Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

2 Now in those days a decree went out from [the emperor] ^[a]Caesar Augustus, that all the inhabited world (the Roman Empire) should be ^[b]registered [in a census]. ² This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And everyone went to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴ So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register with Mary, who was ^[c]betrothed to him, and was with child.^{(A) 6} While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth, ⁷ and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [^[d]swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a ^[e]manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.

⁸ In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone around 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 great joy which will be for ^[f]all the people. ¹¹ For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah).^{(B) 12} And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find a Baby wrapped in [swaddling] cloths and lying in a manger.”^{(C) 13} Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host (angelic army) praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying one to another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem, and see this [wonderful] thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the Baby as He lay in the manger. ¹⁷ And when they had seen this, they made known what had been told them about this Child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were astounded and wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹ At the end of eight days, when He was to be circumcised, He was named Jesus, the name given [to Him] by the angel [Gabriel] before He was conceived in the womb.

²² And when the time for their purification came [that is, the mother’s purification and the baby’s dedication] according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord [set apart as the Firstborn]^{(D) 23} (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy [set apart and dedicated] to the Lord)”^{(E) 24} and [they came also] to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord [to be appropriate for a family of modest means], “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”^(F)

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout [carefully observing the divine Law], and looking for the ^[g]Consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed). ²⁷ Prompted by the Spirit, he came into the temple [enclosure]; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^[h]to do for Him the custom required by the Law, ²⁸ Simeon took Him into his arms, and blessed and praised and thanked God, and said,

³³ And His [legal] father and His mother were amazed at what was said about Him. ³⁴ Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Listen carefully: this Child is appointed and destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for ^[i]a sign that is to be opposed—^{(I) 35} and a sword [of deep sorrow] will pierce through your own soul—so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ There was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,^{(J) 37} and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the [area of the] temple, but was serving and worshiping night and day with fastings and prayers. ³⁸ She, too, came up at that very moment and began praising and giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all who were looking for the redemption and deliverance of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹ And when they had done everything [in connection with Jesus’ birth] according to the Law of the Lord, they went back to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the Child continued to grow and become strong [in spirit], filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor, spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.^(K)

Visit to Jerusalem

⁴¹ Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover Feast.^{(L) 42} And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, according to the custom of the Feast; ⁴³ and as they were returning [to ^[j]Nazareth], after spending the required number of days [at the Feast], the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. Now His parents did not know this, ⁴⁴ but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and traveled a day’s journey; and [then] they began searching [anxiously] for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ When they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for Him [everywhere]. ⁴⁶ Three days later they found Him in the [court of the] temple, sitting among the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ All who heard Him were amazed by His intelligence and His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸ When they saw Him, they were overwhelmed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Listen, Your ^[k]father and I have been [greatly distressed and] anxiously looking for You.” ⁴⁹ And He answered, “Why did you have to look for Me? Did you not know that I had to be ^[l]in My Father’s house?” ⁵⁰ But they did not understand what He had said to them. ⁵¹ He went down to Nazareth with them, and was continually submissive and obedient to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.^(M)

John the Baptist Preaches

3 Now in the fifteenth year of [Emperor] ^[m]Tiberius Caesar’s reign—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod [Antipas] was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene— ² in the high ^[n]priesthood of Annas and ^[o]Caiaphas [his son-in-law], the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. ³ And he went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin; ⁴ as it is written and forever remains written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

⁷ So he began saying to the crowds who were coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of ^[r]vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath [of God that is] to come? ⁸ Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]. And do not even begin to say to yourselves [as a defense], ‘We have Abraham for our father [and so our heritage assures us of salvation]’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham [for God can replace the unrepentant, regardless of their heritage, with those who are obedient].^{(O) 9} Even now the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; so every tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ The crowds asked him, “Then what are we to do?” ¹¹ And John replied, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do the same.” ¹² Even some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked, “Teacher, what are we to do?” ¹³ And he told them, “Collect no more than the fixed amount you have been ordered to [collect].” ¹⁴ Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us, what are we to do?” And he replied to them, “Do not ^[s]extort money from anyone or harass or blackmail anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now the people were in a state of expectation, and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed). ¹⁶ John answered them all by saying, “As for me, I baptize you [only] ^[t]with water; but One who is mightier [more powerful, more noble] than I is coming, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals [even as His slave]. He will baptize you [who truly repent] with the Holy Spirit and [you who remain unrepentant] with ^[u]fire.^{(P) 17} His ^[v]winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom); but He will burn up the chaff (the unrepentant) with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So with many other appeals and various admonitions John preached the good news (gospel) to the people. ¹⁹ But when Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch was repeatedly reprimanded [and convicted by John’s disapproval] for having ^[w]Herodias, his brother’s wife [as his own], and for all the wicked things that Herod had done,^{(Q) 20} he also added this to them all: he locked up John in prison.

Jesus’ Baptism

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, the [visible] heaven was opened,^{(R) 22} and the ^[x]Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “You are My Son, My Beloved, in You I am well-pleased and delighted!”^(S)

Genealogy of Jesus

²³ When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son [by marriage] of Eli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.^(T)