Luke · 80 verses
Luke 1
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
While an angel speaks inside the temple, the congregation waits outside, chiefly wondering why the priest is taking so long; when Zechariah finally emerges, heaven has given him a message and taken away his voice.
The priest who came out silentvv. 1–25
Luke begins by addressing Theophilus, then brings the story briskly to Zechariah and Elizabeth: righteous, elderly, and childless. Inside the temple, Gabriel announces a son, while outside the congregation has the much more immediate puzzle of a priest who will not come out. Zechariah returns home unable to speak, and Elizabeth soon conceives, calling the change a removal of disgrace.
Two questions, two answersvv. 26–56
Six months later Gabriel appears again, this time in Nazareth, to Mary, a virgin pledged to Joseph. Mary asks how the promise can happen; unlike Zechariah, she receives an explanation, and then sets off to visit Elizabeth, whose unborn child leaps at the sound of her greeting. Mary stays three months, and her song gives the chapter a grand sweep from humble servants to rulers brought down and hungry people filled.
The name on the tabletvv. 57–80
Elizabeth gives birth to a son, and the relatives arrive with a perfectly sensible family name in mind: Zechariah. Elizabeth refuses it, and the speechless father settles the matter on a tablet: John. At once his mouth opens, and his praise turns toward the child, who will prepare the way; the chapter ends with John growing strong and living in the wilderness.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Luke 1:1Many have undertaken to compose an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,
Luke 1:2just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
Luke 1:3Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
Luke 1:4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
Luke 1:5In 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 descendant of Aaron.
Luke 1:6Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
Luke 1:7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.
Luke 1:8One day while Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
Luke 1:9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
Luke 1:10And at the hour of the incense offering, the whole congregation was praying outside.
Luke 1:11Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
Luke 1:12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and gripped with fear.
Luke 1:13But 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.
Luke 1:14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice at his birth,
Luke 1:15for 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.
Luke 1:16Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God.
Luke 1:17And 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.”
Luke 1:18“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
Luke 1:19“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.
Luke 1:20And 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.”
Luke 1:21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he took so long in the temple.
Luke 1:22When 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 unable to speak.
Luke 1:23And when the days of his service were complete, he returned home.
Luke 1:24After these days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. She declared,
Luke 1:25“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
Luke 1:26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
Luke 1:27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
Luke 1:28The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Luke 1:29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
Luke 1:30So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Luke 1:31Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
Luke 1:32He 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,
Luke 1:33and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!”
Luke 1:34“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Luke 1:35The 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.
Luke 1:36Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month.
Luke 1:37For no word from God will ever fail.”
Luke 1:38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:39In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah,
Luke 1:40where she entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
Luke 1:41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:42In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Luke 1:43And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Luke 1:44For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Luke 1:45Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.”
Luke 1:47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
Luke 1:48For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.
Luke 1:49For the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is His name.
Luke 1:50His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.
Luke 1:51He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
Luke 1:52He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.
Luke 1:53He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
Luke 1:54He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful,
Luke 1:55as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
Luke 1:56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Luke 1:57When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son.
Luke 1:58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.
Luke 1:59On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah.
Luke 1:60But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.”
Luke 1:61They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who bears this name.”
Luke 1:62So they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted to name the child.
Luke 1:63Zechariah asked for a tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.
Luke 1:64Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak, praising God.
Luke 1:65All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events.
Luke 1:66And all who heard this wondered in their hearts and asked, “What then will this child become?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
Luke 1:67Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
Luke 1:68“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.
Luke 1:69He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,
Luke 1:70as He spoke through His holy prophets, those of ages past,
Luke 1:71salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
Luke 1:72to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
Luke 1:73the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
Luke 1:74deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear,
Luke 1:75in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
Luke 1:76And 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,
Luke 1:77to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
Luke 1:78because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
Luke 1:79to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Luke 1:80And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 943 passages were voted onto 73 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 37Matthew 19:26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- 37Jeremiah 32:27“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- 37Mark 10:27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
- 37Jeremiah 32:17“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- 37Luke 18:27But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
- 37Genesis 18:14Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- 37Numbers 11:23The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not My word will come to pass.”
- 37Philippians 3:21who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
- 17Malachi 4:5–6Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- 37Zechariah 8:6This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares the LORD of Hosts.
- 37Job 13:2What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.
- 79Isaiah 9:2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
- 45John 20:29Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
- 50Psalms 103:17–18But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—
- 32Isaiah 9:6–7For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- 461 Samuel 2:1–10At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation.
Onward