Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹ And when ^(A)eight days had passed, ^[a]before His circumcision, ^(B)His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

^22 (C)And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “^(D)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “^(E)A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ^(F)righteous and devout, ^(G)looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And ^(H)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(I)see death before he had seen the Lord’s ^[b]Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^[c](J)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸ then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

³³ And His father and ^(N)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary ^(O)His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for ^(P)the fall and ^[e]rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— ³⁵ and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was a ^(Q)prophetess, ^[f]Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(R)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[g]years ^(S)and had lived with her husband seven years after her ^[h]marriage, ³⁷ and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with ^(T)fastings and prayers. ³⁸ At that very ^[i]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were ^(U)looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹ When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^(V)their own city of Nazareth. ^40 (W)The Child continued to grow and become strong, ^[j]increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

⁴¹ Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at ^(X)the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; ⁴³ and as they were returning, after spending the ^(Y)full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, ⁴⁴ but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. ⁴⁶ Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard Him ^(Z)were amazed at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸ When they saw Him, they were astonished; and ^(AA)His mother said to Him, “^[k]Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^(AB)Your father and I ^[l]have been anxiously looking for You.” ⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that ^(AC)I had to be in My Father’s ^[m]house?” ⁵⁰ But ^(AD)they did not understand the statement which He ^[n]had made to them. ⁵¹ And He went down with them and came to ^(AE)Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and ^(AF)His mother ^(AG)treasured all these ^[o]things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and ^[p]stature, and in ^(AH)favor with God and men.