Section II.

Section II.

[1] [Arabic, p. 7] ¹⁷³Now¹⁷⁴ the birth of Jesus the Messiah was on this wise:  In the time when his mother was given in marriage to Joseph, before they came together, [2] she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  ¹⁷⁵And Joseph her husband was a just man and did not wish to expose her, and he purposed to put her away secretly.  [3] ¹⁷⁶But when he thought of this, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, and said unto him, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary thy wife, for that [4] which is begotten¹⁷⁷ in her is of the Holy Spirit.  ¹⁷⁸She shall bear a son, and thou shalt [5] call his name Jesus, and he shall save¹⁷⁹ his people from their sins.  ¹⁸⁰And all this was that the saying from the Lord by the prophet might be fulfilled:

[6] ¹⁸¹Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,

And they shall call his name Immanuel,

[7] which is, being interpreted, With us is our God.  ¹⁸²And when Joseph arose from his [8] sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife; ¹⁸³and knew her not until she brought forth her firstborn son.

[9] ¹⁸⁴And in those days there went forth a decree from Augustus Cæsar that all the [10] people of his dominion¹⁸⁵ should be enrolled. ¹⁸⁶This first enrolment was¹⁸⁷ while Quirinius [11, 12] was governor of Syria.  ¹⁸⁸And every man went to be enrolled in his city.  ¹⁸⁹And Joseph went up also from Nazareth, a city of Galilee, to Judæa, to the city of David [13] which is called Bethlehem (for he was of the house of David and of his tribe), ¹⁹⁰with [14] [Arabic, p. 8] Mary his betrothed, she being with child, to be enrolled there.  ¹⁹¹And while [15] she was there the days for her being delivered were accomplished.  ¹⁹²And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them where they were staying.

[16] ¹⁹³And there were in that region shepherds abiding, keeping their flock in the watch [17] of the night.  ¹⁹⁴And behold, the angel of God came unto them, and the glory of the [18] Lord shone upon them; and they were greatly terrified.  ¹⁹⁵And the angel said unto them, Be not terrified; for I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be to the [19] whole world; ¹⁹⁶there is born to you this day a Saviour, which is the Lord the Messiah, [20] in the city of David.  ¹⁹⁷And this is a sign for you:  ye shall find a babe wrapped [21] in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger.  ¹⁹⁸And there appeared with the angels suddenly many heavenly forces praising¹⁹⁹ God and saying,

[22] ²⁰⁰Praise be to God in the highest,

And on the earth peace, and good hope to men.

[23] ²⁰¹And when the angels departed from them to heaven, the shepherds spake to one another and said, We will go to Bethlehem and see this word which hath been, as [24] the Lord made known unto us.  ²⁰²And they came with haste, and found Mary and [25] Joseph, and the babe laid in a manger.  ²⁰³And when they saw, they reported the word [26] which was spoken to them about the child.  ²⁰⁴And all that heard wondered at the [27] description which the shepherds described²⁰⁵ to them.  ²⁰⁶But Mary kept these²⁰⁷ sayings [28] and discriminated²⁰⁸ them in her heart.  ²⁰⁹And those shepherds returned, magnifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard, according as it was described unto them.

[29] [Arabic, p. 9] ²¹⁰And when eight days were fulfilled that the child should be circumcised, his name was called Jesus, being that by which he was called by the angel before his conception in the womb.

[30] ²¹¹And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were [31] completed, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him before the Lord ²¹²(as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male opening the womb shall be called the [32] holy thing of the Lord), ²¹³and to give a sacrificial victim as it is said in the law of [33] the Lord, A pair of doves or two young pigeons.  ²¹⁴And there was in Jerusalem a man whose name was Simeon; and this man was upright and pious, and expecting [34] the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  ²¹⁵And it had been said unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death till he had seen with [35] his eyes the Messiah²¹⁶ of the Lord.  ²¹⁷And this man came by the Spirit to the temple; and at the time when his parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might [36] present for him a sacrifice, as it is written in the law, ²¹⁸he bare him in his arms and praised God and said,

[37] ²¹⁹Now loosest thou the bonds of thy servant, O Lord, in peace,²²⁰

According to thy saying;

[38] ²²¹For mine eye hath witnessed thy mercy,

[39] ²²²Which thou hast made ready because of the whole world;

[40] ²²³A light for the unveiling²²⁴ of the nations,

And a glory to thy people Israel.

[41] ²²⁵And Joseph and his mother were marvelling at the things which were being said [42] concerning him.  ²²⁶And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, he is set for the overthrow and rising of many in Israel; and for a sign of contention; [43] ²²⁷and a spear²²⁸ shall pierce²²⁹ through thine own soul; that the thoughts of the [44] [Arabic, p. 10] hearts of many may be revealed.  ²³⁰And Anna the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, was also advanced in years (and she dwelt [45] with her husband seven years from her virginity, ²³¹and she remained a widow about eighty-four years); and she left not the temple, and served night and day with [46] fasting and prayer.  ²³²And she also rose in that hour and thanked the Lord, and she [47] spake of him with every one who was expecting the deliverance of Jerusalem.  ²³³And when they had accomplished everything according to what is in the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to Nazareth their city.