The Birth of Jesus Christ

2 In those days ^(A)a decree went out from ^(B)Caesar Augustus that all the world should be ^(C)registered. ² This was the first ^(D)registration when^[a] Quirinius ^(E)was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up ^(F)from Galilee, from the town of ^(G)Nazareth, to Judea, to ^(H)the city of David, which is called ^(I)Bethlehem, ^(J)because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,^[b] who was with child. ⁶ And ^(K)while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and ^(L)wrapped him in swaddling cloths and ^(M)laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in ^(N)the inn.^[c]

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 ^(O)appeared to them, and ^(P)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 ^(Q)the people. ¹¹ For ^(R)unto you is born this day in ^(S)the city of David ^(T)a Savior, who is ^(U)Christ ^(V)the Lord. ¹² And ^(W)this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby ^(X)wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel ^(Y)a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby ^(AE)lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But ^(AF)Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, ^(AG)glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

²¹ And ^(AH)at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, ^(AI)he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²² And ^(AJ)when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem ^(AK)to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in ^(AL)the Law of the Lord, ^(AM)“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in ^(AN)the Law of the Lord, ^(AO)“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was ^(AP)righteous and ^(AQ)devout, ^(AR)waiting for ^(AS)the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(AT)see death before he had seen ^(AU)the Lord's Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when ^(AV)the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and ^(AW)blessed God and said,

³³ And ^(BF)his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed ^(BG)for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign ^(BH)that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was ^(BI)a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.^[f] She did not depart from the temple, ^(BJ)worshiping with ^(BK)fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were ^(BL)waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to ^(BM)the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of ^(BN)Nazareth. ^40 (BO)And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

⁴¹ Now ^(BP)his parents went ^(BQ)to Jerusalem every year at ^(BR)the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, ^(BS)they went up according to custom. ⁴³ And when the feast ^(BT)was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. ^(BU)His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴ but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ⁴⁵ and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, ^(BV)sitting among ^(BW)the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ And when his parents^[g] saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, ^(BX)your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” ⁴⁹ And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that ^(BY)I must be in ^(BZ)my Father's house?”^{[h] 50} And ^(CA)they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And ^(CB)his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus ^(CC)increased in wisdom and in stature^[i] and in ^(CD)favor with God and man.

The Exiles Return

2 ^(A)Now these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles ^(B)whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. ² They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, ^(C)Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel: ^3 (D)the sons of Parosh, 2,172. ⁴ The sons of Shephatiah, 372. ⁵ The sons of Arah, 775. ⁶ The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812. ⁷ The sons of Elam, 1,254. ⁸ The sons of Zattu, 945. ⁹ The sons of Zaccai, 760. ¹⁰ The sons of Bani, 642. ¹¹ The sons of Bebai, 623. ¹² The sons of Azgad, 1,222. ¹³ The sons of Adonikam, 666. ¹⁴ The sons of Bigvai, 2,056. ¹⁵ The sons of Adin, 454. ¹⁶ The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98. ¹⁷ The sons of Bezai, 323. ¹⁸ The sons of Jorah, 112. ¹⁹ The sons of Hashum, 223. ²⁰ The sons of Gibbar, 95. ²¹ The sons of Bethlehem, 123. ²² The men of Netophah, 56. ²³ The men of Anathoth, 128. ²⁴ The sons of Azmaveth, 42. ²⁵ The sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743. ²⁶ The sons of Ramah and Geba, 621. ²⁷ The men of Michmas, 122. ²⁸ The men of Bethel and Ai, 223. ²⁹ The sons of Nebo, 52. ³⁰ The sons of Magbish, 156. ³¹ The sons of ^(E)the other Elam, 1,254. ³² The sons of Harim, 320. ³³ The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725. ³⁴ The sons of Jericho, 345. ³⁵ The sons of Senaah, 3,630.

³⁶ The priests: the ^(F)sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, 973. ³⁷ The sons of Immer, 1,052. ³⁸ The ^(G)sons of Pashhur, 1,247. ³⁹ The sons of Harim, 1,017.

⁴⁰ The Levites: the sons of ^(H)Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, 74. ⁴¹ The singers: the sons of ^(I)Asaph, 128. ⁴² The sons of the ^(J)gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, in all 139.

^43 (K)The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁵ the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, ⁴⁶ the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai, the sons of Hanan, ⁴⁷ the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, ⁴⁸ the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, ⁴⁹ the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, ⁵⁰ the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim, ⁵¹ the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵² the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, ⁵³ the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, ⁵⁴ the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.

^55 (L)The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda, ⁵⁶ the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁷ the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of Ami.

⁵⁸ All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon's servants were 392.

⁵⁹ The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, ^(M)though they could not prove their fathers' houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: ⁶⁰ the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, 652. ⁶¹ Also, of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of ^(N)Barzillai (who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name). ⁶² These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, and ^(O)so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. ⁶³ The ^(P)governor told them that they were not ^(Q)to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult ^(R)Urim and Thummim.

^64 (S)The whole assembly together was 42,360, ⁶⁵ besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337, and they had 200 male and female ^(T)singers. ⁶⁶ Their horses were 736, their mules were 245, ⁶⁷ their camels were 435, and their donkeys were 6,720.

^68 (U)Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of God, to erect it on its site. ⁶⁹ According to their ability they gave to ^(V)the treasury of the work 61,000 darics^[a] of gold, 5,000 minas^[b] of silver, and 100 priests' garments.

^70 (W)Now the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their towns, and all the rest of Israel^[c] in their towns.

Tell of All His Wondrous Works