Luke 2 Cross References - Moffatt

¹ Now in those days an edict was issued by Caesar Augustus for a census of the whole world. ² (This was the first census, and it took place when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ So everyone went to be registered, each at his own town, ⁴ and as Joseph belonged to the house and family of David he went up from Galilee to Judaea, from the town of Nazaret to David's town called Bethlehem, ⁵ to be registered along with Mary his wife. She was pregnant, ⁶ and while they were there the days elapsed for her delivery; ⁷ she gave birth to her firstborn son, and as there was no room for them inside the khan she wrapped him up and laid him in a stall for cattle. ⁸ There were some shepherds in the district who were out in the fields keeping guard over their flocks by night; ⁹ and an angel of the Lord flashed upon them, the glory of the Lord shone all round them. They were terribly afraid, ¹⁰ but the angel said to them, "Have no fear. This is good news I am bringing you, news of a great joy that is meant for all the People. ¹¹ To-day you have a saviour born in the town of David, the Lord messiah. ¹² And here is a proof for you: you will find a baby wrapped up and lying in a stall for cattle." ¹³ Then a host of heaven's army suddenly appeared beside the angel extolling God and saying, ¹⁴ "Glory to God in high heaven, and peace on earth for men whom he favours!" ¹⁵ Now when the angels had left them and gone away to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us be off to Bethlehem to see this thing that the Lord has told us of." ¹⁶ So they made haste and discovered Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the stall for cattle. ¹⁷ When they saw this they told people about the word which had been spoken to them about the child; ¹⁸ all who heard it were astonished at the story of the shepherds, ¹⁹ and as for Mary, she treasured it all up and mused upon it. ²⁰ Then the shepherds went away back, glorifying and extolling God for all they had heard and seen as they had been told they would. ²¹ When the eight days had passed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus — the name given by the angel before he had been conceived in the womb. ²² When the days for their purification in terms of the Mosaic law had elapsed, 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 that opens the womb must be considered consecrated to the Lord) ²⁴ and also to offer the sacrifice prescribed in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Symeon, an upright and devout man, who was on the outlook for the Consolation of Israel. The holy Spirit was upon him; ²⁶ indeed it had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he was not to see death before he had seen the Lord messiah. ²⁷ By an inspiration of the Spirit he came to the temple, and when the parents of the child Jesus carried him in to perform the customary regulations of the law for him, ²⁸ then Symeon took him in his arms, blessed God, and said, ²⁹ "Now, Master, thou canst let thy servant go, and go in peace, as thou didst promise; ³⁰ for mine eyes have seen thy saving power ³¹ which thou hast prepared before the face of all the peoples, ³² to be a light of revelation for the Gentiles and a glory to thy people Israel." ³³ His father and mother were astonished at these words about him, ³⁴ but Symeon blessed them, and to his mother Mary he said, "This child is destined for the downfall as well as for the rise of many a one in Israel; destined to be a Sign for man's attack — ³⁵ to bring out the secret aims of many a heart. And your own soul will be pierced by a spear." ³⁶ There was also a prophetess, Hannah the daughter of Phanuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher; she was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her girlhood ³⁷ and having been a widow for eighty-four years. She was never away from the temple; night and day she worshipped, fasting and praying. ³⁸ Now at that very hour she came up, and she offered praise to God and spoke of him to all who were on the outlook for the redemption of Jerusalem. ³⁹ When they had finished all the regulations of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazaret. ⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the favour of God was on him. ⁴¹ Every year his parents used to travel to Jerusalem at the passover festival; ⁴² and when he was twelve years old they went up as usual to the festival. ⁴³ After spending the full number of days they came back, but the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know of this; ⁴⁴ they supposed he was in the caravan and travelled on for a day, searching for him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ Then, as they failed to find him, they came back to Jerusalem in search of him. ⁴⁶ Three days later they found him in the temple, seated among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, ⁴⁷ till all his hearers were amazed at the intelligence of his own answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him they were astounded, and his mother said to him, "My son, why have you behaved like this to us? Here have your father and I been looking for you anxiously!" ⁴⁹ "Why did you look for me?" he said, "Did you not know I had to be at my Father's house?" ⁵⁰ But they did not understand what he said. ⁵¹ Then he went down along with them to Nazaret, and did as they told him. His mother treasured up everything in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man.

¹⁷ Tell us, then, what you think about this. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

¹⁴ This gospel of the Reign shall be preached all over the wide world as a testimony to all the Gentiles, and then the end will come.

⁹ I tell you truly, wherever the gospel is preached all over the world, men will speak of what she has done in memory of her."

¹⁵ And he said to them, "Go to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature:

¹ Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, Philip his brother tetrarch of the country of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysias tetrarch of Abilene,

²⁸ one of whom, named Agabus, showed by the Spirit that a severe famine was about to visit the whole world (the famine which occurred in the reign of Claudius).

¹¹ If I am a criminal, if I have done anything that deserves death, I do not object to die; but if there is nothing in any of their charges against me, then no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!"

²¹ But Paul entered an appeal for his case to be reserved for the decision of the emperor; so I ordered him to be detained till I could remit him to Caesar."

⁸ First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because the report of your faith is over all the world.

²² All the saints salute you, especially the Imperial slaves.

²⁴ The fame of him spread all through the surrounding country, and people brought him all their sick, those who suffered from all manner of disease and pain, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics; he healed them all.

³⁷ After him Judas the Galilean started up at the time of the census, and got people to desert to him; but he perished too, and all his followers were scattered.

⁷ he belonged to the suite of the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man who called for Barnabas and Saul and demanded to hear the word of God.

¹² But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia the Jews without exception rose against Paul and brought him up before the tribunal,

²⁶ "Claudius Lysias, to his excellency the governor Felix: greeting.

³⁰ Then the king rose, with the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated beside them.

¹ The birth-roll of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. ² Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³ Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Aram, ⁴ Aram the father of Aminadab, Aminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jessai, ⁶ and Jessai the father of king David. David was the father of Solomon by Uriah's wife, ⁷ Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, ⁸ Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹ Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰ Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, ¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the period of the Babylonian captivity. ¹² After the Babylonian captivity, Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ Jacob the father of Joseph, and Joseph (to whom the virgin Mary was betrothed) the father of Jesus, who is called 'Christ.' ¹⁷ Thus all the generations from Abraham to David number fourteen, from David to the Babylonian captivity fourteen, and from the Babylonian captivity to Christ fourteen.

¹ Now when Jesus was born at Bethlehem, belonging to Judaea, in the days of king Herod, magicians from the East arrived at Jerusalem, ² asking, "Where is the newly-born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him." ³ The news of this troubled king Herod and all Jerusalem as well; ⁴ so he gathered all the high priests and scribes of the people and made inquiries of them about where the messiah was to be born. ⁵ They told him, "In Bethlehem belonging to Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet: ⁶ And you Bethlehem, in Judah's land, You are not least among the rulers of Judah: For a ruler will come from you, Who will shepherd Israel my people."

²³ He went and settled in a town called Nazaret, so that what had been said by the prophets might be fulfilled: 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazaret, ²⁷ to a maiden who was betrothed to a man called Joseph, belonging to the house of David. The maiden's name was Mary.

²³ At the outset Jesus was about thirty years of age; he was the son, as people supposed, of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Kosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, ³⁰ the son of Symeon, the son of Judas, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

¹⁶ Then he came to Nazaret, where he had been brought up, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue as was his custom. He stood up to read the lesson

⁴⁶ "Nazaret!" said Nathanael, "can anything good come out of Nazaret?" "Come and see," said Philip.

⁴² Does not scripture say it is from the offspring of David, from David's village of Bethlehem, that the Christ is to come?"

¹⁸ The birth of [Jesus] Christ came about thus. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together she was discovered to be pregnant by the holy Spirit. ¹⁹ As Joseph her husband was a just man but unwilling to disgrace her, he resolved to divorce her secretly;

⁵⁷ Now the time for Elizabeth's delivery had elapsed, and she gave birth to a son.

¹ And a great portent was seen in heaven, a woman clad in the sun — with the moon under her feet, and a tiara of twelve stars on her head; ² she was with child, crying in the pangs of travail, in anguish for her delivery. ³ Then another portent was seen in heaven! There was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and seven horns and seven diadems upon his heads; ⁴ his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was on the point of being delivered, to devour her child as soon as it was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron flail; her child was caught up to God and to his throne,

²⁵ but he did not live with her as a husband till she bore a son, whom he called Jesus.

²⁰ Jesus said to him, "The foxes have their holes, the wild birds have their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."

⁵⁵ Is this not the son of the joiner? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

¹¹ To-day you have a saviour born in the town of David, the Lord messiah. ¹² And here is a proof for you: you will find a baby wrapped up and lying in a stall for cattle."

³⁴ he went to him, bound his wounds up, pouring oil and wine into them, mounted him on his own steed, took him to an inn, and attended to him.

¹⁴ So the Logos became flesh and tarried among us; we have seen his glory — glory such as an only son enjoys from his father — seen it to be full of grace and reality.

⁹ (You know how gracious our Lord Jesus Christ was; rich though he was, he became poor for the sake of you, that by his poverty you might be rich.)

⁴ but when the time had fully expired, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,

⁸ all who ever came before me have been thieves and robbers — but the sheep would not listen to them. ⁹ (I am the Gate; whoever enters by me will be saved, he will go in and out and find pasture.) ¹⁰ The thief only comes to steal, to slay, and to destroy: I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd; a good shepherd lays down his own life for the sheep. ¹² The hired man, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, deserts them when he sees the wolf coming; he runs away, leaving the wolf to tear and scatter them,

²⁰ but after he had planned this, there appeared an angel of the Lord to him in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary your wife home, for what is begotten in her comes from the holy Spirit.

¹¹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him he was troubled, and fear fell on him;

²⁸ The angel went in and said to her, "Hail, O favoured one! the Lord be with you!"

⁴ They were puzzling over this, when two men flashed on them in dazzling raiment.

⁴¹ (Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him.)

¹⁹ but an angel of the Lord opened the prison-doors during the night and brought them out, saying,

⁷ But an angel of the Lord flashed on him, and a light shone in the cell; striking Peter on the side he woke him, saying, "Quick, get up!" The fetters dropped from his hands,

⁶ Now as I neared Damascus on my journey, suddenly about noon a brilliant light from heaven flashed round me. ⁷ I dropped to the earth and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' ⁸ 'Who are you?' I asked. He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, and you are persecuting me.' ⁹ (My companions saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of him who talked to me.)

¹³ when at mid-day on the road, O king, I saw a light from heaven, more dazzling than the sun, flash round me and my fellow-travellers. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? You hurt yourself by kicking at the goad.'

²³ For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve, stood before me,

¹⁸ But we all mirror the glory of the Lord with face unveiled, and so we are being transformed into the same likeness as himself, passing from one glory to another — for this comes of the Lord the Spirit.

⁶ For God who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," has shone within my heart to illuminate men with the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Christ.

¹⁶ And who does not admit how profound is the divine truth of our religion? — it is He who was "manifest in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by the angels, preached among the nations, believed on throughout the world, taken up to glory."

²¹ indeed, so awful was the sight that Moses said, I am terrified and aghast.

¹ After that I saw another angel descend from heaven, great in might; his radiance lit up the earth,

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne, and One who was seated thereon; from his presence earth and sky fled, no more to be found.

²⁷ Then Jesus spoke to them at once; "Courage," he said, "it is I, have no fear."

⁵ but the angel addressed the women, saying, "Have no fear; I know you are looking for the crucified Jesus.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came forward to them and said, "Full authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth;

¹⁵ he said, "The time has now come, God's reign is near: repent and believe in the gospel."

¹³ but the angel said to him, "Fear not, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard; your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you must call his name John.

¹⁹ The angel replied, "I am Gabriel, I stand before God; I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.

³⁰ But the angel said to her, "Fear not, Mary, you have found favour with God.

³¹ which thou hast prepared before the face of all the peoples, ³² to be a light of revelation for the Gentiles and a glory to thy people Israel."

¹ Shortly afterwards he went travelling from one town and village to another preaching and telling the good news of the Reign of God; he was accompanied by the twelve

⁴⁷ and that repentance and the remission of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

³² So we now preach to you the glad news that the promise made to the fathers

¹⁵ And how can men preach unless they are sent? — as it is written, How pleasant is the coming of men with glad, good news!

⁹ and also in order that the Gentiles should glorify God for His mercy — as it is written, Therefore will I offer praise to Thee among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name; ¹⁰ or again, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his People; ¹¹ or again, Extol the Lord, all Gentiles, let all the peoples praise him; ¹² or again, as Isaiah says, Then shall the Scion of Jessai live, he who rises to rule the Gentiles; on him shall the Gentiles set their hope.

⁸ less than the least of all saints as I am, this grace was vouchsafed me, that I should bring the Gentiles the gospel of the fathomless wealth of Christ

²³ that is, if you adhere to the foundations and stability of the faith, instead of moving away from the hope you have learned in the gospel, that gospel which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I Paul was made a minister.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man; but he laid his hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and Last, ¹⁸ I was dead and here I am alive for evermore, holding the keys that unlock death and Hades.

¹⁶ Jacob the father of Joseph, and Joseph (to whom the virgin Mary was betrothed) the father of Jesus, who is called 'Christ.'

²¹ She will bear a son, and you will call him 'Jesus,' for he will save his people from their sins."

¹⁶ So Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

²⁰ Then he forbade the disciples to tell anyone he was the Christ.

⁴³ What have I done to have the mother of my Lord come to me?

⁶⁹ he has raised up a strong saviour for us in the house of his servant David

⁴ and as Joseph belonged to the house and family of David he went up from Galilee to Judaea, from the town of Nazaret to David's town called Bethlehem,

²⁶ indeed it had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he was not to see death before he had seen the Lord messiah.

⁴¹ But he said to them, "How can people say that the Christ is David's son? ⁴² Why, David himself says in the book of psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, ⁴³ till I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' ⁴⁴ David then calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?"

⁴¹ In the morning he met his brother Simon and told him, "We have found the messiah" (which may be translated, 'Christ').

⁴⁵ he met Nathanael and told him, "We have found him whom Moses wrote about in the Law, and also the prophets — it is Jesus, the son of Joseph, who comes from Nazaret."

⁴² As they told the woman, "We no longer believe on account of what you said; we have heard for ourselves, we know that he is really the Saviour of the world."

⁶⁹ and we believe, we are certain, that you are the holy One of God."

²⁵ Then said some of the Jerusalemites, "Is this not the man they want to kill? ²⁶ Yet here he is, opening his lips in public, and they say nothing to him! Can the authorities have really discovered that he is the Christ? ²⁷ No, we know where this man comes from; but when the Christ does come, no one will know where he comes from."

⁴¹ others said, "He is the Christ"; but others said, "No, surely the Christ does not come from Galilee?

²⁷ "Yes, Lord," she said, "I do believe you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world" —

³¹ but these Signs are recorded so that you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing may have life through his Name.

³⁶ So let all the house of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this very Jesus whom you have crucified."

³¹ God lifted him up to his right hand as our pioneer and saviour, in order to grant repentance and remission of sins to Israel.

³⁶ You know the message he sent to the sons of Israel when he preached the gospel of peace by Jesus Christ (who is Lord of all);

³ explaining and quoting passages to prove that the messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that "the Jesus I proclaim to you is the messiah."

⁴⁷ Man the first is from the earth, material; Man the second is from heaven.

⁴ but when the time had fully expired, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, ⁵ to ransom those who were under the Law, that we might get our sonship.

¹¹ and every tongue confess that 'Jesus Christ is Lord,' to the glory of God the Father.

⁸ indeed I count anything a loss, compared to the supreme value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have lost everything (I count it all the veriest refuse) in order to gain Christ

⁶ Since you have had the messiah, even Jesus the Lord, brought to you, lead your life in him,

⁹ who has saved us and called us to a life of consecration — not for anything we have done but because he chose to do it himself, by the grace which he gave us ages ago in Christ Jesus ¹⁰ and has now revealed in the appearance of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has put down death and brought life and immortality to light by the gospel.

¹⁰ not to embezzle, but to prove themselves truly faithful at all points, so as to be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Saviour in all respects. ¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared to save all men, ¹² and it schools us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions and to live a life of self-mastery, of integrity, and of piety in this present world, ¹³ awaiting the blessed hope of the appearance of the Glory of the great God and of our Saviour Christ Jesus, ¹⁴ who gave himself up for us to redeem us from all iniquity and secure himself a clean people with a zest for good works.

⁴ But "the goodness and affection of God our Saviour appeared; ⁵ and he saved us, not for anything we had done but from his own pity for us, by the water that means regeneration and renewal under the holy Spirit ⁶ which he poured upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, ⁷ that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs to the hope of life eternal."

¹⁴ and we have seen, we can testify, that the Father has sent the Son as the Saviour of the world.

¹ Everyone who believes Jesus is the Christ, is born of God; and everyone who loves the Father, loves the sons born of him.

¹⁰ So, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over a single sinner who repents."

¹⁰ intending to let the full sweep of the divine wisdom be disclosed now by the church to the angelic Rulers and Authorities in the heavenly sphere,

¹⁴ Are not all angels merely spirits in the divine service, commissioned for the benefit of those who are to inherit salvation?

¹² to them it was revealed that they got this intelligence not for themselves but for you, regarding all that has now been disclosed to you by those who preached the gospel to you through the holy Spirit sent from heaven. The very angels long to get a glimpse of this!

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels round the throne and of the living Creatures and of the Presbyters, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,

⁹ And the crowds who went in front of him and who followed behind shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed be he who comes in the Lord's name! Hosanna in high heaven!"

⁷⁹ to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our steps into the way of peace."

²² and the holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him; and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my son, the Beloved, to-day have I become thy father."

³⁸ saying, "Blessed be the king who comes in the Lord's name! Peace in heaven and glory in the High places!"

¹⁶ For God loved the world so dearly that he gave up his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life, instead of perishing.

²⁷ Peace I leave to you, my peace I give to you; I give it not as the world gives its 'Peace!' Let not your hearts be disquieted or timid.

⁴ I have glorified thee on earth by accomplishing the work thou gavest me to do;

¹ As we are justified by faith, then, let us enjoy the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ It is all the doing of the God who has reconciled me to himself through Christ and has permitted me to be a minister of his reconciliation. ¹⁹ For in Christ God reconciled the world to himself instead of counting men's trespasses against them; and he entrusted me with the message of his reconciliation. ²⁰ So I am an envoy for Christ, God appealing by me, as it were — be reconciled to God, I entreat you on behalf of Christ.

⁶ redounding to the praise of his glorious grace bestowed on us in the Beloved,

⁹ He has granted us complete insight and understanding of the open secret of his will, showing us how it was the purpose of his design

⁴ But, dead in trespasses as we were, God was so rich in mercy that for his great love to us

⁷ to display throughout ages to come his surpassing wealth of grace and goodness toward us in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴ For he is our peace, he who has made both of us a unity and destroyed the barrier which kept us apart; ¹⁵ in his own flesh he put an end to the feud of the Law with its code of commands, so as to make peace by the creation of a new Man in himself out of both parties, ¹⁶ so as himself to give the death-blow to that feud by reconciling them both to God in one Body through the cross; ¹⁷ he came with a gospel of peace for those far away (that is, for you) and for those who were near, ¹⁸ for it is through him that we both enjoy our access to the Father in one Spirit.

²⁰ Now to him who by the action of his power within us can do all things, aye far more than we ever ask or imagine, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever: Amen.

¹³ for it is God who in his goodwill enables you to will this and to achieve it.

²⁰ and by him it willed to reconcile in his own person all on earth and in heaven alike, in a peace made by the blood of his cross.

¹⁶ And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope,

²⁰ May the God of peace who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, with the blood of the eternal covenant, ²¹ furnish you with everything for the doing of his will, creating in your lives by Jesus Christ what is acceptable in his own sight! To him be glory for ever and ever: Amen.

⁹ This is how the love of God has appeared for us, by God sending his only Son into the world, so that by him we might live. ¹⁰ Love lies in this, not in our love for him but in his love for us — in the sending of his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth crying, "Blessing and honour and glory and dominion for ever and ever, to him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!"

¹ Now when Jesus was born at Bethlehem, belonging to Judaea, in the days of king Herod, magicians from the East arrived at Jerusalem, ² asking, "Where is the newly-born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him."

⁹ The magicians listened to the king and then went their way. And the star they had seen rise went in front of them till it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they caught sight of the star, they were intensely glad; ¹¹ on reaching the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down to worship him, and opening their caskets they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

⁴² The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and here is One greater than Solomon.

⁵¹ And as he blessed them he parted from them [and was carried up to heaven].

¹ On the first day of the week Mary of Magdala went early to the tomb, when it was still dark; but as she saw the boulder had been removed from the tomb, ² she ran off to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the favourite of Jesus, telling them, "They have taken the master out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have put him!" ³ So Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb; ⁴ they both started to run, but the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and got to the tomb first. ⁵ He glanced in and saw the bandages lying on the ground, but he did not go inside. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came after him, and went inside the tomb; he noticed not only that the bandages were lying on the ground ⁷ but that the napkin which had been round his head was folded up by itself, instead of lying beside the other bandages. ⁸ Upon this the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, went inside too, and when he saw for himself he was convinced. ⁹ (For as yet they did not understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples returned home;

²² who is at God's right hand — for he went to heaven after angels, authorities, and powers celestial had been made subject to him.)

³⁹ In those days Mary started with haste for the hill-country, for a town of Judah;

⁷ she gave birth to her firstborn son, and as there was no room for them inside the khan she wrapped him up and laid him in a stall for cattle.

¹² And here is a proof for you: you will find a baby wrapped up and lying in a stall for cattle."

³² The messengers went off and found the colt exactly as he had told them.

¹³ They went off and found it was as he had told them. So they prepared the passover,

³⁸ Now at that very hour she came up, and she offered praise to God and spoke of him to all who were on the outlook for the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹ "Go home and describe all that God has done for you." So he went off to proclaim through the whole town all that Jesus had done for him.

⁴¹ In the morning he met his brother Simon and told him, "We have found the messiah" (which may be translated, 'Christ'). ⁴² He took him to Jesus; Jesus gazed at him and said, "You are Simon, the son of John? Your name is to be Cephas" (meaning 'Peter' or 'rock'). ⁴³ Next day Jesus determined to leave for Galilee; there he met Philip and told him, "Follow me." ⁴⁴ Now Philip belonged to Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter; ⁴⁵ he met Nathanael and told him, "We have found him whom Moses wrote about in the Law, and also the prophets — it is Jesus, the son of Joseph, who comes from Nazaret." ⁴⁶ "Nazaret!" said Nathanael, "can anything good come out of Nazaret?" "Come and see," said Philip.

²⁸ Then the woman left her water-pot, and going off to the town told the people, ²⁹ "Come here, look at a man who has told me everything I ever did! Can he be the Christ?"

⁶⁵ Then fear fell on all their neighbours, and all these events were talked of through the whole of the hill-country of Judaea. ⁶⁶ All who heard of it bore it in mind; they said, "Whatever will this child become?" For the hand of the Lord was indeed with him.

³³ His father and mother were astonished at these words about him,

⁴⁷ till all his hearers were amazed at the intelligence of his own answers.

³⁶ Then amazement came over them all; they talked it over among themselves, saying, "What does this mean? He orders the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!"

⁹ For amazement had seized him and all his companions at the take of fish they had caught; ¹⁰ as was the case with James and John, the sons of Zebedaeus, who were partners of Simon. Then said Jesus to Simon, "Have no fear; from now your catch will be men."

⁶⁶ All who heard of it bore it in mind; they said, "Whatever will this child become?" For the hand of the Lord was indeed with him.

⁵¹ Then he went down along with them to Nazaret, and did as they told him. His mother treasured up everything in her heart.

⁴³ And all were astounded at this grand display of God. But while all marvelled at all he did, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁴ "Let these words sink into your ears: 'the Son of man is to be betrayed into the hands of men.'"

⁸ The crowds who saw it were awed and glorified God for giving such power to men.

⁴³ Instantly he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people gave praise to God when they saw this.

³⁷ and as he was now close to the descent from the Hill of Olives, all the multitude of the disciples started joyfully to praise God with a loud voice for all they had seen, ³⁸ saying, "Blessed be the king who comes in the Lord's name! Peace in heaven and glory in the High places!"

⁴⁶ Day after day they resorted with one accord to the temple and broke bread together in their own homes; they ate with a glad and simple heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and looked on with favour by all the people. Meantime the Lord added the saved daily to their number.

¹⁸ On hearing this they desisted and glorified God, saying, "So God has actually allowed the Gentiles to repent and live!"

¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, "Come now, this is how we should fulfil all our duty to God." Then John gave in to him.

³¹ You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must call his name Jesus.

⁵⁹ and on the eighth day came to circumcise the child. They were going to call it by the name of its father Zechariah,

⁸ and appearing in human form, he humbly stooped in his obedience even to die, and to die upon the cross.

⁴³ Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor of good position who himself was on the outlook for the Reign of God, ventured to go to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus.

⁶ They were both just in the sight of God, blameless in their obedience to all the commands and regulations of God;

⁴¹ and when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leapt in her womb. Then Elizabeth was filled with the holy Spirit;

⁶⁷ And Zechariah his father was filled with the holy Spirit; he prophesied in these words,

⁵¹ who had not voted for their plan of action; he belonged to Arimathaea, a Jewish town, and he was on the outlook for the Reign of God.

² a religious man, who reverenced God with all his household, who was liberal in his alms to the People, and who constantly prayed to God.

²² They said, "Cornelius, a captain, a good man who reverences God and enjoys a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation, was instructed by a holy angel to send for you to his house and to listen to what you had to say."

¹⁶ Hence I too endeavour to have a clear conscience before God and men all the time.

²¹ for prophecy never came by human impulse, it was when carried away by the holy Spirit that the holy men of God spoke.

²⁷ I tell you plainly, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death till they see the Reign of God."

²⁹ "Come here, look at a man who has told me everything I ever did! Can he be the Christ?"

⁵¹ Truly, truly I tell you, if anyone holds to what I say, he will never see death."

²⁰ He lost no time in preaching throughout the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God —

³⁸ how God consecrated Jesus of Nazaret with the holy Spirit and power, and how he went about doing good and curing all who were harassed by the devil; for God was with him.

⁸ he says of the Son, 'God is thy throne for ever and ever, thy royal sceptre is the sceptre of equity: ⁹ thou hast loved justice and hated lawlessness, therefore God, thy God, has consecrated thee with the oil of rejoicing beyond thy comrades' —

⁵ It was by faith that Enoch was taken to heaven, so that he never died (he was not overtaken by death, for God had taken him away). For before he was taken to heaven, his record was that he had satisfied God;

¹ Then Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.

²² When the days for their purification in terms of the Mosaic law had elapsed, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

⁴¹ Every year his parents used to travel to Jerusalem at the passover festival;

⁴⁸ When his parents saw him they were astounded, and his mother said to him, "My son, why have you behaved like this to us? Here have your father and I been looking for you anxiously!"

¹ From the Jordan Jesus came back full of the holy Spirit,

²⁹ The Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join that chariot."

¹⁹ So the Spirit said to Peter, who was pondering over the vision, "There are three men looking for you!

¹² The Spirit told me to have no hesitation in accompanying them; these six brothers went with me as well, and we entered the man's house.

⁷ when they got as far as Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them,

¹⁰ On the Lord's day I found myself rapt in the Spirit, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet calling,

³ So he bore me away rapt in the Spirit to the desert, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet Beast covered with blasphemous titles; it had seven heads and ten horns.

³⁶ Then he took a little child, set it among them, and putting his arms round it said to them,

¹⁶ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and blessed them.

⁴⁶ Then Mary said "My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁶⁴ Instantly his mouth was opened, his tongue loosed, and he spoke out blessing God.

⁶⁸ "Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, for he has cared for his people and wrought them redemption;

¹³ Then a host of heaven's army suddenly appeared beside the angel extolling God and saying, ¹⁴ "Glory to God in high heaven, and peace on earth for men whom he favours!"

²⁰ Then the shepherds went away back, glorifying and extolling God for all they had heard and seen as they had been told they would.

²³ I am in a dilemma between the two. My strong desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far the best.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: — 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth! Even so, it is the voice of the Spirit — blessed in resting from their toils; for what they have done goes with them.'"

¹⁰ but the angel said to them, "Have no fear. This is good news I am bringing you, news of a great joy that is meant for all the People. ¹¹ To-day you have a saviour born in the town of David, the Lord messiah.

⁶ so shall all flesh see the saving power of God.'

¹⁰ you and the people of Israel must all understand that he stands before you strong and well, thanks to the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹ He is the stone despised by you builders, which has become head of the corner. ¹² There is no salvation by anyone else, nor even a second Name under heaven appointed for us men and our salvation."

¹⁶ The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, yea light dawned on those who sat in the land and the shadow of death.

¹⁰ but the angel said to them, "Have no fear. This is good news I am bringing you, news of a great joy that is meant for all the People.

⁴⁷ For these are the Lord's orders to us: I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the end of the earth." ⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord and believed, that is, all who had been ordained to eternal life;

²³ that the Christ is capable of suffering, and that he should be the first to rise from the dead and bring the message of light to the People and to the Gentiles?"

²⁸ Be sure of this, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen to it."

⁸ Christ, I mean, became a servant to the circumcised in order to prove God's honesty by fulfilling His promises to the fathers, ⁹ and also in order that the Gentiles should glorify God for His mercy — as it is written, Therefore will I offer praise to Thee among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name;

³¹ so that, as it is written, let him who boasts boast of the Lord.

²³ And the City needs no sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God illumines it, and the Lamb lights it up.

¹⁹ the Son of man has come eating and drinking, and men say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of taxgatherers and sinners!' Nevertheless, Wisdom is vindicated by all that she does."

⁴⁶ He was still speaking to the crowds when his mother and brothers came and stood outside; they wanted to speak to him.

⁴⁴ [Everyone who falls on this stone will be shattered, and whoever it falls upon will be crushed.]"

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his dress and cried, "He has blasphemed! What more evidence do we want? Look, you have heard his blasphemy for yourselves! ⁶⁶ What is your view?" They replied, "He is doomed to death." ⁶⁷ Then they spat in his face and buffeted him, some of them cuffing him

⁴⁰ and calling, "You were to destroy the temple and build it in three days! Save yourself, if you are God's Son! Come down from the cross!" ⁴¹ So, too, the high priests made fun of him with the scribes and the elders of the people. ⁴² "He saved others," they said, "but he cannot save himself! He the 'king of Israel'! Let him come down now from the cross; then we will believe in him! ⁴³ His trust is in God? Let God deliver him now if he cares for him! He said he was the Son of God!" ⁴⁴ The robbers who were crucified with him also denounced him in the same way. ⁴⁵ Now from twelve o'clock to three o'clock darkness covered all the land,

⁶³ and said, "We remember, sir, that when this impostor was alive he said, 'I will rise after three days.'

²⁰ for anyone whose practices are corrupt loathes the light and will not come out into it, in case his actions are exposed,

¹⁸ But this only made the Jews more eager to kill him, because he not merely broke the sabbath but actually spoke of God as his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.

⁴⁸ The Jews retorted, "Are we not right in saying you are a Samaritan, you are mad?" ⁴⁹ Jesus replied, "I am not mad: I honour my Father and you dishonour me. ⁵⁰ However, I do not aim at my own credit; there is One who cares for my credit, and he is judge. ⁵¹ Truly, truly I tell you, if anyone holds to what I say, he will never see death." ⁵² The Jews said to him, "Now we are sure you are mad. Abraham is dead, and so are all the prophets; and you declare, 'If anyone holds to what I say, he will never taste death'!

²⁴ So the man born blind was summoned a second time, and told, "Now give God the praise; this man, we know quite well, is only a sinner." ²⁵ To which he replied, "I do not know whether he is a sinner; one thing I do know, that once I was blind and now I can see." ²⁶ "What did he do to you?" they repeated; "How did he open your eyes?" ²⁷ He retorted, "I have told you that already, and you would not listen to me. Why do you want to hear it over again? Do you want to be disciples of his?" ²⁸ Then they stormed at him: "You are his disciple, we are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this fellow comes from."

³⁶ So let all the house of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this very Jesus whom you have crucified." ³⁷ When they heard this, it went straight to their hearts; they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what are we to do?" ³⁸ "Repent," said Peter, "let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins; then you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is meant for you and for your children and for all who are far off, for anyone whom the Lord our God may call to himself." ⁴⁰ And with many another appeal he urged and entreated them. "Save yourselves," he cried, "from this crooked generation!" ⁴¹ So those who accepted what he said were baptized; about three thousand souls were brought in, that day.

¹⁵ and you killed the pioneer of Life. But God raised him from the dead, as we can bear witness. ¹⁶ (He it is who has given strength to this man whom you see and know, by faith in His name; it is the faith He inspires which has made the man thus hale and whole before you all.) ¹⁷ Now I know, brothers, that you acted in ignorance, like your rulers — ¹⁸ though this was how God fulfilled what he had announced beforehand by the lips of all the prophets, namely the sufferings of his Christ. ¹⁹ Repent then, and turn to have your sins blotted out, so that a breathing-space may be vouchsafed you,

²⁶ The kings of the earth stood ready, the rulers mustered together against the Lord and his Christ.

⁷ And the word of God spread; the number of the disciples in Jerusalem greatly increased, and a host of priests became obedient to the faith.

¹ Meanwhile Saul still breathed threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus empowering him to put any man or woman in chains whom he could find belonging to the Way, and bring them to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus in the course of his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed round him; ⁴ he dropped to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" ⁵ "Who are you?" he asked. "I am Jesus," he said, "and you persecute me. ⁶ Get up and go into the city. There you will be told what you have to do." ⁷ His fellow-travellers stood speechless, for they heard the voice but they could not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but though his eyes were open he could see nothing; so they took his hand and led him to Damascus. ⁹ For three days he remained sightless, he neither ate nor drank. ¹⁰ Now there was a disciple called Ananias in Damascus. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He said, "I am here, Lord." ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, "Go away to the street called 'The Straight Street,' and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus called Saul. He is praying at this very moment, ¹² and he has seen a man called Ananias enter and lay his hands upon him to bring back his sight." ¹³ "But, Lord," Ananias answered, "many people have told me about all the mischief this man has done to thy saints at Jerusalem! ¹⁴ And in this city too he has authority from the high priests to put anyone in chains who invokes thy Name!" ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, "Go; I have chosen him to be the means of bringing my Name before the Gentiles and their kings as well as before the sons of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him all he has to suffer for the sake of my Name." ¹⁷ So Ananias went off and entered the house, laying his hands on him with these words, "Saul, my brother, I have been sent by the Lord, by Jesus who appeared to you on the road, to let you regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit." ¹⁸ In a moment something like scales fell from his eyes, he regained his sight, got up and was baptized. ¹⁹ Then he took some food and felt strong again. For several days he stayed at Damascus with the disciples. ²⁰ He lost no time in preaching throughout the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God —

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds they were filled with jealousy; they began to contradict what Paul said and to abuse him.

⁶ but as they failed to find Paul and Silas they haled Jason and some of the brothers before the politarchs, yelling, "These upsetters of the whole world have come here too!

⁵ The fact is, we have found this man is a perfect pest; he stirs up sedition among the Jews all over the world and he is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect.

²² We think it only right to let you tell your own story; but as regards this sect, we are well aware that there are objections to it on all hands."

³² And why? Simply because Israel has relied not on faith but on what they could do. They have stumbled over the stone that makes men stumble —

²³ but our message is Christ the crucified — a stumbling-block to the Jews, 'sheer folly' to the Gentiles,

¹⁵ I live for God as the fragrance of Christ breathed alike on those who are being saved and on those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to the one a deadly fragrance that makes for death, to the other a vital fragrance that makes for life. And who is qualified for this career?

¹ For Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham on his return from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him —

⁷ (And there is no question that it is the inferior who is blessed by the superior.)

¹ Therefore, with all this host of witnesses encircling us, we must strip off every handicap, strip off sin with its clinging folds, to run our appointed course steadily, ² our eyes fixed upon Jesus as the pioneer and the perfection of faith — upon Jesus who, in order to reach his own appointed joy, steadily endured the cross, thinking nothing of its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Compare him who steadily endured all that hostility from sinful men, so as to keep your own hearts from fainting and failing.

⁷ Now you believe, you hold him 'precious,' but as for the unbelieving — the very stone the builders rejected is now the cornerstone, ⁸ a stone over which men stumble and a rock of offence; they stumble over it in their disobedience to God's word. Such is their appointed doom.

¹⁴ If you are denounced for the sake of Christ, you are blessed; for then the Spirit of glory and power, the Spirit of God himself, is resting on you.

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard of it they said, "This fellow only casts out daemons by Beelzebul the prince of daemons." ²⁵ As Jesus knew what they were thinking, he said to them, "Any realm divided against itself comes to ruin, any city or house divided against itself will never stand; ²⁶ and if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then can his realm stand? ²⁷ Besides, if I cast out daemons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Thus they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I cast out daemons by the Spirit of God, then the Reign of God has reached you already. ²⁹ Why, how can anyone enter the strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first of all binds the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. ³⁰ He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ I tell you therefore, men will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but they will not be forgiven for blaspheming the Spirit. ³² Whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will never be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come. ³³ Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you speak good when you are evil? For the mouth utters what the heart is full of. ³⁵ The good man brings good out of his good store, and the evil man brings evil out of his store of evil.

¹⁴ Now the Pharisees who were fond of money heard all this, and they sneered at him. ¹⁵ So he told them, "You are the people who get men to think you are good, but God knows what your hearts are! What is lofty in the view of man is loathsome in the eyes of God.

⁴² Said Jesus, "If God were your father, you would love me, for I came here from God; I did not come of my own accord, I was sent by him. ⁴³ Why do you not understand my speech? Because you are unable to listen to what I am saying. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires; he was a slayer of men from the very beginning, and he has no place in the truth because there is no truth in him: when he tells a lie, he is expressing his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ It is because I tell the truth, that you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Which of you can convict me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷ He who belongs to God listens to the words of God; you do not listen to them, because you do not belong to God."

²² They would not be guilty, if I had not come and spoken to them; but, as it is, they have no excuse for their sin — ²³ he who hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴ They would not be guilty, if I had not done deeds among them such as no one has ever done; but, as it is, they have seen — and they have hated — both me and my Father.

²⁵ Now beside the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.

²¹ You come in for no share or lot in this religion. Your heart is all wrong in the sight of God. ²² So repent of this wickedness of yours, and ask God whether you cannot be forgiven for your heart's purpose. ²³ For I see you are a bitter poison and a pack of evil."

¹⁹ There must be parties among you, if genuine Christians are to be recognized.

¹⁹ They withdrew from us, but they did not belong to us; had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us, but they withdrew to make it plain that they are none of us.

¹⁸ on my very slaves and slave-girls in those days will I pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

⁹ and had four unmarried daughters who prophesied). We stayed with him.

¹ But I want you to understand about spiritual gifts, brothers.

⁶ [Relocated to follow vs 8] twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand sealed from the tribe of Manasseh.

³³ They said to him, "The disciples of John fast frequently and offer prayers, as do the disciples of the Pharisees; but your adherents eat and drink."

³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and let them go.

²³ They chose presbyters for them in every church, and with prayer and fasting entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

⁷ a promise which our twelve tribes hope to gain by serving God earnestly both night and day. And I am actually impeached by Jews for this hope, O king!

⁵ The really forlorn widow has her hope fixed on God, night and day she is at her prayers and supplications;

¹² 'As for the conqueror, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God (nevermore shall he leave it), and I will inscribe on him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem which descends out of heaven from my God), and my own new name.'

¹⁵ For this they are now before the throne of God, serving him day and night within his temple. and he who is seated on the throne shall overshadow them.

⁴⁶ Then Mary said "My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ My spirit has joy in God my Saviour: ⁴⁸ for he has considered the humiliation of his servant. From this time forth all generations will call me blessed, ⁴⁹ for He who is Mighty has done great things for me. His name is holy, ⁵⁰ his mercy is on generation after generation, for those who reverence him. ⁵¹ He has done a deed of might with his arm, he has scattered the proud with their purposes, ⁵² princes he has dethroned and the poor he has uplifted, ⁵³ he has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He has succoured his servant Israel, mindful of his mercy ⁵⁵ as he promised our fathers, to have mercy on Abraham and his offspring for ever." ⁵⁶ Mary stayed with her about three months and then returned home.

⁶⁴ Instantly his mouth was opened, his tongue loosed, and he spoke out blessing God.

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Symeon, an upright and devout man, who was on the outlook for the Consolation of Israel. The holy Spirit was upon him;

²⁸ then Symeon took him in his arms, blessed God, and said, ²⁹ "Now, Master, thou canst let thy servant go, and go in peace, as thou didst promise; ³⁰ for mine eyes have seen thy saving power

²¹ Our own hope was that he would be the redeemer of Israel; but he is dead, and that is three days ago!

¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who in Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly sphere!

²² but on hearing that Archelaus reigned over Judaea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there and, by a divine injunction in a dream, withdrew to the region of Galilee. ²³ He went and settled in a town called Nazaret, so that what had been said by the prophets might be fulfilled: 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'

²¹ When the eight days had passed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus — the name given by the angel before he had been conceived in the womb. ²² When the days for their purification in terms of the Mosaic law had elapsed, 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 that opens the womb must be considered consecrated to the Lord) ²⁴ and also to offer the sacrifice prescribed in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

⁸⁰ And the child grew, he became strong in the Spirit and remained in the desert till the day when he made his appearance before Israel.

⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man.

³³ the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and great grace was upon them all.

¹⁰ To conclude. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might;

² May their hearts be encouraged! May they learn the meaning of love! May they have all the wealth of conviction that comes from insight! May they learn to know that open secret of God, the Father of Christ, ³ in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge lie hidden!

¹ Now, my son, be strong in the grace of Christ Jesus,

¹³ Now the Jewish passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

⁴ (The passover, the Jewish festival, was at hand.)

⁵⁵ Now the passover of the Jews was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem, to purify themselves before the passover.

¹ Now before the passover festival Jesus knew the time had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had loved his own in this world and he loved them to the end;

⁴⁰ for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

²¹ From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he had to leave for Jerusalem and endure great suffering at the hands of the elders and high priests and scribes, and be killed and raised on the third day.

⁶³ and said, "We remember, sir, that when this impostor was alive he said, 'I will rise after three days.' ⁶⁴ Now then, give orders for the tomb to be kept secure till the third day, in case his disciples go and steal him and then tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' The end of the fraud will then be worse than the beginning of it."

⁴⁴ they supposed he was in the caravan and travelled on for a day, searching for him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ Then, as they failed to find him, they came back to Jerusalem in search of him.

¹⁷ One day he was teaching, and near him sat Pharisees and doctors of the Law who had come from every village of Galilee and Judaea as well as from Jerusalem. Now the power of the Lord was present for the work of healing.

³⁴ But a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin called Gamaliel, a doctor of the Law who was highly respected by all the people, got up and ordered the apostles to be removed for a few moments.

²⁸ When Jesus finished his speech, the crowds were astounded at his teaching;

²² and people were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them like an authority, not like the scribes.

²² All spoke well of him and marvelled at the gracious words that came from his lips; they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

³² they were astounded at his teaching, for his word came with authority.

¹⁵ [vss 15 to 24 placed after 5:47] The Jews were amazed, saying, "How can this uneducated fellow manage to read?"

⁴⁶ The attendants replied, "No man ever spoke as he does."

⁴⁹ "Why did you look for me?" he said, "Did you not know I had to be at my Father's house?"

²³ At the outset Jesus was about thirty years of age; he was the son, as people supposed, of Joseph, the son of Heli,

¹² Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all who were buying and selling inside the temple; he upset the tables of the money-changers and the stalls of those who sold doves,

¹⁶ and told the pigeon-dealers, "Away with these! My Father's house is not to be turned into a shop!" ¹⁷ (His disciples recalled the scripture saying, I am consumed with zeal for thy house.)

³⁴ Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.

¹⁷ The reply of Jesus was, "As my Father has continued working to this hour, so I work too."

³⁸ for I have come down from heaven not to carry out my own will but the will of him who sent me,

²⁹ He who sent me is at my side; he has not left me alone; for I always do what pleases him."

⁴ While daylight lasts, we must be busy with the work of God: night comes, when no one can do any work.

³² But they did not understand what he said, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

⁴⁵ But they did not understand this saying — indeed it was kept a secret from them, to prevent them from fathoming it — and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

³⁴ However, they did not understand a word of this; indeed the saying was hidden from them, and they did not know what he meant.

³ Is this not the joiner, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters settled here among us?" So they were repelled by him.

¹⁹ and as for Mary, she treasured it all up and mused upon it.

³⁹ When they had finished all the regulations of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazaret.

²¹ Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right; ² honour your father and mother (it is the first command with a promise),

²¹ It is your vocation; for when Christ suffered for you, he left you an example, and you must follow his footsteps.

⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the favour of God was on him.

⁹ Out of jealousy the patriarchs sold Joseph into Egypt; but God was with him, ¹⁰ rescuing him from all his troubles and allowing him to find favour for his wisdom with Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him viceroy over Egypt and over all his own household.

¹⁸ he who serves Christ on these lines, is acceptable to God and esteemed by men.