Luke 2:36 996 996 Luke 3:18
36 There was also a proph et , Anna , the daugh ter of Pe nu el , of the tribe of Asher . She was very old ; she had lived with her hus band sev en years af ter her marriage , 37 and then was a wid ow un til she was eighty-four . a She nev er left the tem ple but wor shiped night and day , fast ing and praying . 38 Com ing up to them at that very mo ment , she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were look ing forward to the redemption of Jerusalem .
39 When Jo seph and Mary had done every thing re quired by the Law of the Lord , they re turned to Gal i lee to their own town of Nazareth . 40 And the child grew and became strong ; he was filled with wisdom , and the grace of God was on him .
The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41 Ev ery year Jesus ’ par ents went to Jeru sa lem for the Fes ti val of the Pass over . 42 When he was twelve years old , they went up to the fes ti val , ac cord ing to the cus tom . 43 Af ter the fes ti val was over , while his parents were re turn ing home , the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem , but they were un aware of it . 44 Think ing he was in their com pa ny , they trav eled on for a day . Then they be gan look ing for him among their relatives and friends . 45 When they did not find him , they went back to Je ru sa lem to look for him . 46 Af ter three days they found him in the tem ple courts , sit ting among the teach ers , lis ten ing to them and ask ing them ques tions . 47 Ev ery one who heard him was amazed at his un der stand ing and his an swers . 48 When his par ents saw him , they were as ton ished . His moth er said to him , “ Son , why have you treat ed us like this ? Your fa ther and I have been anxiously searching for you .”
49 “ Why were you search ing for me ?” he asked . “ Didn ’ t you know I had to be in my Fa ther ’ s house ?” b 50 But they did not un der stand what he was say ing to them .
51 Then he went down to Naz a reth with them and was obe di ent to them . But his moth er trea sured all these things in her heart . 52 And Jesus grew in wis dom and stat ure , and in fa vor with God and man .
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
In the fif teenth year of the reign of
3 Tiberius Caesar — when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea , Herod tetrarch of Galilee , his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis , and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene — 2 during the high-priesthood of An nas and Ca ia phas , the word of God came to John son of Zech a ri ah in the wilder ness . 3 He went into all the coun try around the Jordan , preaching a baptism of re pen tance for the for give ness of sins . 4 As it is writ ten in the book of the words of Isa iah the proph et :
“ A voice of one calling in the wilderness ,
‘ Prepare the way for the Lord , make straight paths for him .
5 Every valley shall be filled in , every mountain and hill made low .
The crooked roads shall become straight , the rough ways smooth . 6 And all people will see God ’ s salvation .’ ” c
7 John said to the crowds com ing out to be bap tized by him , “ You brood of vi pers ! Who warned you to flee from the com ing wrath ? 8 Pro duce fruit in keep ing with repen tance . And do not be gin to say to yourselves , ‘ We have Abra ham as our fa ther .’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up chil dren for Abra ham . 9 The ax is al ready at the root of the trees , and ev ery tree that does not pro duce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire .”
10 “ What should we do then ?” the crowd asked .
11 John an swered , “ Any one who has two shirts should share with the one who has none , and any one who has food should do the same .”
12 Even tax col lec tors came to be baptized . “ Teach er ,” they asked , “ what should we do ?”
13 “ Don ’ t col lect any more than you are re quired to ,” he told them .
14 Then some sol diers asked him , “ And what should we do ?”
He re plied , “ Don ’ t ex tort mon ey and don ’ t accuse people falsely — be content with your pay .”
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all won der ing in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah . 16 John an swered them all , “ I bap tize you with d wa ter . But one who is more pow er ful than I will come , the straps of whose san dals I am not wor thy to un tie . He will bap tize you with d the Holy Spir it and fire . 17 His win now ing fork is in his hand to clear his thresh ing floor and to gath er the wheat into his barn , but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire .” 18 And with many oth er words John ex hort ed the peo ple and pro claimed the good news to them .
a 37 Or then had been a widow for eighty-four years . c d 6 Isaiah 40:3-5 16 Or in b 49 Or be about my Father ’ s business