1 Forasmuch
as many have taken in hand to set
forth in order a declaration of
those things which are most surely
believed among us,
2 Even
as they delivered them unto us,
which from the beginning were
eyewitnesses, and ministers of the
word;
3 It
seemed good to me also, having had
perfect understanding of all things
from the very first, to write unto
thee in order, most excellent
Theophilus,
4 That
thou mightest know the certainty of
those things, wherein thou hast been
instructed.
The conception of John the Baptist
5 There
was in the days of Herod, the king
of Judaea, a certain priest named
Zacharias, of the course of Abia:
and his wife was of the
daughters of Aaron, and her name
was Elisabeth.
6 And
they were both righteous before God,
walking in all the commandments and
ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And
they had no child, because that
Elisabeth was barren, and they both
were now well stricken in
years.
8 And
it came to pass, that while he
executed the priest's office before
God in the order of his course,
