And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool[a] of the day, and the man and his wife (A)hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”[b] 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, (B)because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, (C)“The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, (D)“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and (E)dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[c] and (F)her offspring;
(G)he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    (H)in pain you shall bring forth children.
(I)Your desire shall be contrary to[d] your husband,
    but he shall (J)rule over you.”

17 And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
(K)of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
(L)cursed is the ground because of you;
    (M)in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
(N)for you are dust,
    and (O)to dust you shall return.”

20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.[e] 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, (P)“Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand (Q)and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden (R)to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the (S)cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:8 Hebrew wind
  2. Genesis 3:9 In Hebrew you is singular in verses 9 and 11
  3. Genesis 3:15 Hebrew seed; so throughout Genesis
  4. Genesis 3:16 Or shall be toward (see 4:7)
  5. Genesis 3:20 Eve sounds like the Hebrew for life-giver and resembles the word for living

[a] (A)The people (B)who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of (C)deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
(D)You have multiplied the nation;
    you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
    as with (E)joy at the harvest,
    as they (F)are glad (G)when they divide the spoil.
(H)For the yoke of his burden,
    (I)and the staff for his shoulder,
    the rod of his oppressor,
    you have broken as (J)on the day of Midian.
(K)For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
    and every garment rolled in blood
    will be burned as fuel for the fire.
(L)For to us a child is born,
    to us (M)a son is given;
(N)and the government shall be (O)upon[b] his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called[c]
Wonderful (P)Counselor, (Q)Mighty God,
    (R)Everlasting (S)Father, Prince of (T)Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    (U)there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
(V)with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
(W)The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew
  2. Isaiah 9:6 Or is upon
  3. Isaiah 9:6 Or is called

The Righteous Reign of the Branch

11 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of (A)Jesse,
    and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
And (B)the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
(C)He shall not judge by (D)what his eyes see,
    or decide disputes by (E)what his ears hear,
but (F)with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall (G)strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
    and (H)with the breath of his lips (I)he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
    and (J)faithfulness the belt of his loins.

(K)The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
    and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
(L)They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all (M)my holy mountain;
(N)for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

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Comfort for God's People

40 (A)Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
(B)Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and cry to her
that (C)her warfare[a] is ended,
    that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
    double for all her sins.

(D)A voice cries:[b]
(E)“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    (F)make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
(G)Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
(H)And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    (I)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:2 Or hardship
  2. Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one crying

The Greatness of God

Go on up to a high mountain,
    O Zion, (A)herald of good news;[a]
lift up your voice with strength,
    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[b]
    lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
    “Behold your God!”
10 (B)Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
(C)behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.
11 (D)He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
    (E)he will gather the lambs in his arms;
(F)he will carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead those that are with young.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion
  2. Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel (A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named (B)Nazareth, 27 (C)to a virgin betrothed[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, (D)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, (E)O favored one, (F)the Lord is with you!”[b] 29 But (G)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for (H)you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, (I)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and (J)you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of (K)the Most High. And the Lord God (L)will give to him the throne of (M)his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob (N)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”[c]

35 And the angel answered her, (O)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of (P)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d] will be called (Q)holy—(R)the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her (S)who was called barren. 37 For (T)nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant[e] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And (U)the angel departed from her.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:27 That is, legally pledged to be married
  2. Luke 1:28 Some manuscripts add Blessed are you among women!
  3. Luke 1:34 Greek since I do not know a man
  4. Luke 1:35 Some manuscripts add of you
  5. Luke 1:38 Greek bondservant; also verse 48

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 Now the birth of (A)Jesus Christ[a] took place in this way. (B)When his mother Mary had been betrothed[b] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child (C)from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling (D)to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, (E)an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and (F)you shall call his name Jesus, (G)for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 (H)All this took place (I)to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 (J)“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name (K)Immanuel”

(which means, God (L)with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And (M)he called his name Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Some manuscripts of the Christ
  2. Matthew 1:18 That is, legally pledged to be married

The Shepherds and the Angels

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord (A)appeared to them, and (B)the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all (C)the people. 11 For (D)unto you is born this day in (E)the city of David (F)a Savior, who is (G)Christ (H)the Lord. 12 And (I)this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby (J)wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel (K)a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 (L)“Glory to God (M)in the highest,
    (N)and on earth (O)peace (P)among those with whom he is pleased!”[a]

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby (Q)lying in a manger.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 2:14 Some manuscripts peace, good will among men

The Visit of the Wise Men

Now (A)after Jesus was born in (B)Bethlehem of Judea (C)in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from (D)the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born (E)king of the Jews? For we saw (F)his star when it rose[b] and have come to (G)worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where (H)the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

(I)“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will (J)shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, (K)they offered him gifts, (L)gold and (M)frankincense and (N)myrrh.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:1 Greek magi; also verses 7, 16
  2. Matthew 2:2 Or in the east; also verse 9

The Word Became Flesh

(A)In the beginning was (B)the Word, and (C)the Word was with God, and (D)the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (E)All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (F)In him was life,[a] and (G)the life was the light of men. (H)The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man (I)sent from God, whose name was (J)John. He came as a (K)witness, to bear witness about the light, (L)that all might believe through him. (M)He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

(N)The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet (O)the world did not know him. 11 He came to (P)his own,[b] and (Q)his own people[c] (R)did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, (S)who believed in his name, (T)he gave the right (U)to become (V)children of God, 13 who (W)were born, (X)not of blood (Y)nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And (Z)the Word (AA)became flesh and (AB)dwelt among us, (AC)and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[d] from the Father, full of (AD)grace and (AE)truth. 15 ((AF)John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, (AG)‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from (AH)his fullness we have all received, (AI)grace upon grace.[e] 17 For (AJ)the law was given through Moses; (AK)grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (AL)No one has ever seen God; (AM)the only God,[f] who is at the Father's side,[g] (AN)he has made him known.

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:4 Or was not any thing made. That which has been made was life in him
  2. John 1:11 Greek to his own things; that is, to his own domain, or to his own people
  3. John 1:11 People is implied in Greek
  4. John 1:14 Or only One, or unique One
  5. John 1:16 Or grace in place of grace
  6. John 1:18 Or the only One, who is God; some manuscripts the only Son
  7. John 1:18 Greek in the bosom of the Father

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