Mary and Joseph travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, because the emperor in Rome wants every person counted. There is no room for them in the inn, so when her baby is born, Mary lays him in a manger. That same night, as shepherds keep watch in the fields, all at once an angel stands before them.
In those days Caesar Augustus, the emperor in Rome, sent out an order that every person in all his lands was to be counted and written down. So everyone set off to be registered, each in the town his family came from.
Joseph lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. He belonged to the family of King David, so he went south into Judea, to Bethlehem, the city of David. Mary went with him. She was promised to Joseph in marriage, and she was expecting a baby.
While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born. Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, the trough the animals ate from, because there was no room for them in the inn.
That same night, in the fields outside the town, there were shepherds staying out in the open, keeping watch over their flock. All at once an angel stood before them, and the glory of God shone all around. The shepherds were terrified.
“Do not be afraid,” the angel said. “I bring you good news of great joy, and it is for all people. Today, in the city of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Christ. This will be your sign: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great host of angels from heaven appeared beside the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds turned to one another.
“Let’s go to Bethlehem,” they said, “and see this thing that has happened, which God has told us about.”
They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they had seen him, the shepherds told everyone what the angel had said about this child, and all who heard it were amazed.
But Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds went back to their flock, giving glory to God and praising him for everything they had heard and seen. It had all happened just as the angel said.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the days when Herod was king, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.
“Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?” they asked. “We saw his star rise in the East, and we have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and so was all of Jerusalem. He called together the chief priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ was to be born.
“In Bethlehem in Judea, Your Majesty,” they answered. “That is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a leader who will rule my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the wise men to him in secret and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. After that he sent them on to Bethlehem.
“Go and search carefully for the child,” he said. “When you have found him, come back and tell me, so that I can go and worship him too.”
The wise men listened to the king and went on their way. The star they had seen rise in the East went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw it standing there, they were filled with great joy.
They went into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
In a dream, God warned them not to go back to Herod. So they went home to their own country by another way.
Retold by Talerie from King James Version (opens in a new window) Public domain Copy this text, adapt it, use it however you like. A link back to Talerie is appreciated but never required. CC0 1.0 (opens in a new window)