Conception of Christ.

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind c what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called The Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man ?

35 And the angel answered, and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be called The Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also cone. Cast in her mind, considered.

Prophecy of Elisabeth ceived a son in her old age; & this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hillcountry with haste, into a city of Juda;

40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

41 And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me ?d

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

d Verse 43. Whence is it that I should be so honoured, as to receive a visit from the mother of my Lord.

46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord. 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 54 He hath holpene his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

e Hath bolpen, hath supported and

d.

of John.

59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

62 And they made signs to his father how he would have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing-table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake and praised God.

65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them; and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill-country of Judea.

66 And all they that had heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him.

67 ¶ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation f for us in the house of his servant David;

f An born of salvation, a Prince for our deliverance,

Prophecy of Zacharias.

70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

74 That he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteous ness before him all the days of our life.

76 And thou, child, shalt be called The prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people, by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring from on high g hath visited us,

79 To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, & was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

CHAP. II.

Nativity of Christ.

man empire. 6 Christ's nativity: 21 his circumcision. 25 Simon & Anna prophesy of Christ.

AND it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus,a that all the worldb should he taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was gov. ernor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Beth-lehem,c (because he was of the house and lineage of David,)d

5 To be taxed with Mary his espousede wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and

a Cesar Augustus, the first Roman

emperor.

b All the world, all the Roman em

pire, which at this time included Judea.

c Bethlehem, a city about seven miles south of Jerusalem, where our Saviour was born. David was also born and lived there; hence called the

g The day-spring, &c. The light of divine truth.

d Of the house, &c. of the family of David.

e Espoused. See Matt, i. 18.

laid him in a manger, f because there was no room for them in the inn.g

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddlingclothes, lying in a manger.

13 And 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 towards men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord

hath made known unto us.

f Manger, a long trough for animals to feed out of.

g The inn, the house allotted to strangers.

of Christ.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in

a manger.

17 And, when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

22 And when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall 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 turtle-doves, or two young pigeons.

25 ¶ And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose

Simeon's prophecy

name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel;h and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came by the spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine thy salvation,i

eyes have seen

31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

34 And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign

which gainst;

concerning Christ. shall be spoken a

35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also ;)k that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

36 And there was one Anna a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity:

37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings & prayers night and day.

38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.m

39 And when they had performed all things, according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom ; and the grace of God was upon him.n

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.

k Yea, a sword, &c. Yea with such

cruelty and malice shall he be treated, that thine own soul will, as it were, be pierced with a dart or javelin.

I Four score and four. Eighty four. m Redemption, &c. Waiting for the promised redemption or deliverance of Israel by the Messiah.

n Grace of God, particular favour of God.