Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin ^(A)betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, ^(B)“Rejoice, highly favored one, ^(C)the Lord is with you; ^[a]blessed are you among women!”

²⁹ But ^[b]when she saw him, ^(D)she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found ^(E)favor with God. ^31 (F)And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and ^(G)shall call His name Jesus. ³² He will be great, ^(H)and will be called the Son of the Highest; and ^(I)the Lord God will give Him the ^(J)throne of His ^(K)father David. ^33 (L)And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I ^[c]do not know a man?”

³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, ^(M)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called ^(N)the Son of God.

Christ Born of Mary^(A)

¹⁸ Now the ^(B)birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child ^(C)of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being ^[a]a just man, and not wanting ^(D)to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, ^(E)for that which is ^[b]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ^21 (F)And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name ^[c]Jesus, ^(G)for He will save His people from their sins.”

²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ^23 (H)“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

²⁴ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, ²⁵ and ^[d]did not know her till she had brought forth ^(I)her^[e] firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

Christ Born of Mary^(A)

2 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ^2 (B)This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to ^(C)the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, ^(D)because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, ^(E)his betrothed ^[a]wife, who was with child. ⁶ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷ And ^(F)she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a ^[b]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And ^[c]behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, ^(G)and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, ^(H)“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy ^(I)which will be to all people. ^11 (J)For there is born to you this day in the city of David ^(K)a Savior, ^(L)who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a ^[d]manger.”

^13 (M)And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made ^[f]widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ^19 (Q)But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and ^(R)praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Wise Men from the East

2 Now after ^(A)Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, ^[a]wise men ^(B)from the East came to Jerusalem, ² saying, ^(C)“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen ^(D)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 And when he had gathered all ^(E)the chief priests and ^(F)scribes of the people together, ^(G)he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵ So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁷ Then Herod, when he had secretly called the ^[b]wise men, determined from them what time the ^(J)star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

⁹ When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, ^(K)they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² Then, being divinely warned ^(L)in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.