1Forsothe for manye men enforceden to ordeyne the tellyng of thingis, whiche ben fillid in vs,

2as thei that seyn atte the bigynnyng, and weren ministris of the word,

3bitaken, it is seen also to me, hauynge alle thingis diligentli bi ordre, to write to thee,

4thou best Theofile, that thou knowe the treuthe of tho wordis, of whiche thou art lerned.

5In the daies of Eroude, kyng of Judee, ther was a prest, Sakarie bi name, of the sorte of Abia, and his wijf was of the douytris of Aaron, and hir name was Elizabeth.

6And bothe weren iust bifor God, goynge in alle the maundementis and iustifiyngis of the Lord, withouten pleynt.

7And thei hadden no child, for Elizabeth was bareyn, and bothe weren of grete age in her daies.

8And it bifel, that whanne Zacarie schulde do the office of preesthod, in the ordre of his cours tofor God,

9aftir the custome of the preesthod, he wente forth bi lot, and entride in to the temple, to encense.

10And al the multitude of the puple was with outforth, and preiede in the our of encensyng.

11And an aungel of the Lord apperide to hym, and stood on the riythalf of the auter of encense.

12And Zacarie seynge was afraied, and drede fel vpon hym.

13And the aungel seide to hym, Zacarie, drede thou not; for thi preyer is herd, and Elizabeth, thi wijf, schal bere to thee a sone, and his name schal be clepid Joon.

14And ioye and gladyng schal be to thee; and many schulen `haue ioye in his natyuyte.

15For he schal be greet bifor the Lord, and he schal not drynke wyn and sidir, and he schal be fulfillid with the Hooli Goost yit of his modir wombe.

16And he schal conuerte many of the children of Israel to her Lord God;

17and he schal go bifor hym in the spirit and the vertu of Helie; and he schal turne the hertis of the fadris in to the sones, and men out of bileue to the prudence of iust men, to make redi a perfit puple to the Lord.

18And Zacarie seide to the aungel, Wherof schal Y wite this? for Y am eld, and my wijf hath gon fer in to hir daies.

19And the aungel answeride, and seide to hym, For Y am Gabriel, that stonde niy bifor God; and Y am sent to thee to speke, and to euangelize to thee these thingis.

20And lo! thou schalt be doumbe, and thou schalt not mow speke til in to the dai, in which these thingis schulen be don; for thou hast not bileued to my wordis, whiche schulen be fulfillid in her tyme.

21And the puple was abidynge Zacarie, and thei wondriden, that he tariede in the temple.

22And he yede out, and myyte not speke to hem, and thei knewen that he hadde seyn a visioun in the temple. And he bikenyde to hem, and he dwellide stille doumbe.

23And it was don, whanne the daies of his office weren fulfillid, he wente in to his hous.

24And aftir these daies Elizabeth, his wijf, conseyuede, and hidde hir fyue monethis, and seide,

25For so the Lord dide to me in the daies, in whiche he bihelde, to take awei my repreef among men.

26But in the sixte moneth the aungel Gabriel was sent fro God in to a citee of Galilee, whos name was Nazareth,

27to a maidyn, weddid to a man, whos name was Joseph, of the hous of Dauid; and the name of the maidun was Marie.

28And the aungel entride to hir, and seide, Heil, ful of grace; the Lord be with thee; blessid be thou among wymmen.

29And whanne sche hadde herd, sche was troublid in his word, and thouyte what maner salutacioun this was.

30And the aungel seide to hir, Ne drede thou not, Marie, for thou hast foundun grace anentis God.

31Lo! thou schalt conceyue in wombe, and schalt bere a sone, and thou schalt clepe his name Jhesus.

32This schal be greet, and he schal be clepid the sone of the Hiyeste; and the Lord God schal yeue to hym the seete of Dauid, his fadir, and he schal regne in the hous of Jacob with outen ende,

33and of his rewme schal be noon ende.

34And Marie seide to the aungel, On what maner schal this thing be doon, for Y knowe not man?

35And the aungel answeride, and seide to hir, The Hooly Goost schal come fro aboue in to thee, and the vertu of the Hiyeste schal ouerschadewe thee; and therfor that hooli thing that schal be borun of thee, schal be clepid the sone of God.

36And lo! Elizabeth, thi cosyn, and sche also hath conceyued a sone in hir eelde, and this moneth is the sixte to hir that is clepid bareyn;

37for euery word schal not be inpossible anentis God.

38And Marie seide, Lo! the handmaydyn of the Lord; be it don to me aftir thi word. And the aungel departide fro hir.

39And Marie roos vp in tho daies, and wente with haaste in to the mounteyns, in to a citee of Judee.

40And sche entride in to the hous of Zacarie, and grette Elizabeth.

41And it was don, as Elizabeth herde the salutacioun of Marie, the yong child in hir wombe gladide. And Elizabeth was fulfillid with the Hooli Goost,

42and criede with a greet vois, and seide, Blessid be thou among wymmen, and blessid be the fruyt of thi wombe.

43And whereof is this thing to me, that the modir of my Lord come to me?

44For lo! as the voice of thi salutacioun was maad in myn eeris, the yong child gladide in ioye in my wombe.

45And blessid be thou, that hast bileued, for thilke thingis that ben seid of the Lord to thee, schulen be parfitli don.

46And Marie seide, Mi soule magnyfieth the Lord,

47and my spirit hath gladid in God, myn helthe.

48For he hath biholdun the mekenesse of his handmaidun.

49For lo! of this alle generaciouns schulen seie that Y am blessid. For he that is myyti hath don to me grete thingis, and his name is hooli.

50And his mercy is fro kynrede in to kynredes, to men that dreden hym.

51He made myyt in his arme, he scaterede proude men with the thouyte of his herte.

52He sette doun myyti men fro sete, and enhaunside meke men.

53He hath fulfillid hungri men with goodis, and he hath left riche men voide.

54He, hauynge mynde of his mercy, took Israel, his child;

55as he hath spokun to oure fadris, to Abraham and to his seed, in to worldis.

56And Marie dwellide with hir, as it were thre monethis, and turnede ayen in to hir hous.

57But the tyme of beryng child was fulfillid to Elizabeth, and sche bare a sone.

58And the neiyboris and cosyns of hir herden, that the Lord hadde magnyfied his mercy with hir; and thei thankiden hym.

59And it was don in the eiyte dai, thei camen to circumcide the child; and thei clepiden hym Zacarie, bi the name of his fadir.

60And his moder answeride, and seide, Nay, but he schal be clepid Joon.

61And thei seiden to hir, For no man is in thi kynrede, that is clepid this name.

62And thei bikeneden to his fadir, what he wolde that he were clepid.

63And he axynge a poyntil, wroot, seiynge, Joon is his name.

64And alle men wondriden. And anoon his mouth was openyd, and his tunge, and he spak, and blesside God.

65And drede was maad on alle her neiyboris, and alle these wordis weren pupplischid on alle the mounteyns of Judee.

66And alle men that herden puttiden in her herte, and seiden, What maner child schal this be? For the hoond of the Lord was with hym.

67And Zacarie, his fadir, was fulfillid with the Hooli Goost, and prophesiede,

68and seide, Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visitid, and maad redempcioun of his puple.

69And he hath rerid to vs an horn of heelthe in the hous of Dauid, his child.

70As he spak bi the mouth of hise hooli prophetis, that weren fro the world.

71Helthe fro oure enemyes, and fro the hoond of alle men that hatiden vs.

72To do merci with oure fadris, and to haue mynde of his hooli testament.

73The greet ooth that he swoor to Abraham, oure fadir, to yyue hym silf to vs.

74That we with out drede delyuered fro the hoond of oure enemyes,

75serue to hym, in hoolynesse and riytwisnesse bifor hym in alle oure daies.

76And thou, child, schalt be clepid the prophete of the Hiyest; for thou schalt go bifor the face of the Lord, to make redi hise weies.

77To yyue scyence of helthe to his puple, in to remyssioun of her synnes;

78bi the inwardnesse of the merci of oure God, in the whiche he spryngynge vp fro an hiy hath visitid vs.

79To yyue liyt to hem that sitten in derknessis and in schadewe of deeth; to dresse oure feet in to the weie of pees.

80And the child wexide, and was coumfortid in spirit, and was in desert placis `til to the dai of his schewing to Israel.