1¶ For as moche as many have take in hand to compyle a treates of thoo thinges which are surely knowen amonge vs
2even as they declared them vnto vs which from the beginnynge sawe them their selves and were ministers at the doyng:
3I determined also assone as I had searched out diligently all thinges from the beginnynge that then I wolde wryte vnto the good Theophilus:
4that thou myghtest knowe the certente of thoo thinges wher of thou arte informed.
5There was in the dayes of Herode kynge of Iurie a certayne prest named Zacharias of ye course of Abia. And his wyfe was of ye doughters of Aaron: And her name was Elizabeth.
6Booth were perfect before God and walked in all the lawes and ordinaces of the Lorde that no man coulde fynde fawte with them.
7And they had no chylde because that Elizabeth was barre and booth were well stricken in age.
8And it cam to passe as he executed the prestes office before god as his course came
9(accordinge to the custome of the prestes office) his lot was to bourne incece.
10And wet into ye teple of ye Lorde and the whoale multitude of ye people were with out in prayer whill the incense was aburnynge.
11And ther appered vnto him an angell of the LORde stondinge on the ryght syde of the altare of incense.
12And when Zacharias sawe him he was abasshed and feare came on him.
13And the angell sayde vnto him: feare not Zachary for thy prayer is hearde: And thy wyfe Elizabeth shall beare ye a sonne and thou shalt call his name Iohn
14and thou shalt have ioye and gladnes and many shall reioyce at his birth.
15For he shalbe greate in the sight of the LORde and shall nether drinke wyne ner stronge drinke. And he shalbe filled with the holy goost even in his mothers wombe:
16and many of the chyldren of Israel shall he tourne to their Lorde God.
17And he shall goo before him in the sprete and power of Helyas to tourne the hertes of the fathers to the chyldren and the vnbelevers to the wysdom of the iuste men: to make the people redy for the Lorde.
18And Zacharias sayde vnto ye angell: Wher by shall I knowe this? seinge that I am olde and my wyfe well stricken in yeares.
19And the angell answered and sayde vnto him: I am Gabriell that stonde in the presens of God and am sent to speake vnto the: and to shewe the these glad tydinges.
20And beholde thou shalt be domme and not able to speake vntyll the tyme that these thinges be performed because thou belevedst not my wordes which shalbe fulfilled in their season.
21And the people wayted for Zacharias and mervelled that he taryed in the temple.
22And whe he cam oute he could not speake vnto them. Wherby they perceaved that he had sene some vision in the temple. And he beckened vnto them and remayned speachlesse.
23And it fortuned assone as ye tyme of his office was oute he departed home into his awne housse.
24And after thoose dayes his wyfe Elizabeth coceaved and hyd her sylfe.v. monethes sayinge:
25This wyse hath God dealte wt me in ye dayes when he loked on me to take from me the rebuke yt I suffred amonge men.
26And in ye.vi. moneth ye angell Gabriel was sent fro god vnto a cite of Galile named Nazareth
27to a virgin spoused to a man whose name was Ioseph of ye housse of David and ye virgins name was Mary.
28And ye angell went in vnto her and sayde: Hayle full of grace ye Lorde is with ye: blessed arte thou amonge wemen.
29When she sawe him she was abasshed at his sayinge: and cast in her mynde what maner of salutacion yt shuld be.
30And ye angell sayde vnto her: feare not Mary: for thou hast founde grace wt god.
31Loo: thou shalt coceave in thy wombe and shalt beare a sonne and shalt call his name Iesus.
32He shalbe greate and shalbe called the sonne of the hyest. And ye LORde God shall geve vnto him the seate of his father David
33and he shall raygne over ye housse of Iacob forever and of his kyngdome shalbe none ende.
34Then sayd Mary vnto ye angell: How shall this be seinge I knowe not a man?
35And ye angell answered and sayd vnto her: The holy goost shall come apon the and ye power of ye hyest shall over shaddowe ye. Therfore also yt holy thinge which shalbe borne shalbe called ye sonne of god.
36And beholde thy cosen Elizabeth she hath also conceaved a sonne in her age. And this is hyr sixte moneth though she be called barren:
37for wt god can nothinge be vnpossible.
38And Mary sayd: beholde ye honde mayden of ye LORde be it vnto me even as thou hast sayde. And the angell departed from her.
39And Mary arose in thoose dayes and went into ye mountayns wt hast into a cite of Iurie
40and entred into the housse of zachary and saluted Elizabeth.
41And it fortuned as Elizabeth hearde ye salutacion of Mary the babe spronge in her belly. And Elizabeth was filled with the holy goost
42and cryed with a loude voyce and sayde: Blessed arte thou amonge wemen and blessed is the frute of thy wombe.
43And whence hapeneth this to me that the mother of my Lorde shuld come to me?
44For loo assone as the voyce of thy salutacion sownded in myne eares the babe sprange in my belly for ioye.
45And blessed arte thou that belevedst: for thoose thinges shalbe performed wich were tolde ye from the LORde.
46And Mary sayde. My soule magnifieth the Lorde.
47And my sprete reioyseth in god my savioure
48For he hath loked on the povre degre of his honde mayde. Beholde now from hence forth shall all generacions call me blessed.
49For he that is myghty hath done to me greate thinges and holye is his name.
50And his mercy is on them that feare him thorow oute all generacions.
51He sheweth strength with his arme he scattereth them that are proude in the ymaginacion of their hertes.
52He putteth doune the myghty from their seates and exalteth them of lowe degre.
53He filleth the hongry with good thinges: and sendeth awaye the ryche emptye.
54He remenbreth mercy: and helpeth his servaunt Israel.
55Even as he promised to oure fathers Abraham and to his seede for ever.
56And mary aboode with hyr aboute a.iii. monethes and retourned agayne to hyr awne housse.
57Elizabethes tyme was come that she shuld be delyvered and she brought forth a sonne.
58And her neghboures and her cosins hearde tell how the LORde had shewed great mercy vpon her and they reioysed with her.
59And it fortuned ye eyght daye: they cam to circumcise the chylde: and called his name zacharias after the name of his father.
60How be it his mother answered and sayd: not so but he shalbe called Ihon.
61And they sayd vnto hyr: Ther is none of thy kynne that is named wt this name.
62And they made signes to his father how he wolde have him called.
63And he axed for wrytynge tables and wroote saying: his name is Iohn. And they marvelled all.
64And his mouthe was opened immediatly and his tonge also and he spake lawdynge God.
65And feare came on all the that dwelt nye vnto them. And all these sayinges were noysed abroade throughout all ye hyll coutre of Iurie
66and all they yt herde the layde them vp in their hertes saying: What maner chylde shall this be? And the honde of ye LORde was with him.
67And his father zacharias was filled with the holy goost and prophisyed sayinge:
68Blessed be the Lorde God of Israel for he hath visited and redemed his people.
69And hath reysed vp an horne of salvacion vnto vs in the housse of his servaunt David.
70Even as he promised by ye mouth of his holy prophetes which were sens ye worlde began
71That we shuld be saved from oure enemies and from the hondis of all that hate vs:
72To fulfill the mercy promised to oure fathers and to remember his holy covenaunt.
73And to performe the oothe which he sware to oure father Adraham
74for to geve vs. That we delyvered oute of ye hondes of oure enemyes myght serve him with oute feare
75all the dayes of oure lyfe in suche holynes and ryghtewesnes that are accept before him.
76And thou chylde shalt be called the Prophet of the hyest: for thou shalt goo before the face of the LORde to prepare his wayes:
77And to geve knowlege of salvacion vnto his people for the remission of synnes:
78Through the tender mercy of oure God wherby the daye springe from an hye hath visited vs.
79To geve light to the that sate in darcknes and in shadowe of deth and to gyde oure fete into the waye of peace.
80And the chylde grew and wexed stronge in sprete and was in wyldernes tyll the daye cam when he shuld shewe him sylfe vnto the Israhelites.