*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.) 3 And all went to be ||taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And 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:) 5 To be ||taxed with Mary ihis espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, kwhile they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And 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. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping ||watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord pcame upon them, and the qglory of the Lord shone round about them: and rthey were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For sunto you is born this day tin the city of David ua Saviour, which is xChrist ythe Lord. 12 And this shall be za sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe mwrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a nmanger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel aa multitude bof the heavenly host cpraising God, and saying,

14  dGlory to God ein the highest,

And on earth fpeace,

gGood will toward men.

15 And 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. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a nmanger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 iBut Mary kkept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And 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.

22 And 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;) 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, rA pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

25 And, 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. 26 And it was xrevealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not ysee death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And 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, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and bblessed God, and said,

29  cLord, now dlettest thou thy servant depart

In peace, eaccording to thy word:

30  For mine eyes fhave seen thy salvation,

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

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

33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34 And 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.

36 And 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; 37 And 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. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that tlooked for uredemption in ||Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into wGalilee, to xtheir own city Nazareth. 40 yAnd the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

41 Now 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. 43 And 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. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him damong their kinsfolk and ddacquaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And 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. 47 And gall that heard him hwere astonished at his iunderstanding and answers. 48 And 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. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about kmy Father’s business? 50 And lthey understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to mNazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother nkept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus oincreased in wisdom and ||pstature, and qin favour with God and man.

3 *Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of aTiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate bbeing governor of Judaea, and cHerod being dtetrarch of Galilee, and his brother ePhilip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 fAnnas and gCaiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto hJohn ithe son of Zacharias jin the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance kfor the remission of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, lThe voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6 mAnd all flesh shall see mmthe salvation of God. 7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits ||worthy of repentance, and nbegin not to say within yourselves, We have nnAbraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

10 And the people asked him, saying, oWhat shall we do then? 11 He answereth and saith unto them, pHe that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 12 Then came also qpublicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, owhat shall we do? 13 And he said unto them, rExact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, oAnd what shall we do? And he said unto them, ||Do violence to no man, neither saccuse any falsely; and be content with your ||twages.

15 And as the people were ||in expectation, and all men ||mused in their hearts of John, uwhether he were the Christ, or not; 16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the xlatchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his ygarner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 19 *zBut aHerod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother aPhilip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

21 *Now when all the people were baptized, bit came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and cpraying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

23 *And Jesus himself began to be about dthirty years of age, being (as was supposed) ethe son of Joseph, fwhich was the son of Heli, 24 Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, 25 Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, 26 Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, 27 Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of gZorobabel, which was the son of gSalathiel, which was the son of Neri, 28 Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, 29 Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of