John 1
1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing
came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not
comprehend it.
6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John (the Baptist).
7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all
might believe through him.
8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light...
The Birth of
John the Baptist Foretold
LUKE 1
5 In the days of Herod,
king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of
the division of Abijah; and he had a wife [from
the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking
blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of
the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren,
and they were both advanced in years.
8 Now it happened that while he was performing his
priestly service before God in the appointed order of
his division,
9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was
chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn
incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer
outside at the hour of the incense offering.
11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to
the right of the altar of incense.
12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and
fear gripped him.
13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid,
Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your
wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give
him the name John.
14 "You will have joy and gladness, and many will
rejoice at his birth.
15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and
he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled
with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.
16 "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to
the Lord their God.
17 "It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in
the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF
THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to
the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord."
18 Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this
for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced
in years."
19 The angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel,
who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent
to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20 "And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak
until the day when these things take place, because you
did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in
their proper time."
21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were
wondering at his delay in the temple.
22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them;
and they realized that he had seen a vision in the
temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained
mute.
23 When the days of his priestly service were ended, he
went back home.
24 After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant,
and she kept herself in seclusion for five months,
saying,
25 "This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the
days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my
disgrace among men."
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JOHN 1
9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens
every man.
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,
the world did not recognize him
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive
him
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God -
13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a
husband's will, but born of God.
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His
glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace
and truth...
Jesus'
Birth Foretold
LUKE 1
26 Now in the sixth month
the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee
called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was
Mary.
28 And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored
one! The Lord is with you."
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and
kept pondering what kind of salutation this
was.
30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for
you have found favor with God.
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear
a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the
Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of
His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and His kingdom will have no end."
34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am
a virgin?"
35 The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall
be called the Son of God.
36 "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also
conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called
barren is now in her sixth month.
37 "For nothing will be impossible with God."
38 And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord;
may it be done to me according to your word." And the
angel departed from her.
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Mary Visits Elizabeth - John is Born
LUKE 1
39 Now at this time Mary arose and
went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her
womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 "And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would
come to me?
44 "For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the
baby leaped in my womb for joy.
45 "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a
fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to
her home.
57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave
birth to a son.
58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed
His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise
the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his
father.
60 But his mother answered and said, "No indeed; but he shall be
called John."
61 And they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who
is called by that name."
62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him
called.
63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is
John." And they were all astonished.
64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he
began to speak in praise of God.
65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters
were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.
66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, "What then will
this child turn out to be?" For the hand of the Lord was certainly
with him.
80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong
in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public
appearance to Israel.
The Birth
of Jesus
Matthew 1
18
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His
mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they
came together she was found to be with child by the Holy
Spirit.
19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not
wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away
secretly.
20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph,
son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your
wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of
the Holy Spirit.
21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name
Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by
the Lord through the prophet:
23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL
BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,"
which translated means, "GOD WITH US."
24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel
of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth
to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Luke 2
1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar
Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited
earth.
2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was
governor of Syria.
3 And everyone was on his way to register for the
census, each to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of
Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called
Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of
David,
5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged
to him, and was with child.
6 While they were there, the days were completed for her
to give birth.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she
wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the inn.
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying
out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by
night.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they
were terribly frightened.
10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for
behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be
for all the people;
11 for today in the city of David there has been born
for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby
wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go
straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has
happened which the Lord has made known to us."
16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary
and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
17 When they had seen this, they made known the
statement which had been told them about this Child.
18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which
were told them by the shepherds.
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Jesus Presented at the Temple
LUKE 2
21
And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name
was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was
conceived in the womb.
22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of
Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present
Him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "EVERY firstborn MALE
THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD"),
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of
the Lord, "A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS."
25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this
man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel;
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would
not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents
brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the
Law,
28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in
peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
And the glory of Your people Israel."
33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were
being said about Him.
34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Behold,
this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and
for a sign to be opposed--
35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul--to the end that
thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the
tribe of Asher She was advanced in years and had lived with her
husband seven years after her marriage,
37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the
temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
38 At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God,
and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the
redemption of Jerusalem.
The Magi
Matthew 2
1
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the
days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in
Jerusalem, saying,
2 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For
we saw His star in the east and have come to worship
Him."
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and
all Jerusalem with him.
4 Gathering together all the chief
priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them
where the Messiah was
5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for
this is what has been written by the prophet:
6 'AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,
ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;
FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER
WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'"
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined
from them the exact time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search
carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him,
report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."
9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the
star, which they had seen in the east, went on before
them until it came and stood over the place where the
Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly
with great joy.
11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with
Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and
worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they
presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to
return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by
another way.
The Flight to Egypt
13
Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take
the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain
there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for
the Child to destroy Him."
14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother
while it was still night, and left for Egypt.
15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was
to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the
prophet: "OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON."
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the
magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the
male children who were in Bethlehem and all its
vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the
time which he had determined from the magi.
17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the
prophet was fulfilled:
18 "A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH,
WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING,
RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN;
AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED,
BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE."
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,
20 "Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into
the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's
life are dead."
21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and
came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over
Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go
there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he
left for the regions of Galilee,
23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth This was
to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He
shall be called a Nazarene."s to be born.
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