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.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ 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.

²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, ^(A)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 ^(B)you shall call his name Jesus, ^(C)for he will save his people from their sins.” ^22 (D)All this took place ^(E)to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

The Flight to Egypt

¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, ^(A)an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. ^(B)This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ^(C)“Out of Egypt I called my son.”