Luke 2

2^*And it came to pass in those days, that there went out ^aa decree from Caesar Augustus, that all ^bthe world should be ^||taxed. ²(And this ^ctaxing was first made when Cyrenius ^dwas governor of ^ddSyria.) ³And all went to be ^||taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴And Joseph also ^ewent up from ^fGalilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto ^gthe city of David, which is called Beth-lehem; ^h(because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵To be ^||taxed with Mary ⁱhis espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶And so it was, that, ^kwhile they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷And she brought forth ^lher firstborn son, and ^mwrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a ⁿmanger; because there was no room for them in the ^oinn. ⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping ^||watch over their flock by night. ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord ^pcame upon them, and the ^qglory of the Lord shone round about them: and ^rthey were sore afraid. ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹For ^sunto you is born this day ^tin the city of David ^ua Saviour, which is ^xChrist ^ythe Lord. ¹²And this shall be ^za sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe ^mwrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a ⁿmanger. ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel ^aa multitude ^bof the heavenly host ^cpraising God, and saying,

^14dGlory to God ^ein the highest,

And on earth ^fpeace,

^gGood will toward men.

¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, ^†the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto ^hBeth-lehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a ⁿmanger. ¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ⁱBut Mary ^kkept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds returned, ^lglorifying and ^cpraising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

^21*mAnd when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called ⁿJESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²²And when ^othe days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, ^pthey brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; ²³(As it is written in the law of the Lord, ^qEvery male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) ²⁴And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, ^rA pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

²⁵And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and ^sdevout, ^twaiting for the ^uconsolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. ²⁶And it was ^xrevealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not ^ysee death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷And he came ^zby the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^ato do for him after the custom of the law, ²⁸Then took he him up in his arms, and ^bblessed God, and said,

^29cLord, now ^dlettest thou thy servant depart

In peace, ^eaccording to thy word:

³⁰For mine eyes ^fhave seen thy salvation,

^31gWhich thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

^32hA light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory ⁱof thy people Israel.

³³And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. ³⁴And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child ^kis set for the ^lfall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign ^mwhich shall be spoken against; ³⁵(Yea, a ⁿsword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that ^othe thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

³⁶And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of ^pAser: she ^qwas of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but ^sserved God with ^rfastings and ^rprayers ^snight and day. ³⁸And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that ^tlooked for ^uredemption in ^||Jerusalem. ³⁹And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into ^wGalilee, to ^xtheir own city Nazareth. ^40yAnd the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

⁴¹Now his parents went to Jerusalem ^zevery year ^aat the feast of the passover. ^42*And when he was twelve years old, ^bthey went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. ⁴³And when they had fulfilled ^cthe days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. ⁴⁴But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him ^damong their kinsfolk and ^ddacquaintance. ⁴⁵And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. ⁴⁶And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, ^esitting in the midst of the ^fdoctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And ^gall that heard him ^hwere astonished at his ⁱunderstanding and answers. ⁴⁸And when they saw him, they were ^gamazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, ^kthy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. ⁴⁹And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about ^kmy Father’s business? ⁵⁰And ^lthey understood not the saying which he spake unto them. ⁵¹And he went down with them, and came to ^mNazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother ⁿkept all these sayings in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus ^oincreased in wisdom and ^||pstature, and ^qin favour with God and man.