Luke 1:77 | 995 995 Luke 2:35
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins ,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God , by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death , to guide our feet into the path of peace .”
80 And the child grew and be came strong in spirit a ; and he lived in the wil der ness until he appeared publicly to Israel .
The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued
2 a de cree that a cen sus should be tak en of the entire Roman world . 2 ( This was the b
first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria .) 3 And everyone went to their own town to reg is ter .
4 So Jo seph also went up from the town of Naz a reth in Gal i lee to Ju dea , to Bethle hem the town of Da vid , be cause he belonged to the house and line of Da vid . 5 He went there to reg is ter with Mary , who was pledged to be mar ried to him and was expecting a child . 6 While they were there , the time came for the baby to be born , 7 and she gave birth to her first born , a son . She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a man ger , be cause there was no guest room avail able for them .
8 And there were shep herds liv ing out in the fields near by , keep ing watch over their flocks at night . 9 An an gel of the Lord ap peared to them , and the glo ry of the Lord shone around them , and they were ter ri fied . 10 But the an gel said to them , “ Do not be afraid . I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the peo ple . 11 To day in the town of Da vid a Sav ior has been born to you ; he is the Mes si ah , the Lord . 12 This will be a sign to you : You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and ly ing in a man ger .”
13 Sud den ly a great com pa ny of the heav en ly host ap peared with the an gel , prais ing God and say ing ,
14 “ Glory to God in the highest heaven , and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests .”
15 When the an gels had left them and gone into heav en , the shep herds said to one an oth er , “ Let ’ s go to Beth le hem and see this thing that has hap pened , which the Lord has told us about .”
16 So they hur ried off and found Mary and Jo seph , and the baby , who was ly ing in the man ger . 17 When they had seen him , they spread the word con cern ing what had been told them about this child , 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shep herds said to them . 19 But Mary trea sured up all these things and pondered them in her heart . 20 The shepherds returned , glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen , which were just as they had been told .
21 On the eighth day , when it was time to circumcise the child , he was named Jesus , the name the an gel had giv en him be fore he was conceived .
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the pu ri fi cation rites re quired by the Law of Mo ses , Jo seph and Mary took him to Je ru sa lem to pre sent him to the Lord 23 ( as it is writ ten in the Law of the Lord , “ Ev ery first born male is to be con se crat ed to the Lord ” c ), 24 and to of fer a sac ri fice in keep ing with what is said in the Law of the Lord : “ a pair of doves or two young pigeons .” d
25 Now there was a man in Je ru sa lem called Sim e on , who was righ teous and de vout . He was wait ing for the con so lation of Is ra el , and the Holy Spir it was on him . 26 It had been re vealed to him by the Holy Spir it that he would not die be fore he had seen the Lord ’ s Mes si ah . 27 Moved by the Spir it , he went into the tem ple courts . When the par ents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the cus tom of the Law re quired , 28 Sim e on took him in his arms and praised God , say ing :
29 “ Sovereign Lord , as you have promised , you may now dismiss e your servant in peace . 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation , 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations : 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles , and the glory of your people
Israel .”
33 The child ’ s fa ther and moth er marveled at what was said about him . 34 Then Sim e on blessed them and said to Mary , his moth er : “ This child is des tined to cause the fall ing and ris ing of many in Is ra el , and to be a sign that will be spo ken against , 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be re vealed . And a sword will pierce your own soul too .”
a 80 Or in the Spirit b 2 Or This census took place before c 23 Exodus 13:2,12 d 24 Lev . 12:8 e 29 Or promised , / now dismiss