyestes profet: for du skal gå foran Herrens åsyn for å rydde hans veier,

And you, child, will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways;

for å gi hans folk kunnskap om frelsen, ved syndenes forlatelse,

To give knowledge of salvation to his people, through the forgiveness of sins,

på grunn av vår Guds milde hjerte, som lyset fra det høye har besøkt oss med,

Because of the loving mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us,

for å gi lys til dem som sitter i mørke og dødens skygge, og lede våre føtter inn på fredens vei.

To give light to those in dark places, and in the shade of death, so that our feet may be guided into the way of peace.

Barnet vokste og ble sterk i ånden, og han var i ødemarken til den dagen han skulle tre fram for Israel.

And the child became tall, and strong in spirit; and he was living in the waste land till the day when he came before the eyes of Israel.