Luke 2

²This was the first census that happened when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

³Everyone travelled to their own hometown to be counted.

⁴Joseph travelled from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea — the city of King David — because Joseph was from David's family.

⁵He went with Mary, who was soon going to have her baby.

⁶While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary's baby to be born.

⁷Mary gave birth to her baby boy, wrapped Him in cloths to keep Him warm, and laid Him in a manger — because there was no room for them at the inn.

⁸That same night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby, watching over their sheep through the darkness.

⁹Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the blazing glory of God lit up the sky all around them. The shepherds were terrified!

¹⁰The angel said, 'Don't be afraid! I have wonderful news — news of great joy for everyone in the whole world!'

¹¹The angel said: 'Today, in Bethlehem — the city of King David — a Saviour has been born for you. He is Christ the Lord!'

¹²The angel said: 'You will recognise Him by this sign — a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger.'

¹³Suddenly the whole sky was filled with a huge army of angels, all praising God!

¹⁴The angels sang: 'Glory to God in the highest heaven! And peace on earth to all whom God loves!'

¹⁵When the angels went back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other: 'Let's go to Bethlehem right now and see what God has told us about!'

¹⁶They hurried off and found Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus lying in the manger — exactly as the angel had said.

¹⁷After seeing Jesus, the shepherds told everyone what the angel had said about this special baby.

¹⁸Everyone who heard the shepherds' story was amazed.

¹⁹But Mary quietly kept all of these things in her heart, thinking about them deeply.

²⁰The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen — it all happened just as the angel had said!

²¹Eight days after Jesus was born, He was given His name — Jesus — the name the angel had spoken before He was even born.

²²After the time of purification set by Moses's law, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him to God.

²³This was following God's law, which said that every firstborn son belongs to the Lord.

²⁴They also brought an offering to God — two doves, as the law required.

²⁵In Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He loved God and lived rightly. His whole life he had been waiting for the promised Saviour — and God's Spirit was with him.

²⁶God's Spirit had promised Simeon that he would not die before he saw the promised Saviour with his own eyes.

²⁷Led by the Spirit, Simeon went to the temple that day — and just then Mary and Joseph came in with baby Jesus.

²⁸Simeon took baby Jesus into his arms and praised God.

²⁹Simeon said: 'Lord, now I can go in peace — because Your promise has come true.'

³⁰Simeon said: 'My eyes have seen Your salvation!'

³¹God had prepared this salvation for all the people of the world to see.

³²Jesus is a light to people of every nation — and the glory of God's people Israel.

³³Joseph and Mary were amazed at everything Simeon said about Jesus.

³⁴Simeon blessed them and told Mary: 'This child will cause many in Israel to either fall or rise — and many will speak against Him.'

³⁵Simeon told Mary: 'A sword will pierce your own soul too — and the thoughts of many hearts will be shown.'

³⁶There was also a prophetess named Anna. She was very old and had been married for seven years when she was young.

³⁷Anna was a widow of 84 years. She stayed in the temple, worshipping God day and night with prayer and fasting.

³⁸Anna came up to them at that very moment, gave thanks to God, and told everyone who was waiting for God's rescue about baby Jesus.

³⁹After Mary and Joseph had done everything the law required, they returned to their home in Nazareth.

⁴⁰Jesus grew up strong and full of wisdom, and God's grace rested on Him.

⁴¹Every year, Jesus's family travelled to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.

⁴²When Jesus was twelve years old, they made the journey to Jerusalem as usual for the festival.

⁴³When the festival was over and the family started heading home, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem — but Mary and Joseph didn't know it.

⁴⁴Thinking Jesus was with their group, they walked a full day's journey before looking for Him among their relatives and friends.

⁴⁵When they could not find Him, they turned around and went all the way back to Jerusalem to search for Him.

⁴⁶After three days of searching, they found Jesus in the temple — sitting among the teachers, listening and asking them questions.

⁴⁷Everyone who heard Jesus was astounded by His deep understanding and His answers.

⁴⁸When Mary and Joseph saw Him, they were astonished. Mary said: 'Son, why did You do this to us? Your father and I have been searching for You with such worry!'

⁴⁹Jesus said to them: 'Why were you looking for Me? Didn't you know that I had to be here in My Father's house?'

⁵⁰But Mary and Joseph did not understand what He meant.

⁵¹Jesus went back home to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And Mary kept all these things in her heart.

⁵²Jesus kept growing — in wisdom, in body, in favour with God, and in favour with people.