Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(B)Nazareth, ^27 (C)to a virgin betrothed^[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(D)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(E)O favored one, ^(F)the Lord is with you!”^{[b] 29} But ^(G)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(H)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(I)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(J)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(K)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(L)will give to him the throne of ^(M)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(N)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^[c]

³⁵ And the angel answered her, ^(O)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(P)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[d] will be called ^(Q)holy—^(R)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her ^(S)who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(T)nothing will be impossible with God.”

⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and ^(A)wrapped him in swaddling cloths and ^(B)laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in ^(C)the inn.^[a]

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord ^(D)appeared to them, and ^(E)the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all ^(F)the people. ¹¹ For ^(G)unto you is born this day in ^(H)the city of David ^(I)a Savior, who is ^(J)Christ ^(K)the Lord. ¹² And ^(L)this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby ^(M)wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel ^(N)a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby ^(T)lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But ^(U)Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, ^(V)glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.