1    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
               and the Word was God.
          2    The same was in the beginning with God.
          3    All things were made by him; and without him was not any
               thing made that was made.
          4    In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
          5    And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness
               comprehended it not.
          6    There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
          7    The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,
               that all men through him might believe.
          8    He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that
               Light.
          9    That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that
               cometh into the world.
          10   He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the
               world knew him not.
          11   He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
          12   But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
               the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
          13   Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
               nor of the will of man, but of God.
          14   And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we
               beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
               Father,) full of grace and truth.

 Luke 1

          1    Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a
               declaration of those things which are most surely believed
               among us,
          2    Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the
               beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
          3    It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding
               of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in
               order, most excellent Theophilus,
          4    That thou mightest know the certainty of those things,
               wherein thou hast been instructed.
          5    THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a
               certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and
               his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was
               Elisabeth.
          6    And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
               commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
          7    And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren,
               and they both were now well stricken in years.
          8    And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's
               office before God in the order of his course,
          9    According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was
               to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
          10   And the whole multitude of the people were praying without
               at the time of incense.
          11   And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on
               the right side of the altar of incense.
          12   And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell
               upon him.
          13   But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy
               prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a
               son, and thou shalt call his name John.
          14   And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice
               at his birth.
          15   For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall
               drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled
               with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
          16   And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord
               their God.
          17   And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias,
               to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
               disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a
               people prepared for the Lord.
          18   And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know
               this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in
               years.
          19   And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that
               stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto
               thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
          20   And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak,
               until the day that these things shall be performed, because
               thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in
               their season.
          21   And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he
               tarried so long in the temple.
          22   And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they
               perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he
               beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
          23   And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his
               ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own
               house.
          24   And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid
               herself five months, saying,
          25   Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he
               looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
          26   And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God
               unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
          27   To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
               house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
          28   And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that
               art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou
               among women.
          29   And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and
               cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
          30   And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast
               found favour with God.
          31   And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring
               forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
          32   He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the
               Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of
               his father David:
          33   And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of
               his kingdom there shall be no end.
          34   Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I
               know not a man?
          35   And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost
               shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
               overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall
               be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
          36   And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a
               son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her,
               who was called barren.
          37   For with God nothing shall be impossible.
          38   And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto
               me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
          39   And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country
               with haste, into a city of Juda;
          40   And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted
               Elisabeth.
          41   And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the
               salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and
               Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
          42   And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art
               thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
          43   And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should
               come to me?
          44   For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in
               mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
          45   And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a
               performance of those things which were told her from the
               Lord.
          46   And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
          47   And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
          48   For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for,
               behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me
               blessed.
          49   For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy
               is his name.
          50   And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to
               generation.
          51   He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the
               proud in the imagination of their hearts.
          52   He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted
               them of low degree.
          53   He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he
               hath sent empty away.
          54   He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his
               mercy;
          55   As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for
               ever.
          56   And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to
               her own house.
          57   Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered;
               and she brought forth a son.
          58   And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had
               shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
          59   And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to
               circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after
               the name of his father.
          60   And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be
               called John.
          61   And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is
               called by this name.
          62   And they made signs to his father, how he would have him
               called.
          63   And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His
               name is John. And they marvelled all.
          64   And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed,
               and he spake, and praised God.
          65   And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all
               these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill
               country of Judaea.
          66   And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts,
               saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of
               the Lord was with him.
          67   And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and
               prophesied, saying,
          68   Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and
               redeemed his people,
          69   And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house
               of his servant David;
          70   As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have
               been since the world began:
          71   That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand
               of all that hate us;
          72   To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to
               remember his holy covenant;
          73   The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
          74   That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of
               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 thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest:
               for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his
               ways;
          77   To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the
               remission of their sins,
          78   Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring
               from on high hath visited us,
          79   To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow
               of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
          80   And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in
               the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

          Luke 2

          1    And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a
               decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be
               taxed.
          2    (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor
               of Syria.)
          3    And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
          4    And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of
               Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is
               called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage
               of David:)
          5    To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with
               child.
          6    And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were
               accomplished that she should be delivered.
          7    And she brought forth her firstborn son, and 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 in the same country shepherds abiding in the
               field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
          9    And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory
               of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore
               afraid.
          10   And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring
               you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
          11   For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
               Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
          12   And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe
               wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, good will
               toward men.
          15   And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them
               into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now
               go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to
               pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
          16   And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and
               the babe lying in a manger.
          17   And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying
               which was told them concerning this child.
          18   And all they that heard it wondered at those things which
               were told them by the shepherds.
          19   But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her
               heart.
          20   And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for
               all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told
               unto them.