⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. ⁹ And ^(A)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(B)stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ And so the angel said to them, “^(C)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a ^(D)Savior, who is ^[a](E)Christ ^(F)the Lord. ¹² And ^(G)this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a ^[b]manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly ^[c]army of angels praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the ^[e]manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary ^(J)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds went back, ^(K)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

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

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

³⁶ And there was a ^(L)prophetess, ^[g]Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(M)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[h]years ^(N)and had lived with her husband for seven years after her ^[i]marriage, ³⁷ and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with ^(O)fasts and prayers. ³⁸ And at that very ^[j]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak about Him to all those who were ^(P)looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹ And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^(Q)their own city of Nazareth. ^40 (R)Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, ^[k]increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.