I'm posting a new translation of the nativity story in Luke, piece by piece, for Christmas. You can find the first part here.
PART II : MARY VISITS ELIZABETH
Mary gathered her things and hurried to a town in the hills of Judea. She went straight to Zachariah’s house, where she greeted Elizabeth. And as Mary greeted her, Elizabeth's baby kicked inside her, and she was filled with a holy spirit. She screamed out with excitement: “Mary, you are a blessed woman, and blessed is the fruit growing within you! But what have I done, to deserve the mother of my lord coming to me? As the sound of your greeting rang in my ears, my baby kicked with joy inside me! A woman such as you is truly blessed, if she believes that what the lord says to her will come true.”
And Mary said “In my soul, the lord towers over everything, and my spirit rejoices constantly in God my saviour, because he kept watch over me as I made myself humble. And from now on every generation will say I'm blessed, because his power has done such great things for me. Even his name is holy, and he is merciful, from one generation to the next, to those who fear it. He drew his mighty arm and scattered those who had proud thoughts in their heart. With one hand, he tore the powerful from their thrones, and with the other he held up the lowly. He fed the hungry with his goodness, but sent the rich away empty-handed. He even welcomed Israel back, mercifully, just like he said to Abraham and his descendants, as each generation passed."
And, when Mary had stayed with Elizabeth for three months, she returned home.
And Mary said “In my soul, the lord towers over everything, and my spirit rejoices constantly in God my saviour, because he kept watch over me as I made myself humble. And from now on every generation will say I'm blessed, because his power has done such great things for me. Even his name is holy, and he is merciful, from one generation to the next, to those who fear it. He drew his mighty arm and scattered those who had proud thoughts in their heart. With one hand, he tore the powerful from their thrones, and with the other he held up the lowly. He fed the hungry with his goodness, but sent the rich away empty-handed. He even welcomed Israel back, mercifully, just like he said to Abraham and his descendants, as each generation passed."
And, when Mary had stayed with Elizabeth for three months, she returned home.
1.39 Ἀναστᾶσα δὲ Μαριὰμ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὴν ὀρεινὴν μετὰ σπουδῆς εἰς πόλιν Ἰούδα, 1.40 καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον Ζαχαρίου καὶ ἠσπάσατο τὴν Ἐλισάβετ. 1.41 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἤκουσεν τὸν ἀσπασμὸν τῆς Μαρίας ἡ Ἐλισάβετ, ἐσκίρτησεν τὸ βρέφος ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ αὐτῆς. καὶ ἐπλήσθη πνεύματος ἁγίου ἡ Ἐλισάβετ, 1.42 καὶ ἀνεφώνησεν κραυγῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ εἶπεν· εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξίν, καὶ εὐλογημένος ὁ καρπὸς τῆς κοιλίας σου. 1.43 καὶ πόθεν μοι τοῦτο ἵνα ἔλθῃ ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ κυρίου μου πρὸς ἐμέ; 1.44 ἰδοὺ γὰρ ὡς ἐγένετο ἡ φωνὴ τοῦ ἀσπασμοῦ σου εἰς τὰ ὦτά μου, ἐσκίρτησεν ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει τὸ βρέφος ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ μου. 1.45 καὶ μακαρία ἡ πιστεύσασα ὅτι ἔσται τελείωσις τοῖς λελαλημένοις αὐτῇ παρὰ κυρίου. 1.46 Καὶ εἶπεν Μαριάμ· μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν κύριον, 1.47 καὶ ἠγαλλίασεν τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ σωτῆρί μου, 1.48 ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ. ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσίν με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί, 1.49 ὅτι ἐποίησέν μοι μεγάλα ὁ δυνατός. καὶ ἅγιον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, 1.50 καὶ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ εἰς γενεὰς καὶ γενεὰς τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν. 1.51 ἐποίησεν κράτος ἐν βραχίονι αὐτοῦ, διεσκόρπισεν ὑπερηφάνους διανοίᾳ καρδίας αὐτῶν· 1.52 καθεῖλεν δυνάστας ἀπὸ θρόνων καὶ ὕψωσεν ταπεινούς, 1.53 πεινῶντας ἐνέπλησεν ἀγαθῶν καὶ πλουτοῦντας ἐξαπέστειλεν κενούς. 1.54 ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ, μνησθῆναι ἐλέους, 1.55 καθὼς ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. 1.56 Ἔμεινεν δὲ Μαριὰμ σὺν αὐτῇ ὡς μῆνας τρεῖς, καὶ ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς.
Want an interlinear text?
Or the King James Version?
How about an interesting Greek factlet?
The original text of the New Testament has no
spaces, no punctuation... and is all
in capitals.
So my first bit would look like this:
MARYGATHEREDHERTH
INGSANDHURRIEDTOAT
OWNINTHEHILLSOFJUD
EASHEWENTSTRAIGHTT
OZACHARIAHSHOUSEW
HERESHEGREETEDELIZ
ABTETH
The original text of the New Testament has no
spaces, no punctuation... and is all
in capitals.
So my first bit would look like this:
MARYGATHEREDHERTH
INGSANDHURRIEDTOAT
OWNINTHEHILLSOFJUD
EASHEWENTSTRAIGHTT
OZACHARIAHSHOUSEW
HERESHEGREETEDELIZ
ABTETH
[The Visitation -Piero di Cosimo, c.1490 - National Gallery, Washington]
(Frame model's own)
