The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (69 page)

⁵¹
He has shown strength with his arm,

  
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,

⁵²
he has put down the mighty from their thrones,

  
and exalted those of low degree;

⁵³
he has filled the hungry with good things,

  
and the rich he has sent empty away.

⁵⁴
He has helped his servant Israel,

  
in remembrance of his mercy,

⁵⁵
as he spoke to our fathers,

  
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."
 
*

⁵⁶
And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

57
 Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son.
⁵⁸
And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
⁵⁹
And on the eighth day they came
to circumcise
the child; and they would have named him Zechari'ah after his father,
⁶⁰
but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John."
⁶¹
And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name."
⁶²
And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called.
⁶³
And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled.
⁶⁴
And immediately his mouth was opened and
his tongue loosed
, and he spoke, blessing God.
⁶⁵
And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea;
⁶⁶
and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

67
 And his father Zechari'ah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸
"
Blessed be the Lord
God of Israel,

  
for he has visited and redeemed his people,

⁶⁹
and has raised up
a horn
of salvation
 
*
for us

  
in the house of his servant David,

⁷⁰
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

⁷¹
that we should be saved from our enemies,

  
and from the hand of all who hate us;

⁷²
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers,

  
and to
remember his holy covenant
,

⁷³
the oath which he swore to our father Abraham,
⁷⁴
to grant us

  
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

  
might serve him without fear,

⁷⁵
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

⁷⁶
And you, child, will be called the
prophet of the Most High
;

  
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷
to give knowledge of salvation to his people

  
in the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸
through the tender mercy of our God,

  
when
the day
shall dawn upon
^f
us from on high

⁷⁹
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

  
to guide our feet into the way of peace."

⁸⁰
And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

The Birth of Jesus

2
 In those days a decree went out from
Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be enrolled.
²
This was the first enrollment, when Quirin'ius was governor of Syria.
³
And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.
⁴
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem
, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
⁵
to be enrolled with Mary his betrothed, who was with child.
⁶
And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.
⁷
And she gave birth to her
first-born
 
*
son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8
 And in that region there were
shepherds
out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
⁹
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the
glory of the Lord
shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
¹⁰
And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people;
¹¹
for to you is born this day in the city of David a
Savior, who is Christ the Lord
.
¹²
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among men with whom he is pleased!"
^g

15
 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."
¹⁶
And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
¹⁷
And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child;
¹⁸
and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
¹⁹
But
Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart
.
²⁰
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Jesus Is Circumcised and Named

21
 And at the end of eight days, when he was
circumcised
, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

22
 And when the time came for their
purification
according to the law of Moses, 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 shall be called holy to the Lord
")
²⁴
and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."
²⁵
Now 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 was upon him.
²⁶
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
²⁷
And inspired by the Spirit
^h
he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,
²⁸
he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹
"
Lord, now let your servant depart in peace
,

  
according to your word;

³⁰
for my eyes have seen your salvation

³¹
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³²
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

  
and for glory to your people Israel."

33
 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him;
³⁴
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

  
"Behold, this child is set for the
fall and rising
of many in Israel,

  
and for a sign that is spoken against

³⁵
(and
a sword will pierce
through your own soul also),

  
that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed."

36
 And there was
a prophetess
, Anna, the daughter of Phan'uel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity,
³⁷
and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
³⁸
And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the
redemption of Jerusalem
.

The Return to Nazareth

39
 And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
⁴⁰
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

41
 Now
his parents went to Jerusalem
every year at the feast of the
Passover
.
⁴²
And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom;
⁴³
and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,
⁴⁴
but supposing him to be in the company they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances;
⁴⁵
and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him.
⁴⁶
After three days
they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions;
⁴⁷
and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
⁴⁸
And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously."
⁴⁹
And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me?
Did you not know
that I must be in my Father's house?"
 
*
⁵⁰
And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.
⁵¹
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.