Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

3 That is why I, Paul, am a prisoner who belongs to Jesus Christ. It is for the sake of you people who are not Jews.

² I am sure you have heard that God gave me work to do for you.

³ He showed me what his plan was. And I have already written a little about it to you.

⁴ When you read this, you can understand why I know about his plan for Christ.

⁵ In the past, God did not tell his plan to people. But now the Holy Spirit has shown it to his holy apostles and prophets.

⁶ This is God's plan. Those who are not Jews will also share in the blessings of God. They also are a part of the body of Jesus Christ. They also will receive the things God has promised in Jesus Christ through the good news.

⁷ God gave me the work of telling that good news. And he blessed me by his power.

⁸ I am less than the least of all God's people, and yet he blessed me. It is my work to tell those who are not Jews about the wonderful blessings of Christ. There are so many that we cannot know them all.

⁹ God has blessed me so that I might tell all people plainly what his plan is. God, who made all things, did not tell anyone about his plan in all the times in the past.

¹⁰ Now he wants those who rule and have power in the sky to know how very wise God is. They will know this when they look at the church people.

¹¹ This is what God has always planned to do. And he did it in Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹² In Christ we are not to be afraid to come to God. We are sure we can come because we believe in Christ.

2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in the country of Judea. Herod was the king. After Jesus was born, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem.

² They asked, `Where is the child who has been born to be King of the Jews? We saw his star rising and we have come to worship him.'

³ When King Herod heard this, he was very troubled. All the people in Jerusalem were troubled also.

⁴ He called all the chief priests and the scribes of the Jews for a meeting. He asked them, `Where is the Christ to be born?'

⁵ They told him, `In Bethlehem in Judea. That is what the prophet, the man of God long ago, wrote:

⁶ "Bethlehem in the country of Judah, you are not the least among the leaders in Judah. A leader will come from you who will rule over my people Israel." '

⁷ Then Herod called the wise men to talk with them secretly. He found out from them what time they saw the star.

⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, `Go and ask everywhere until you find the child. When you have found him, come and tell me, so that I myself may go and worship him.'

⁹ After they heard what the king said, they went away. And the star, which they had seen rising, went in front of them. It stopped above the place where the child was.

¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were very glad.

¹¹ They went into the house, and there they saw the child and Mary his mother. They kneeled down and worshipped him. Then they opened their bags and gave him gifts. These gifts were gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

¹² In a dream they were told not to go back to Herod. So they went home by a different road.