Luke 2:1-4:41

^2:1 Now it happened in those days, that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. ² This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city. ⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; ⁵ to enroll himself with Miriam, who was pledged to be married to him, being pregnant.

⁶ It happened, while they were there, that the day had come that she should give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him with pieces of cloth, and placed him in a feeding trough, because there was no guest room available for them. ⁸ There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. ⁹ And look, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. ¹¹ For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.” ¹³ Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward humankind.”

¹⁵ And it happened that when the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said one to another, “Let us go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ They came with haste, and found both Miriam and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough. ¹⁷ When they saw it, they made known the saying which was spoken to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Miriam kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.

²¹ When eight days were fulfilled to circumcise him, his name was called Yeshua, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²² When the days of their purification according to the Law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb will be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ And look, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Yeshua, that they might do concerning him according to the requirement of the Law, ²⁸ then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹ “Now you are releasing your servant, Lord,
according to your word, in peace;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹ which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;
³² a light for revelation to the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him, ³⁴ and Simeon blessed them, and said to Miriam, his mother, “Look, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. ³⁵ Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ There was one Hannah, a prophetess, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, ³⁷ and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fastings and petitions night and day. ³⁸ Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹ When they had accomplished all things that were according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. ⁴⁰ The child was growing, and was becoming strong, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. ⁴¹ His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.

⁴² When he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the feast, ⁴³ and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Yeshua stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴ but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey, and they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him. ⁴⁶ It happened 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 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Look, your father and I were anxiously looking for you.”

⁴⁹ He said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be doing the works of my Father?” ⁵⁰ They did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. ⁵² And Yeshua increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people.

^3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ² in the cohanim gedolim of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. ³ He came into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming the immersion of repentance for forgiveness of sins. ⁴ As it is written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord.
Make his roads straight.
⁵ Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low,
and the crooked will be made straight,
and the rough ways smooth.
⁶ And all humanity will see the salvation of God.'”

⁷ He said therefore to the crowds who went out to be immersed by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ⁹ Even now the axe also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ The crowds asked him, “What then must we do?”

¹¹ He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”

¹² Tax collectors also came to be immersed, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”

¹³ He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.”

¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?”

He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.”

¹⁵ As the people were in expectation, and all were wondering in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Messiah, ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I indeed immerse you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will immerse you with the Holy Spirit and with fire, ¹⁷ whose winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people, ¹⁹ but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done, ²⁰ added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison. ²¹ Now it happened, when all the people were immersed, Yeshua also had been immersed, and was praying. The sky was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”

²³ When he began, Yeshua was about thirty years old, being the son, as was supposed, of Joseph, of Eli, ²⁴ of Mattat, of Levi, of Melchi, of Jannai, of Joseph, ²⁵ of Mattithiah, of Amos, of Nahum, of Hesli, of Naggai, ²⁶ of Mahath, of Mattithiah, of Shimei, of Joseph, of Judah, ²⁷ of Johanan, of Rhesa, of Zerubbabel, of Shealtiel, of Neri, ²⁸ of Melchi, of Addi, of Cosam, of Elmodam, of Er, ²⁹ of Josi, of Eliezer, of Jorim, of Mattat, of Levi, ³⁰ of Simeon, of Judah, of Joseph, of Jehonan, of Eliakim, ³¹ of Maleah, of Menan, of Mattattah, of Nathan, of David, ³² of Jesse, of Obed, of Boaz, of Salmon, of Nahshon, ³³ of Amminadab, of Ram, of Hezron, of Perez, of Judah, ³⁴ of Jacob, of Isaac, of Abraham, of Terah, of Nahor, ³⁵ of Serug, of Reu, of Peleg, of Eber, of Shelah, ³⁶ of Kenan,  of Arpachshad,  of Shem, of Noah, of Lamech, ³⁷ of Methuselah, of Hanokh, of Jared, of Mahalalel, of Kenan, ³⁸ of Enosh, of Seth, of Adam, of God.

^4:1 Yeshua, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. When they were completed, he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Yeshua answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Humankind cannot live by bread alone.'”

⁵ And leading him up to a high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want. ⁷ If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.”

⁸ Yeshua answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'”

⁹ He led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you;’ ¹¹ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.'”

¹² And Yeshua, answering, said to him, “It is said, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.'”

¹³ When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time.

¹⁴ Yeshua returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. ¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues, being praised by all.

¹⁶ He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,  to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, ¹⁹ and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

²⁰ He closed the scroll, gave it back to the shammash, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

²² All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

²³ He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable, ‘Physician, heal yourself. Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.'” ²⁴ He said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵ But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. ²⁶ Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”

²⁸ They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things. ²⁹ They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way.

³¹ He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day, ³² and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. ³³ In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he shouted with a loud voice, ³⁴ saying, “Ah. what have we to do with you, Yeshua, Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God.”

³⁵ Yeshua rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him.” When the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.

³⁶ Amazement came on all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” ³⁷ News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.

³⁸ He rose up from the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they appealed to him about her. ³⁹ He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them. ⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. ⁴¹ Demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying, “You are the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.