1 Now it came about in those days that an order went out from Caesar Augustus that there was to be a numbering of all the world.
2 This was the first numbering, which was made when Quirinius was ruler of Syria.
3 And all men went to be numbered, everyone to his town.
4 And Joseph went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judaea, to Beth-lehem, the town of David, because he was of the house and family of David,
5 To be put on the list with Mary, his future wife, who was about to become a mother.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
7 And she had her first son; and folding him in linen, she put him to rest in the place where the cattle had their food, because there was no room for them in the house.
8 And in the same country there were keepers of sheep in the fields, watching over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord came to them, and the glory of the Lord was shining round about them: and fear came on them.
10 And the angel said, Have no fear; for truly, I give you good news of great joy which will be for all the people:
11 For on this day, in the town of David, a Saviour has come to birth, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this is the sign to you: you will see a young child folded in linen, in the place where the cattle have their food.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a great band of spirits from heaven, giving praise to God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace among men with whom he is well pleased.
15 And when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the keepers of the sheep said to one another, Let us go now to Beth-lehem, and see this thing which has come about, which the Lord has made clear to us.
16 And they came quickly, and saw Mary and Joseph, and the child in the place where the cattle had their food.
17 And when they saw it, they gave them an account of the things which had been said to them about the child.
18 And all those to whose ears it came were full of wonder at the things said by the keepers of the sheep.
19 But Mary kept all these words in her heart, and gave much thought to them.
20 Then the keepers of the sheep went back, giving glory and praise to God for all the things which had come to their ears and which they had seen, as it had been said to them.
21 And when, after eight days, the time came for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name which the angel had given to him before his birth.
22 And when the necessary days for making them clean by the law of Moses had come to an end, they took him to Jerusalem to give him to the Lord
23 (As it says in the law of the Lord, Every mother's first male child is to be holy to the Lord),
24 And to make an offering, as it is ordered in the law of the Lord, of two doves or other young birds.
25 And there was then in Jerusalem a man whose name was Simeon; and he was an upright man, fearing God and waiting for the comfort of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was on him.
26 And he had knowledge, through the Holy Spirit, that he would not see death till he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 And full of the Spirit he came into the Temple; and when the father and mother came in with the child Jesus, to do with him what was ordered by the law,
28 Then he took him in his arms and gave praise to God and said,
29 Now you are letting your servant go in peace, O Lord, as you have said;
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 Which you have made ready before the face of all nations;
32 A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.
33 And his father and mother were full of wonder at the things which were said about him.
34 And Simeon gave them his blessing and said to Mary, his mother, See, this child will be the cause of the downfall and the lifting up of great numbers of people in Israel, and he will be a sign against which hard words will be said;
35 (And a sword will go through your heart;) so that the secret thoughts of men may come to light.
36 And there was one, Anna, a woman prophet, the daughter of Phanuel, of the family of Asher (she was very old, and after seven years of married life
37 She had been a widow for eighty-four years); she was in the Temple at all times, worshipping with prayers and going without food, night and day.
38 And coming up at that time, she gave praise to God, talking of him to all those who were waiting for the freeing of Jerusalem.
39 And when they had done all the things which were ordered by the law of the Lord, they went back to Galilee, to Nazareth, the town where they were living.
40 And the child became tall and strong and full of wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
41 And every year his father and mother went to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up, as their way was, to the feast;
43 And when the days of the feast came to an end and they were going back, the boy Jesus was still in Jerusalem, but they had no knowledge of it:
44 And in the belief that he was with some of their number, they went a day's journey; and after looking for him among their relations and friends,
45 And seeing that he was not there, they went back to Jerusalem, to make search for him.
46 And after three days they came across him in the Temple, seated among the wise men, giving ear to their words and putting questions to them.
47 And all to whose ears it came were full of wonder at his knowledge and the answers which he gave.
48 And when they saw him they were surprised, and his mother said to him, Son, why have you done this to us? see, your father and I have been looking for you with sorrow.
49 And he said to them, Why were you looking for me? was it not clear to you that my right place was in my Father's house?
50 And his words seemed strange to them.
51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth; and did as he was ordered: and his mother kept all these words in her heart.
52 And Jesus was increasing in wisdom and in years, and in grace before God and men.
1 那时, 有谕旨从凯撒奥古士督颁发下来, 叫普天下的人登记户口。
2 这是第一次户口登记, 是在居里纽作叙利亚总督的时候举行的。
3 众人各归各城去登记户口。
4 约瑟本是大卫家族的人, 也从加利利的拿撒勒上犹太去, 到了大卫的城伯利恒,
5 与所聘之妻马利亚一同登记户口。那时马利亚的身孕已经重了。
6 他们在那里的时候, 马利亚的产期到了,
7 生了头胎儿子, 用布包着, 放在马槽里, 因为客店里没有地方。
8 在伯利恒的郊外, 有一些牧人在夜间看守羊群。
9 主的一位使者站在他们旁边, 主的荣光四面照着他们, 他们就非常害怕。
10 天使说: "不要怕! 看哪! 我报给你们大喜的信息, 是关于万民的:
11 今天在大卫的城里, 为你们生了救主, 就是主基督。
12 你们要找到一个婴孩, 包着布, 卧在马槽里, 那就是记号了。"
13 忽然有一大队天兵, 同那天使一起赞美 神说:
14 "在至高之处, 荣耀归与 神! 在地上, 平安归与他所喜悦的人! "
15 众天使离开他们升天去了, 那些牧人彼此说: "我们往伯利恒去, 看看主所指示我们已经成就的事。"
16 他们急忙去了, 找到马利亚、约瑟和那卧在马槽里的婴孩。
17 他们见过以后, 就把天使对他们论这孩子的话传开了。
18 听见的人, 都希奇牧人所说的事。
19 马利亚把这一切放在心里, 反复思想。
20 牧人因为听见的和看见的, 正像天使对他们所说的一样, 就回去了, 把荣耀赞美归与 神。
21 满了八天, 替孩子行割礼的时候, 就给他起名叫耶稣, 就是他成胎之前, 天使所起的。
22 满了洁净的日子, 他们就按着摩西的律法, 带孩子上耶路撒冷去, 奉献给主。
23 正如主的律法所记: "所有头生的男孩, 都当称为圣归给主。"
24 又照着主的律法所说的献上祭物, 就是一对斑鸠或两只雏鸽。
25 在耶路撒冷有一个人, 名叫西面, 这人公义虔诚, 一向期待以色列的安慰者来到, 又有圣灵在他身上。
26 圣灵启示他, 在死前必得见主所应许的基督,
27 他又受圣灵感动进了圣殿。那时, 耶稣的父母抱着孩子进来, 要按着律法的规矩为他行礼。
28 西面就把他接到手上, 称颂 神说:
29 "主啊, 现在照你的话, 释放仆人平平安安地去吧!
30 因我的眼睛已经看见你的救恩,
31 就是你在万民面前所预备的,
32 为要作外族人启示的光, 和你民以色列的荣耀。"
33 他父母因论到他的这些话而希奇。
34 西面给他们祝福, 对他母亲马利亚说: "看哪! 这孩子被立, 要叫以色列中许多人跌倒, 许多人兴起, 又要成为反对的目标,
35 (你自己的心也会被刀刺透, )这样, 许多人心中的意念就要被揭露出来。"
36 又有一个女先知, 就是亚拿, 是亚设支派法内利的女儿。她已经上了年纪, 从童女出嫁, 和丈夫住了七年,
37 就寡居了, 直到八十四岁("就寡居了, 直到八十四岁"或译: "就寡居了八十四年")。她没有离开过圣殿, 以禁食和祷告昼夜事奉主。
38 就在那时候, 她前来称谢 神, 并且向期待耶路撒冷蒙救赎的众人, 讲论孩子的事。
39 他们按着主的律法办完一切, 就回加利利, 到自己的城拿撒勒去了。
40 孩子渐渐长大, 强壮起来, 充满智慧, 有 神的恩典在他身上。
41 每年逾越节, 他父母都上耶路撒冷去。
42 当他十二岁时, 他们按着节期的惯例, 照常上去。
43 过完了节, 他们回去的时候, 孩童耶稣仍留在耶路撒冷, 他父母却不知道,
44 还以为他在同行的人中间。走了一天, 就在亲戚和熟人中找他,
45 没有找到, 就转回耶路撒冷找他。
46 过了三天, 才发现他在圣殿里, 坐在教师中间, 一面听, 一面问。
47 所有听见他的人, 都希奇他的聪明和应对。
48 他父母见了, 非常惊奇, 他母亲说: "孩子, 为什么这样对待我们呢?你看, 你父亲和我都很担心地在找你呢! "
49 他说: "为什么找我呢?你们不知道我必须在我父的家里吗?("在我父的家里吗?"或译: "以我父的事为念吗?")"
50 但他们不明白他所说的话。
51 他就同他们下去, 回到拿撒勒, 并且顺从他们。他母亲把这一切事, 都存在心里。
52 耶稣的智慧和身量, 以及 神和人对他的喜爱, 都不断增长。