The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus(A) issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(B) (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.)(C) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem(D) the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him(E) and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel(F) of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.(G) I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior(H) has been born to you; he is the Messiah,(I) the Lord.(J) 12 This will be a sign(K) to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace(L) to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.(M) 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.(N) 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God(O) for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child,(P) he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.(Q)

Jesus Presented in the Temple

22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,(R) Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[b]),(S) 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”[c](T)

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.(U) He was waiting for the consolation of Israel,(V) and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,(W) 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,(X)
    you may now dismiss[d] your servant in peace.(Y)
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,(Z)
31     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”(AA)

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:(AB) “This child is destined to cause the falling(AC) and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

36 There was also a prophet,(AD) Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[e](AE) She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.(AF) 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.(AG)

39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.(AH) 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.(AI)

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.(AJ) 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed(AK) at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother(AL) said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father(AM) and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”[f](AN) 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.(AO)

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them(AP) and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.(AQ) 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 2:2 Or This census took place before
  2. Luke 2:23 Exodus 13:2,12
  3. Luke 2:24 Lev. 12:8
  4. Luke 2:29 Or promised, / now dismiss
  5. Luke 2:37 Or then had been a widow for eighty-four years.
  6. Luke 2:49 Or be about my Father’s business

The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen(A) to me, you islands;(B)
    hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(C) the Lord called(D) me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(E)
He made my mouth(F) like a sharpened sword,(G)
    in the shadow of his hand(H) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(I)
    and concealed me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You are my servant,(J)
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(K)
But I said, “I have labored in vain;(L)
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(M)
    and my reward(N) is with my God.”(O)

And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb(P) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel(Q) to himself,
for I am[a] honored(R) in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength(S)
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(T)
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(U)
I will also make you a light(V) for the Gentiles,(W)
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(X)

This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(Y)
to him who was despised(Z) and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(AA) will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,(AB)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(AC)
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(AD) you.”

Restoration of Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favor(AE) I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;(AF)
I will keep(AG) you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,(AH)
to restore the land(AI)
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,(AJ)
to say to the captives,(AK) ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness,(AL) ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.(AM)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(AN)
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(AO)
He who has compassion(AP) on them will guide(AQ) them
    and lead them beside springs(AR) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways(AS) will be raised up.(AT)
12 See, they will come from afar(AU)
    some from the north, some from the west,(AV)
    some from the region of Aswan.[b]

13 Shout for joy,(AW) you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;(AX)
    burst into song, you mountains!(AY)
For the Lord comforts(AZ) his people
    and will have compassion(BA) on his afflicted ones.(BB)

14 But Zion(BC) said, “The Lord has forsaken(BD) me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child(BE) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!(BF)
16 See, I have engraved(BG) you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls(BH) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste(BI) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather(BJ) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(BK)” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear(BL) them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(BM)
    and your land laid waste,(BN)
now you will be too small for your people,(BO)
    and those who devoured(BP) you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’(BQ)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?(BR)
I was bereaved(BS) and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.(BT)
    Who brought these(BU) up?
I was left(BV) all alone,(BW)
    but these—where have they come from?’”

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(BX) says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner(BY) to the peoples;
they will bring(BZ) your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.(CA)
23 Kings(CB) will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.(CC)
They will bow down(CD) before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust(CE) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(CF)
    those who hope(CG) in me will not be disappointed.(CH)

24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,(CI)
    or captives be rescued from the fierce[c]?

25 But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives(CJ) will be taken from warriors,(CK)
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;(CL)
I will contend with those who contend with you,(CM)
    and your children I will save.(CN)
26 I will make your oppressors(CO) eat(CP) their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood,(CQ) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know(CR)
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(CS)
    your Redeemer,(CT) the Mighty One of Jacob.(CU)

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce(CV)
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
    did I sell(CW) you?
Because of your sins(CX) you were sold;(CY)
    because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
When I came, why was there no one?
    When I called, why was there no one to answer?(CZ)
Was my arm too short(DA) to deliver you?
    Do I lack the strength(DB) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(DC) I dry up the sea,(DD)
    I turn rivers into a desert;(DE)
their fish rot for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
I clothe the heavens with darkness(DF)
    and make sackcloth(DG) its covering.”

The Sovereign Lord(DH) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(DI)
    to know the word that sustains the weary.(DJ)
He wakens me morning by morning,(DK)
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(DL)
The Sovereign Lord(DM) has opened my ears;(DN)
    I have not been rebellious,(DO)
    I have not turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat(DP) me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(DQ)
I did not hide my face
    from mocking and spitting.(DR)
Because the Sovereign Lord(DS) helps(DT) me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(DU)
    and I know I will not be put to shame.(DV)
He who vindicates(DW) me is near.(DX)
    Who then will bring charges against me?(DY)
    Let us face each other!(DZ)
Who is my accuser?
    Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign Lord(EA) who helps(EB) me.
    Who will condemn(EC) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
    the moths(ED) will eat them up.

10 Who among you fears(EE) the Lord
    and obeys(EF) the word of his servant?(EG)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
    who has no light,(EH)
trust(EI) in the name of the Lord
    and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(EJ)
go, walk in the light of your fires(EK)
    and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(EL)
    You will lie down in torment.(EM)

Everlasting Salvation for Zion

51 “Listen(EN) to me, you who pursue righteousness(EO)
    and who seek(EP) the Lord:
Look to the rock(EQ) from which you were cut
    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
look to Abraham,(ER) your father,
    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
    and I blessed him and made him many.(ES)
The Lord will surely comfort(ET) Zion(EU)
    and will look with compassion on all her ruins;(EV)
he will make her deserts like Eden,(EW)
    her wastelands(EX) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness(EY) will be found in her,
    thanksgiving(EZ) and the sound of singing.

“Listen to me, my people;(FA)
    hear me,(FB) my nation:
Instruction(FC) will go out from me;
    my justice(FD) will become a light to the nations.(FE)
My righteousness draws near speedily,
    my salvation(FF) is on the way,(FG)
    and my arm(FH) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands(FI) will look to me
    and wait in hope(FJ) for my arm.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,(FK)
    the earth will wear out like a garment(FL)
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation(FM) will last forever,(FN)
    my righteousness will never fail.(FO)

“Hear me, you who know what is right,(FP)
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:(FQ)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.(FR)
For the moth will eat them up like a garment;(FS)
    the worm(FT) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,(FU)
    my salvation through all generations.”

Awake, awake,(FV) arm(FW) of the Lord,
    clothe yourself with strength!(FX)
Awake, as in days gone by,
    as in generations of old.(FY)
Was it not you who cut Rahab(FZ) to pieces,
    who pierced that monster(GA) through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,(GB)
    the waters of the great deep,(GC)
who made a road in the depths of the sea(GD)
    so that the redeemed(GE) might cross over?
11 Those the Lord has rescued(GF) will return.
    They will enter Zion with singing;(GG)
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy(GH) will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(GI)

12 “I, even I, am he who comforts(GJ) you.
    Who are you that you fear(GK) mere mortals,(GL)
    human beings who are but grass,(GM)
13 that you forget(GN) the Lord your Maker,(GO)
    who stretches out the heavens(GP)
    and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror(GQ) every day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
    who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?(GR)
14     The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;(GS)
they will not die in their dungeon,
    nor will they lack bread.(GT)
15 For I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea(GU) so that its waves roar(GV)
    the Lord Almighty(GW) is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth(GX)
    and covered you with the shadow of my hand(GY)
I who set the heavens in place,
    who laid the foundations of the earth,(GZ)
    and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.(HA)’”

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

17 Awake, awake!(HB)
    Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
    the cup(HC) of his wrath,(HD)
you who have drained to its dregs(HE)
    the goblet that makes people stagger.(HF)
18 Among all the children(HG) she bore
    there was none to guide her;(HH)
among all the children she reared
    there was none to take her by the hand.(HI)
19 These double calamities(HJ) have come upon you—
    who can comfort you?(HK)
ruin and destruction,(HL) famine(HM) and sword(HN)
    who can[d] console you?
20 Your children have fainted;
    they lie at every street corner,(HO)
    like antelope caught in a net.(HP)
They are filled with the wrath(HQ) of the Lord,
    with the rebuke(HR) of your God.

21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted(HS) one,
    made drunk,(HT) but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
    your God, who defends(HU) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
    the cup(HV) that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
    you will never drink again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,(HW)
    who said to you,
    ‘Fall prostrate(HX) that we may walk(HY) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
    like a street to be walked on.”(HZ)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
  2. Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
  3. Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous
  4. Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text / how can I

Psalm 80[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.(A)
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,(B)
    shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.(C)
Awaken(D) your might;
    come and save us.(E)

Restore(F) us,(G) O God;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.(H)

How long,(I) Lord God Almighty,
    will your anger smolder(J)
    against the prayers of your people?
You have fed them with the bread of tears;(K)
    you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.(L)
You have made us an object of derision[b] to our neighbors,
    and our enemies mock us.(M)

Restore us, God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.(N)

You transplanted a vine(O) from Egypt;
    you drove out(P) the nations and planted(Q) it.
You cleared the ground for it,
    and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,[c]
    its shoots as far as the River.[d](R)

12 Why have you broken down its walls(S)
    so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage(T) it,
    and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
    Look down from heaven and see!(U)
Watch over this vine,
15     the root your right hand has planted,
    the son[e] you have raised up for yourself.

16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;(V)
    at your rebuke(W) your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
    the son of man(X) you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
    revive(Y) us, and we will call on your name.

19 Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 80:1 In Hebrew texts 80:1-19 is numbered 80:2-20.
  2. Psalm 80:6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text contention
  3. Psalm 80:11 Probably the Mediterranean
  4. Psalm 80:11 That is, the Euphrates
  5. Psalm 80:15 Or branch

Bible Gateway Recommends