⁵ ¶ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.

⁷ And they had no child because Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years.

⁸ And it came to pass that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,

⁹ according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense entering into the temple of the Lord.

¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense.

¹¹ And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³ But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

¹⁴ And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵ For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

¹⁶ And he shall turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.

¹⁷ And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the rebellious to the prudence of the just, to make ready a prepared people for the Lord.

¹⁸ And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.

¹⁹ And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee and to show thee this gospel.

²⁰ And, behold, thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou didst not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

²¹ And the people waited for Zacharias and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

²² And when he came out, he could not speak unto them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he communicated with signs and remained speechless.

²³ And it came to pass that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

²⁴ And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived and hid herself five months, saying,

²⁵ Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

²⁶ ¶ And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth

²⁷ to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David and the virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸ And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou that art much graced, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.

²⁹ And when she saw him, she was troubled at his words and wondered in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

³⁰ Then the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.

³¹ And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus.

³² He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David;

³³ and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

³⁴ Then Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

³⁵ And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

³⁶ And, behold, thy relative Elisabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

³⁷ For with God nothing is impossible.

³⁸ Then Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

³⁹ ¶ And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda

⁴⁰ and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth.

⁴¹ And it came to pass that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit;

⁴² and she spoke out with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

⁴³ And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴ For, behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

⁴⁵ And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

⁴⁶ Then Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁴⁷ and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saving Health,

⁴⁸ for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; for, behold, from now on all generations shall call me blessed.

⁴⁹ For he that is mighty has done great things unto me, and holy is his name.

⁵⁰ And his mercy is on those that fear him from generation to generation.

⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

⁵² He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the humble.

⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.

⁵⁴ He has received his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy

⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever.

⁵⁶ And Mary abode with her about three months and then returned to her own house.

Read full chapter

¹⁸ ¶ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: That being, his mother Mary espoused to Joseph (before they came together) she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being just and not willing to expose her publicly, desired to leave her secretly.

²⁰ But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in dreams, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.

²² Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

²³ Behold, a virgin shall conceive and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God With Us.

²⁴ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife

²⁵ and knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus.

Read full chapter

⁵⁷ ¶ Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered and she brought forth a son.

⁵⁸ And her neighbours and her relatives heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹ And it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him Zacharias after the name of his father.

⁶⁰ And his mother answered and said, Not so, but he shall be called John.

⁶¹ And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

⁶² And they communicated with signs to his father, asking how he would have him called.

⁶³ And he asked for a writing table and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marvelled.

⁶⁴ And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke blessing God.

⁶⁵ And fear came on all that dwelt round about them, and all these things were spoken of throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

⁶⁶ And all those that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, Who shall this child be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷ ¶ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and made redemption for his people

⁶⁹ And has raised up a horn of saving health for us in the house of his servant David,

⁷⁰ as he spoke by the mouth of the saints who from the beginning were his prophets;

⁷¹ salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us;

⁷² to fulfill mercy unto our fathers and remembering his holy covenant

⁷³ of the oath which he made to our father Abraham,

⁷⁴ that he would grant unto us, that without fear delivered out of the hand of our enemies, we might serve him

⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

⁷⁶ And thou, child, shalt be called prophet of the Most High, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷ giving knowledge of saving health unto his people for the remission of their sins

⁷⁸ through the bowels of mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us

⁷⁹ to give light to those that dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.

⁸⁰ And the child grew and was comforted of the Spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.

2 ¶ And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

³ And all went to be taxed, each one into his own city.

⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judaea unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and family of David)

⁵ to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶ And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ ¶ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹ And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the clarity of the Lord shone round about them, and they feared greatly.

¹⁰ But the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you a gospel of great joy, which shall be to all the people.

¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.

¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will in man.

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 unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us.

¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger.

¹⁷ And when they had seen it, they made known abroad that which had been told them concerning this child.

¹⁸ And all those that heard it marvelled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.

²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

²¹ ¶ And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which he was called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²² And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

²³ (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens 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, A 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 devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶ And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he should see the Christ of the Lord.

²⁷ And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

²⁸ then he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ Lord, now let thy slave depart in peace, according to thy word,

³⁰ for mine eyes have seen thy saving health,

³¹ which thou hast prepared before the face of all the peoples:

³² a light to be revealed unto the Gentiles and the glory of 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 is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against

³⁵ (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

³⁶ And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was of a great age and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity,

³⁷ and she was a widow eighty-four years, who departed not from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.

³⁸ And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spoke of him to all those that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

2 ¶ Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

² saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.

³ When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he asked them where the Christ should be born.

⁵ And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea, for thus it is written by the prophet,

⁶ And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda, for out of thee shall come a Leader that shall shepherd my people Israel.

⁷ Then Herod, calling the wise men unto him secretly, understood of them with diligence the time of the appearing of the star;

⁸ and sending them to Bethlehem, he said, Go there and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also.

⁹ ¶ When they had heard the king, they departed; and, behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them until it arrived and stood over where the young child was.

¹⁰ Seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

¹¹ And entering into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother; and falling down, they worshipped him; and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh.

¹² And being warned by divine revelation in dreams that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

¹³ ¶ And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in dreams, saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and remain there until I bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young child to kill him.

¹⁴ And awaking, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt

¹⁵ and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

¹⁶ ¶ Then Herod, seeing that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth and sent forth and killed all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had understood of the wise men.

¹⁷ Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁸ In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping and great mourning, Rachel was weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they perished.

¹⁹ ¶ But when Herod was dead, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in dreams to Joseph in Egypt,

²⁰ saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead who sought the death of the young child.

²¹ And he arose and took the young child and his mother and came into the land of Israel.

²² But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judaea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; notwithstanding, being warned by divine revelation in dreams, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee,

²³ and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophets, that he shall be called a Nazarene.

Read full chapter

³⁹ And when they had completed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city Nazareth.

⁴⁰ And the child grew and was comforted of the Spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him.

Read full chapter