Section III.

[1, 2] 160And after that,161 the Magi came from the east to Jerusalem, 162and said, Where is the King of the Jews which was born?  We have seen his star in the east, and have [3] come to worship him.  163And Herod the king heard, and he was troubled, and all [4] Jerusalem with him.  164And he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the [5] people, and asked them in what place165 the Messiah should be born.  166They said, In Bethlehem of Judæa:  thus it is written in the prophet,

[6] 167Thou also, Bethlehem of Judah,

Art not contemptible among the kings of Judah:

From thee shall go forth a king,

And he shall be a shepherd to my people Israel.

[7] 168Then Herod called the Magi secretly, and inquired of them the time at which [8] the star appeared to them.  169And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said unto them, Go and search about the child diligently; and when ye have found him, come and [9] make known to me, that I also may go and worship him.  170And they, when they [Arabic, p. 11] heard the king, departed; and lo, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, until it came and stood above the place where the child [10, 11] was.  171And when they beheld the star, they rejoiced with very great joy.  172And they entered the house and beheld the child with Mary his mother, and fell down worshipping him, and opened their saddle-bags and offered to him offerings, gold and [12] myrrh and frankincense.  173And they saw in a dream174 that they should not return to Herod, and they travelled by another way in going to their country.

[13] 175And when they had departed, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, and said unto him, Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I speak to thee; for Herod is determined to seek the child [14] to slay him.  176And Joseph arose and took the child and his mother in the night, and [15] fled into Egypt, 177and remained in it until the time of the death of Herod:  that that might be fulfilled which was said by the Lord in the prophet, which said, From [16] Egypt did I call my son.  178And Herod then, when he saw that he was mocked of the Magi, was very angry, and sent and killed all the male children which were in Bethlehem and all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time [17] which he had inquired from the Magi.  179Then was fulfilled the saying in Jeremiah the prophet, which said,

[18] 180A voice was heard in Ramah,

Weeping and much lamentation;

Rachel weeping181 for her children,

And not willing to be consoled for their loss.

[19] 182But when Herod the king died, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to [20] Joseph in Egypt, 183and said unto him, Rise and take the child and his mother, and [Arabic, p. 12] go into the land of Israel; for they have died who sought the child’s life.  [21] 184And Joseph rose and took the child and his mother, and came to the land [22] of Israel.  185But when he heard that Archelaus had become king over Judæa instead of Herod his father, he feared to go thither; and he saw in a dream that he should [23] go into the land of Galilee, 186and that he should abide in a city called Nazareth:  that the saying in the prophet might be fulfilled, that he should be called a Nazarene.

[24] 187And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, becoming filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.

[25] 188And his kinsfolk189 used to go every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the passover.  [26] 190And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to their custom, [27] to the feast.  191And when the days were accomplished, they returned; and the child [28] Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother knew not:  192and they supposed that he was with the children of their company.  And when they had gone one day’s journey, they sought him beside their people and those who knew them, [29] and they found him not; 193so they returned to Jerusalem and sought him again.  [30] 194And after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, [31] hearing them and asking them questions; 195and all who heard him wondered at [32] his wisdom and his words.  196And when they saw him they wondered, and his mother said unto him, My son, why hast thou dealt with us thus? behold, I and thy father [33] have been seeking for thee with much anxiety.  197And he said unto them, Why were [34] ye seeking me? know198 ye not that I must be in the house of my Father?  199And they [35] understood not the word which he spake unto them.  200And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and he was obedient to them:  and his mother used to keep all these sayings in her heart.

[36] [Arabic, p. 13] 201And Jesus grew in his stature and wisdom, and in grace with God and men.

[37] 202And in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, when Pontius Pilate was governor in Judæa, and one of the four rulers, Herod, in Galilee; and Philip his brother, one of the four rulers, in Ituræa and in the district of Trachonitis; and [38] Lysanias, one of the four rulers, in Abilene; 203in the chief-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the command204 of God went forth to John the son of Zacharias in the [39] desert.  205And he came into all the region which is about Jordan, proclaiming the [40] baptism of repentance unto206 the forgiveness of sins.  207And he was preaching in the [41] wilderness of Judæa, and saying, 208Repent ye; the kingdom of heaven is come near.  [42] 209This is he that was spoken of in Isaiah the prophet,

The voice which crieth in the desert,

[43] 210Prepare ye the way of the Lord,

And make straight in the plain, paths for our God.

[44] 211All the valleys shall become filled,

And all the mountains and hills shall become low;

And the rough shall become plain, And the difficult place, easy;

[45] 212And all flesh shall see the salvation