1 At that time in another place called Rome there was an important ruler called Augustus. He was very powerful and he controlled many different countries and ruled over many different people. Augustus decided to count the names of the people in all those countries. 2 So the rulers who were under him counted them all. One of them was called Quirinius and he governed in Syria. 3 All the people went to their own towns to write down their names.

4-5 So Joseph left the town of Nazareth in Galilee and went to his own town with his promised wife Mary, who was pregnant. They went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea. It was Joseph's town because his ancestors belonged there and long ago King David belonged to the same line as Joseph. So Joseph and Mary went from Galilee to Bethlehem to write their names down there.

6-7 They went a long way, and when they arrived in Bethlehem Mary was ready to have her baby, but there was nowhere for them to stay in any of the houses. So they stayed in a little building where they kept the animals. And Mary gave birth to her first son, and she wrapped him in some cloth and put him in the box used for the animals' food.

8 At that time, in a place near Bethlehem, there were some men looking after their sheep. They stayed with them, taking care of them during the night. 9 And the Lord God sent an angel down from heaven, who appeared to them. God made the whole place shine with light, and the men were very frightened.

10 The angel said to them, “Don't be afraid, but listen to this news I am telling you, because I have come here to bring you good news. When you hear it and when others hear it too, you will all be full of joy.

11 “This very day in David's town a little boy has been born. Long ago God told your ancestors that he would send you his Messiah, and now the Messiah has been born. He is the Lord and he will save you all.

12 “You will find the baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a box, in a little building where they keep the animals. When you find him, you will know that this message is true.”

13 Then the men saw many angels. They suddenly appeared in the sky and they all sang together, praising God 14 and saying:

The men said to each other, “Let us go to Bethlehem to see the baby the Lord God has told us about.” 16 And they hurried off.

They went to Bethlehem and found Joseph and Mary, and saw the baby lying in the box in the place where they kept the animals. 17 They told them what the angel had said about the baby. 18 Then they told other people as well, and when they heard it they were all very surprised. 19 And Mary remembered all these things and kept thinking about them.

20 Then the men went back to their sheep, praising God for the wonderful things they had seen and heard. They had found everything just as the angels had told them.

21 After eight days they circumcised the baby and called him Jesus. It was the same name the angel had called him before his mother became pregnant.

22-24 Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus stayed in Bethlehem for one month. Then Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem, taking the baby with them. When they arrived, they went to the temple to give their baby to the Lord God, following the law that Moses had given to the people of Israel. First God told Moses and then Moses told the people God's laws. The Lord God said,

25 In Jerusalem there lived an old man called Simeon. He was a very good man who always listened to God's word. He had been waiting for the Messiah, because the Messiah would set Israel free. God's Holy Spirit was with the old man, 26 and had said to him before, “You won't die until you have seen the one the Lord God will send here called the Messiah.”

27 Now the Spirit said to him, “Go to the temple now.” And so the old man went. While he was in the temple, Joseph and Mary arrived and Simeon met them there. 28 The old man took the baby and held him in front of him. And he praised God and said,

33 Mary and Joseph were very surprised at the words the old man said about the child. 34 Then Simeon prayed to God and asked him to bless Joseph and Mary and Jesus.

And Simeon said to Jesus' mother, “God has chosen this baby and sent him into the world so that some of us Israelite people will die but some will be saved. When he grows up he will teach people what God is like. But many people will reject him. 35 At that time those people who reject God will no longer hide what is in their minds. But you will be very sad, just as though a sharp knife was pushed through your chest.”

36-37 An old woman called Anna lived in the temple. She was always telling people God's word. Her father was Phanuel from the family of Asher. She was now 84 years old. A long time ago she and her husband had lived together for seven years, but her husband had died, so she had been a widow for a long time.

The old woman never left the temple. Day and night she praised the Lord God. Sometimes she ate food but sometimes she went without food and just prayed.

38 While Joseph and Mary and Jesus were still in the temple, the old woman came to where they were. When she saw the baby, she praised God for the birth of the child. From then on she talked about him. She kept on speaking about him to all the people who were waiting until God set the people of Jerusalem free.

39 Joseph and Mary finished everything they had to do in the temple to obey God's law. Then they returned to their town of Nazareth in Galilee. 40 The child Jesus grew and became strong and wise and God was pleased with him and stayed with him all the time.

41 Many Israelite people used to go to Jerusalem every year at the end of the cold season. They went for the Passover ceremony, and Joseph and Mary used to go too. 42 Jesus was twelve years old now, and Joseph and Mary took him with them to Jerusalem for the ceremony. They went with many other Jewish people.

43 When the Passover ceremony had finished, Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem to go home to Nazareth. Many of their relatives went with them, but Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. His parents didn't know that he had stayed there. 44 They thought he was with some of the other people.

They kept on going through the day and then they looked for him, but Jesus wasn't with the others. They asked everyone if they had seen Jesus, 45 but they said they hadn't seen him.

Then Joseph and Mary searched and searched, but they didn't find him. They slept until morning, and then they returned to Jerusalem. When they arrived there it became dark and they slept until morning. Then they began searching in Jerusalem, on the roads and in the buildings. 46 And then they went back to the temple, and they found him there.

Jesus was sitting with the teachers of Moses' law. They were talking together, and Jesus was listening to them and asking them questions. 47 They also asked Jesus questions. When they heard his answers all the people there were very surprised because he was so wise and he gave them such good answers.

48 Joseph and Mary were very surprised when they saw Jesus sitting with the teachers. His mother said to him, “Son, why didn't you come with us? Your father and I have been very worried about you. We have been searching everywhere for you.”

49 Jesus answered, “Why did you go looking everywhere else? You should have come here first. Didn't you know I would be busy here in my Father's house?” 50 But they didn't understand what Jesus was saying.

51 So Jesus got up and left Jerusalem and went home to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary and he always obeyed them.

Mary kept on thinking about all the things she had seen and heard and kept them in her mind.

52 Jesus grew up and he became wise. God was pleased with him and people were pleased with him too.