The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

1 The ^[a]record of the genealogy of ^[b]Jesus ^[c]the Messiah, ^(A)the son of David, ^(B)the son of Abraham:

⁵ They said to him, “^(A)In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written ^[a]by the prophet:

⁷ Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them ^[b]the exact time ^(D)the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” ⁹ After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ After coming into the house they saw the Child with ^(E)Mary His mother; and they ^[c]fell to the ground and ^(F)worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And having been ^(G)warned by God ^(H)in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

¹³ Now when they had gone, behold, an ^(I)angel of the Lord *^(J)appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

¹⁴ So ^[d]Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. ¹⁵ He ^[e]remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “^(K)Out of Egypt I called ^(L)My Son.”

Herod Slaughters Babies

¹⁶ Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by ^(M)the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and ^(N)slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. ¹⁷ Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

¹⁹ But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord *^(P)appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, ²⁰ “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” ²¹ So ^[f]Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being ^(Q)warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, ²³ and came and lived in a city called ^(R)Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a ^(S)Nazarene.”

⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because ^(A)he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. ⁶ While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷ And she ^(B)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a ^[a]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And ^(C)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(D)stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “^(E)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 ^(F)Savior, who is ^[b](G)Christ ^(H)the Lord. ^12 (I)This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a ^[c]manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So 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 this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary ^(L)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds went back, ^(M)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

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

^22 (P)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, “^(Q)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, “^(R)A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ^(S)righteous and devout, ^(T)looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And ^(U)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(V)see death before he had seen the Lord’s ^[g]Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^[h](W)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 ^(AA)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary ^(AB)His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for ^(AC)the fall and ^[j]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 ^(AD)prophetess, ^[k]Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(AE)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[l]years ^(AF)and had lived with her husband seven years after her ^[m]marriage, ³⁷ and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with ^(AG)fastings and prayers. ³⁸ At that very ^[n]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were ^(AH)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 ^(AI)their own city of Nazareth. ^40 (AJ)The Child continued to grow and become strong, ^[o]increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

⁴¹ Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at ^(AK)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 ^(AL)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 ^(AM)were amazed at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸ When they saw Him, they were astonished; and ^(AN)His mother said to Him, “^[p]Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^(AO)Your father and I ^[q]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 ^(AP)I had to be in My Father’s ^[r]house?” ⁵⁰ But ^(AQ)they did not understand the statement which He ^[s]had made to them. ⁵¹ And He went down with them and came to ^(AR)Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and ^(AS)His mother ^(AT)treasured all these ^[t]things in her heart.

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