Brought Near by His Blood

¹¹ Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called ^(A)the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— ¹² that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin ^(A)betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, ^(B)“Rejoice, highly favored one, ^(C)the Lord is with you; ^[a]blessed are you among women!”

²⁹ But ^[b]when she saw him, ^(D)she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found ^(E)favor with God.