THE GOSPELS

MATTHEW, MARK, AND LUKE

LUKE I

Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,

And hath raised us up an hope of salvation
In the house of his servant David

(As he spake by the mouth of the holy prophets
That have been since the world began);
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers,
And to remember his holy covenant;

The promise which he gave unto our fathers, To grant unto us that we 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,

And to guide our feet into the way of peace.

LUKE II

Now there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them:

Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy

Which shall be to all people:

For unto you is born this day in the city of
David

A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this is the sign unto you:

Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,

And lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying:

Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, that 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 unto us. And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken

MARK

to them about this child. And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds. 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.

MATTHEW II

Now in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and are come to worship him. And when Herod the king had heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa; for thus it is written by the prophet:

And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah,

Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah:

For out of thee shall come forth a governor, Who shall be shepherd of my people Israel. Then Herod privily called the wise men, and learned of them carefully what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out carefully concerning the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word, that I also may come and worship him. And they, having heard the king, went their

way; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother; and they fell down and worshipped him; and opening their treasures, they offered unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

LUKE II

Now it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. And all went to enrol 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 David; to enrol himself with Mary, his wife. And it came to pass, while they were there, that Mary 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.

15.24 And they called his name Jesus.

And they brought the child up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law, Every male that is born shall be called holy to the Lord). 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 was upon him.

And it had been revealed unto