The Birth of Jesus Is Announced

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. ^27 (A)He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel came to her and said, “Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!”

²⁹ Mary was deeply troubled by the angel's message, and she wondered what his words meant. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Don't be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. ^31 (B)You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. ^32 (C)He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, ³³ and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end!”

³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “I am a virgin. How, then, can this be?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God's power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Remember your relative Elizabeth. It is said that she cannot have children, but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old. ^37 (D)For there is nothing that God cannot do.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord's servant,” said Mary; “may it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.

Nathan's Message to David^(A)

7 King David was settled in his palace, and the Lord kept him safe from all his enemies. ² Then the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but God's Covenant Box is kept in a tent!”

³ Nathan answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because the Lord is with you.” ⁴ But that night the Lord said to Nathan, ⁵ “Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in. ⁶ From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now, I have never lived in a temple; I have traveled around living in a tent. ⁷ In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders^[a] that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.’

⁸ “So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. ^10-11 I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land, they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to keep you safe from all your enemies and to give you descendants.