⁸ And in that vicinity there were shepherds living [out under the open sky] in the field, watching [in shifts] over their flock by night.

⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them, and they were terribly frightened.

¹⁰ But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people.

¹¹ For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord!^(A)

¹² And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find [^[a]after searching] a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.^(B)

¹³ Then suddenly there appeared with the angel an army of the troops of heaven (^[b]a heavenly knighthood), praising God and saying,

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest [heaven], and on earth peace among men with whom He is well pleased [^[c]men of goodwill, of His favor].

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing (^[d]saying) that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

¹⁶ So they went with haste and [^[e]by searching] found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger.

¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known what had been told them concerning this Child,

¹⁸ And all who heard it were astounded and marveled at what the shepherds told them.

¹⁹ But Mary was keeping ^[f]within herself all these things (^[g]sayings), weighing and pondering them in her heart.

²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

16 Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

² You shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God from the flock or the herd in the place where the Lord will choose to make His Name [and His Presence] dwell.

³ You shall eat no leavened bread with it; for seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you fled from the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may [earnestly] remember the day when you came out of Egypt.

⁴ No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days; nor shall any of the flesh which you sacrificed the first day at evening be left all night until the morning.

⁵ You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns which the Lord your God gives you,

⁶ But at the place which the Lord your God will choose in which to make His Name [and His Presence] dwell, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice in the evening at sunset, at the season that you came out of Egypt.

⁷ And you shall roast or boil and eat it in the place which the Lord your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents.

⁸ For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God; you shall do no work on it.

⁹ You shall count seven weeks; begin to number the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.

¹⁰ Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give to the Lord your God, as the Lord your God blesses you.

¹¹ And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and daughter, your manservant and maidservant, and the Levite who is within your towns, the stranger or temporary resident, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place in which the Lord your God chooses to make His Name [and His Presence] dwell.

¹² And you shall [earnestly] remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be watchful and obey these statutes.

¹³ You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths for seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and wine vat.

¹⁴ You shall rejoice in your Feast, you, your son and daughter, your manservant and maidservant, the Levite, the transient and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns.

¹⁵ For seven days you shall keep a solemn Feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses; because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the works of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

¹⁶ Three times a year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed:

¹⁷ Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.

¹⁸ You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.

¹⁹ You shall not misinterpret or misapply judgment; you shall not be partial, or take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

²⁰ Follow what is altogether just (uncompromisingly righteous), that you may live and inherit the land which your God gives you.

²¹ You shall not plant for yourselves any kind of tree dedicated to [the goddess] Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God which you shall make.

²² Neither shall you set up an idolatrous stone or image, which the Lord your God hates.