me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

89 And Mary arose in these days and went into the hili 40 country with haste, into a city of Judah; and entered 41 into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth. And

it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of 42 Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost; and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said blessed art thou among women, 43 and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come 44 unto me? For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for 45 joy. And blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to 46 her from the Lord. And Mary said,

47.

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My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath looked upon the low estate of his hand. maiden:

For behold, from henceforth all generations shall
call me blessed.

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

And his mercy is unto generations and generations
On them that fear him.

He hath shewed strength with his arm;

He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.

He hath put down princes from their thrones,

And hath exalted them of low degree.

The hungry he hath filled with good things;
And the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath holpen Israel his servant,

That he might remember mercy

(As he spake unto our fathers)

Toward Abraham and his seed for ever.

And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned unto her house.

Now Elisabeth's time was fulfilled that she should be 58 delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called 60 him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called

61 John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy 62 kindred that is called by this name. And they made

signs to his father, what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, 64 His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his

mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, 65 and he spake, blessing God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judæa. 66 And all that heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.

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

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

For he hath visited and wrought redemption for
his people,

And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of his servant David

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

Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

To shew mercy towards our fathers,

And to remember his holy covenant;

The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father, To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies

Should serve him without fear,

In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High:

For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to
make ready his ways;

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

Because of the tender mercy of our God,

Whereby the dayspring from on high shall visit us, To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death;

To guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

2 Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should

2 be enrolled. This was the first enrolment made when 3 Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to en4 rol themselves, every one to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of 5 David; to enrol himself with Mary, who was betrothed 6 to him, being great with child. And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she 7 should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8

And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their 9 flock. And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they 10 were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of 11 great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is

born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, 12 which is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign unto you; Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 13 and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

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Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.

And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known 16 unto us. And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known concerning

the saying which was spoken to them about this child. 18 And all that heard it wondered at the things which were 19 spoken unto them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all 20 these sayings, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them.

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And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising him, his name was called JESUS, which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

And when the days of their purification according to

the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to 23 Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the 24 womb shall be called holy to the Lord), 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 behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit 26 was upon him. And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he had 27 seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him after the custom of 28 the law, then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

Now lettest thou thy servant depart, O Lord,'
According to thy word, in peace;

30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples;

A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of thy people Israel. 33 And his father and his mother were marvelling at the 34 things which were spoken concerning him; and Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the falling and rising up of many 35 in Israel; and for a sign which is spoken against; yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul; that 36 thought out of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age. having lived with a husband seven years from her vir87 ginity, and she had been a widow even for fourscore and four years), which departed not from the temple, wor shipping with fastings and supplications night and day. 88 And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks unto God, and spake of him to all them that were looking 39 for the redemption of Jerusalem. And when they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

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And the child grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

And his parents went every year to Jerusalem at the 42 feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years 43 old, they went up after the custom of the feast; and

when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and 44 his parents knew it not; but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day's journey; and they sought for him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance: 45 and when they found him not, they returned to Jeru46 salem, seeking for him. And it came to pass, after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking 47 them questions: and all that heard him were amazed at 48 his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him, they were astonished: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? be49 hold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. And he

said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not 50 that I must be in my Father's house? And they under51 stood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and he was subject unto them: and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

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And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituræa and Trachonitis, and 2 Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came unto John 3 the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the region round about Jordan, preaching the 4 baptism of repentance unto remission of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

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Make ye ready the way of the Lord,

Make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

And every mountain and hill shall be brought

low;

And the crooked shall become straight,

And the rough ways smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

He said therefore to the multitudes that went out to be baptized of him, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned 8 you to face from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise