Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹ And when ^(A)eight days were fulfilled so that they could circumcise Him, ^(B)His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

^22 (C)And when the days for their cleansing according to the Law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the ^[a]Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the ^[b]Lord, “^(D)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the ^[c]Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the ^[d]Lord, “^(E)A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was ^(F)righteous and devout, ^(G)waiting for the ^[e](H)comfort of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And ^(I)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(J)see death before he had seen the ^[f]Lord’s ^[g]Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus ^[h](K)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸ then he took Him into his arms and blessed God, and said,

³³ And His father and ^(O)mother were marveling at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary ^(P)His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for ^(Q)the fall and ^[i]rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— ³⁵ and a sword will pierce through your own soul as well—that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was a ^(R)prophetess, ^[j]Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(S)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[k]years ^(T)having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with ^(U)fastings and prayers. ³⁸ And at that very ^[l]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were ^(V)waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

³⁹ And when they had finished everything according to the Law of the ^[m]Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^(W)their own city of Nazareth. ^40 (X)Now the Child continued to grow and become strong, being filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

⁴¹ And His parents would go to Jerusalem every year at ^(Y)the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He became twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; ⁴³ and as they were returning, after finishing the ^(Z)days of the Feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents did not know. ⁴⁴ But supposing Him to be in the caravan, they went a day’s journey, and they began searching for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem searching for Him. ⁴⁶ And it happened that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard Him ^(AA)were astounded at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸ When they saw Him, they were astonished, and ^(AB)His mother said to Him, “Child, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^(AC)Your father and I ^[n]have been anxiously searching for You.” ⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why is it that you were searching for Me? Did you not know that ^(AD)I had to be in My Father’s ^[o]house?” ⁵⁰ But ^(AE)they did not understand the statement which He had spoken to them. ⁵¹ And He went down with them and came to ^(AF)Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them, and ^(AG)His mother ^(AH)was treasuring all these ^[p]things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus was advancing in wisdom and ^[q]stature, and in ^(AI)favor with God and men.

²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus ^[a](A)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,