Luke 2

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

²¹But when Paul appealed to be held over for the decision of the Emperor, I ordered that he be held until I could send him to Caesar.”

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

²But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

⁴²Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”

¹Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”

²³and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

¹⁶Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read,

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.

²²If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

²³If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,

¹¹The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.

¹And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

²She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth.

²But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

²¹Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the Lord will prevail.

⁵⁷When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son.

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

²He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.

³He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹¹Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

¹²And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.

⁷⁰He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;

⁷¹from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

³⁹I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.

⁴⁰As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.

⁸All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

⁹I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.

³⁴David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

³⁵I went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it.

⁸‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,

¹Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

²There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.

¹Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

¹⁸And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

²³For just last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me

¹After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory.

¹¹so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

¹³About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.

¹⁴We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

⁹Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

¹The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

⁷How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

³I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

³⁰So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

²¹She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

⁴But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,

⁵He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

³⁶Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

⁴²They said to the woman, “We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world.”

¹⁴Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

¹Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

²He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.

¹¹“Ask for a sign from the Lord your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”

⁶But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.

²⁹And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

⁸Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?”

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels encircling the throne, and the living creatures and the elders. And their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.

²Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.

²⁰Bless the Lord, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.

²¹Bless the Lord, all His hosts, you servants who do His will.

¹⁹Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.

¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

¹⁴Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

³⁸“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

⁷⁹to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

²⁰and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.

²⁰Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

²¹equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

²asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

⁵¹While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven.

³So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?”

⁹After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was.

¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight.

²Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

³²So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them.

¹²And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

¹³So they went and found it just as Jesus had told them. And they prepared the Passover.

³⁹In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah,

¹⁰Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹⁶Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for me.

³⁹“Return home and describe how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and proclaimed all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.

¹⁷O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.

¹⁸Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.

³⁸Coming forward at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell securely.

¹⁰For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

¹⁶At that time those who feared the Lord spoke with one another, and the Lord listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the Lord and honored His name.

⁶⁵All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events.

⁶⁶And all who heard this wondered in their hearts and asked, “What then will this child become?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

³⁶All the people were overcome with amazement and asked one another, “What is this message? With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

³³The Child’s father and mother were amazed at what was spoken about Him.

¹⁸Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

⁹For he and his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,

¹⁰and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to Simon. “From now on you will catch men.”

⁴⁷And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

⁵¹Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

⁶⁶And all who heard this wondered in their hearts and asked, “What then will this child become?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

⁴he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.

¹²Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

¹¹And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

⁹Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them.

⁴⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!

¹⁸When they heard this, they had no further objections, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

¹⁰Then David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

¹¹Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.

¹⁷May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.

¹⁸Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.

⁸When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

¹⁹The humble will increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

³And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised.

¹²Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring.

³¹Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.

⁵⁹On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah.

²¹She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

⁵to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.

¹Then the Lord said to Moses,

²“Say to the Israelites, ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be unclean for seven days, as she is during the days of her menstruation.

²“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”

¹³for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They are Mine; I am the Lord.”

²⁹You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.

¹⁵The firstborn of every womb, whether man or beast, that is offered to the Lord belongs to you. But you must surely redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.

¹⁹The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep.

¹⁶For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.

¹⁷For every firstborn male in Israel is Mine, both man and beast. I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

⁶When the days of her purification are complete, whether for a son or for a daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.

⁷And the priest will present them before the Lord and make atonement for her; and she shall be ceremonially cleansed from her flow of blood. This is the law for a woman giving birth, whether to a male or to a female.

²“Say to the Israelites, ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be unclean for seven days, as she is during the days of her menstruation.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

⁹And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

³⁸Coming forward at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

⁶Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.

¹²It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.

⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁵¹Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”

⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

²⁷But I tell you truly, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

³¹But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

¹⁴The Lord confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.

²²And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

¹Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

⁴⁸When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”

⁴¹Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.

¹⁹As Peter continued to reflect on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

⁵¹Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

⁶⁴Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak, praising God.

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

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”

³⁶Then He had a little child stand among them. Taking the child in His arms, He said to them,

²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them.

¹⁶And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.

⁴⁶Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,

¹³And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”

¹⁵You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.

²³I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

³⁰Then Israel said to Joseph, “Finally I can die, now that I have seen your face and know that you are still alive!”

¹The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous are taken away from the presence of evil.

²Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest, lying down in death.

²⁶The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

⁶He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

¹¹Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

¹⁸I await Your salvation, O Lord.

¹⁰The Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

⁶And all humanity will see God’s salvation.’”

¹These are the last words of David: “The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man raised on high, the one anointed by the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel:

²The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; His word was on my tongue.

¹“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.

²He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the streets.

¹For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch.

²Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.

²The Lord has proclaimed His salvation and revealed His righteousness to the nations.

³He has remembered His love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

¹⁰Sing to the Lord a new song—His praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who dwell in them.

¹¹Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the villages of Kedar cry aloud. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.

²¹Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the Lord? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me.

²²Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

⁶The heavens proclaim His righteousness; all the peoples see His glory.

⁷All worshipers of images are put to shame—those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!

¹Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

²For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you.

⁶He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

²³that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”

⁴⁷For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

⁶“I, the Lord, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,

⁷to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.

²The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.

¹⁸Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

⁶⁵All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events.

⁶⁶And all who heard this wondered in their hearts and asked, “What then will this child become?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

⁴⁸When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”

²³but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

⁷To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

⁸and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.

¹⁴And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.

¹⁵Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”

⁴⁴He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

¹⁵For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

¹⁶To the one we are an odor that brings death, to the other a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?

¹Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest

²and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

²Remember that these forty years the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.

¹⁹And indeed, there must be differences among you to show which of you are approved.

²⁴But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.”

²⁵Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

¹⁴The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.

¹⁵So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.

²¹You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

²²Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.

¹⁵The princes of Issachar were with Deborah, and Issachar was with Barak, rushing into the valley at his heels. In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision.

¹⁶Why did you sit among the sheepfolds to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision.

¹⁴In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain,

²⁰Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.

¹³Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

⁴Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

¹⁸Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

⁹He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

⁵The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers.

⁶Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

²³Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.

⁴One thing I have asked of the Lord; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and seek Him in His temple.

³And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

⁷the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews.

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

¹⁵Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.

⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.

²¹But we were hoping He was the One who would redeem Israel. And besides all this, it is the third day since these things took place.

²⁸Simeon took Him in his arms and blessed God, saying:

²⁹“Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.

⁴So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David.

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

⁵to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.

¹⁵“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.

³²See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.

²¹When the eight days before His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He was conceived.

²²And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

²²But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,

²³and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

⁵²And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.

¹Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

²The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

²⁶And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with man.

¹Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

²He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.

¹⁶The fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover.

⁵The Passover to the Lord begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.

¹⁴Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.

¹⁵You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.

¹Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, because in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

²You are to offer to the Lord your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for His Name.

¹⁴And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the Lord, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.

²³Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.

²¹The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the Lord day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the Lord.

²²And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the Lord. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

¹⁵For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.

¹⁷Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent word to the king of Israel Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. “Come, let us meet face to face,” he said.

³And many peoples will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

¹A song of ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

²Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.

⁴These things come to mind as I pour out my soul: how I walked with the multitude, leading the festive procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and praise.

¹Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The Lord called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.

²He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.

¹⁷One day Jesus was teaching, and the Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. People had come from Jerusalem and from every village of Galilee and Judea, and the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick.

⁴The Lord God has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.

⁶³“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’

⁶⁴So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.”

⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,

³²They were astonished at His teaching, because His message had authority.

⁹⁹I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.

¹⁵The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man attain such learning without having studied?”

²²All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.

⁴⁶“Never has anyone spoken like this man!” the officers answered.

⁴⁹“Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

⁴⁶While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him.

²³Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,

²²All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.

³⁸For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.

²⁹He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”

¹“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the Lord of Hosts.

⁸I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”

³⁴Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

⁴⁸When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”

³⁴But the disciples did not understand any of these things. The meaning was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was saying.

³²But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

⁴⁵But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

²⁸Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”

¹¹And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

³Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him.

²¹Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

²“Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise),

⁴⁰And the Child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.

³Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.

²⁶And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with man.

¹⁸For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.

⁹Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him

¹⁰and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.