The Lord Will Be Jerusalem’s Glory

Jesus Is Born

2 At that time the Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the Roman Empire. ² This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ All the people went to register in the cities where their ancestors had lived.

⁴ So Joseph went from Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a Judean city called Bethlehem. Joseph, a descendant of King David, went to Bethlehem because David had been born there. ⁵ Joseph went there to register with Mary. She had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.

⁶ While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child. ⁷ She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn’t any room for them in the inn.

Angels Announce the Birth of Jesus

⁸ Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. ⁹ An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. ¹¹ Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. ¹² This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying,

¹⁵ The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. ¹⁷ When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. ¹⁸ Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed.

¹⁹ Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them.

²⁰ As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

The Wise Men Visit

2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea when Herod was king. After Jesus’ birth wise men ^[a] from the east arrived in Jerusalem. ² They asked, “Where is the one who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star rising and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod and all Jerusalem heard about this, they became disturbed. ⁴ He called together all the chief priests and the experts in the Scriptures and tried to find out from them where the Messiah was supposed to be born.

⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this:

⁷ Then Herod secretly called the wise men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. ⁸ As he sent them to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you have found him, report to me so that I may go and worship him too.”

⁹ After they had heard the king, they started out. The star they had seen rising led them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ They were overwhelmed with joy to see the star. ¹¹ When they entered the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary. So they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.^[b]