Luke 2
1 About that time the Emperor Augustus commanded that ([his officials must] write down the names/[a census be taken]) of all the people who lived in countries [controlled] by the Roman [government] {that the Roman [government controlled]}, [so that the government could collect taxes from them].
And it was don in tho daies, a maundement wente out fro the emperour August, that al the world schulde be discryued.
2 That was the first time that they (wrote down the names/took a census) in Syria [province, which included Judea district]. They did this while Quirinius was the governor of the province.
This firste discryuyng was maad of Cyryn, iustice of Sirie.
3 Every person had to go to the town where his [most famous ancestor] had lived, so that [the officials] could write down their names.
And alle men wenten to make professioun, ech in to his owne citee.
4 So, because Joseph was a descendant of [King] David, he went up from Nazareth, the town in Galilee [district where he lived], to the town of Bethlehem in Judea [district]. That was the town where [King] David [grew up].
And Joseph wente vp fro Galilee, fro the citee Nazareth, in to Judee, in to a citee of Dauid, that is clepid Bethleem, for that he was of the hous and of the meyne of Dauid,
5 Joseph went with Mary, who [was considered] {whom [people considered]} [to be] his wife, who was now pregnant. They went so that they could put his name and Mary’s name [in the record book].
that he schulde knouleche with Marie, his wijf, that was weddid to hym, and was greet with child.
6 When they arrived [in Bethlehem], there was no place for them to stay in the house where travelers stay. [So they stayed in a cattle shed]. When the time for Mary to give birth arrived, she gave birth to her first son there. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and placed him in a trough where [people] put food for the animals.
And it was don, while thei weren there, the daies weren fulfillid, that sche schulde bere child.
And sche bare hir first borun sone, and wlappide hym in clothis, and leide hym in a cratche, for ther was no place to hym in no chaumbir.
8 That night, there were [some] shepherds who were taking care of their sheep [as usual] in the fields near [Bethlehem].
And scheepherdis weren in the same cuntre, wakynge and kepynge the watchis of the nyyt on her flok.
9 An angel from God appeared to them. A great light (from the Lord/from God) shone on them and around them. [So] they became very afraid.
And lo! the aungel of the Lord stood bisidis hem, and the cleernesse of God schinede aboute hem; and thei dredden with greet drede.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! I have come to tell you good news, which will [make you] very happy! This message is for everyone [to hear].
And the aungel seide to hem, Nyle ye drede; for lo! Y preche to you a greet ioye, that schal be to al puple.
11 [The message is that] today a baby has been born in [Bethlehem, the town where King] David grew up. That baby will [eventually] save you [from the guilt of your sins]! He is the Messiah, [your] Lord!
For a sauyoure is borun to dai to you, that is Crist the Lord, in the citee of Dauid.
12 I will tell you how [you will recognize him] (OR, how you will know [that what I say is true]): [In Bethlehem] you will find a baby who has been wrapped {[whose mother] has wrapped him} in strips of cloth and placed in a trough where [people] put food for the animals.”
And this is a tokene to you; ye schulen fynde a yong child wlappid in clothis, and leid in a cratche.
13 Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven appeared and joined the other angel. They all praised God, singing/saying,
And sudenli ther was maad with the aungel a multitude of heuenli knyythod, heriynge God,
14 “May [all the angels] in the highest heaven praise God! And on the earth may the people to whom God has shown his favor have peace [with him]!”
and seiynge, Glorie be in the hiyeste thingis to God, and in erthe pees be to men of good wille.
15 After the angels left them [and returned] to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem to see this [wonderful] thing that has happened, which (the Lord/God) has told us about!”
And it was don, as the `aungelis passiden awei fro hem in to heuene, the scheephirdis spaken togider, and seiden, Go we ouer to Bethleem, and se we this word that is maad, which the Lord hath `maad, and schewide to vs.
16 So they went quickly. They found the [place where] Mary and Joseph [were staying], and [they saw] the baby lying in the trough where [people] put food for the animals.
And thei hiyynge camen, and founden Marie and Joseph, and the yong child leid in a cratche.
17 Then they told [Mary and Joseph and others] what had been told them {what [the angel] had told them} about this child.
And thei seynge, knewen of the word that was seid to hem of this child.
18 Everyone who heard what was said by the shepherds {what the shepherds said} to them was amazed.
And alle men that herden wondriden, and of these thingis that weren seid to hem of the scheephirdis.
19 But Mary [did not talk to others about what the angels said]; she just kept thinking very much about it.
But Marie kepte alle these wordis, berynge togider in hir herte.
20 The shepherds returned [to their sheep]. They kept praising God very much for all the things that they had heard and seen, [because] everything [happened] exactly like [the angels] told them.
And the scheepherdis turneden ayen, glorifyinge and heriynge God in alle thingis that thei hadden herd and seyn, as it was seid to hem.
21 Seven days later, when [the priests] circumcised the baby, [his parents] named him Jesus. That was the name that [they were told by] the angel {the angel [told them]} [to] give him before Mary became pregnant.
And aftir that the eiyte daies weren endid, that the child schulde be circumcided, his name was clepid Jhesus, which was clepid of the aungel, bifor that he was conceyued in the wombe.
22 It had been written by Moses {Moses had written} [long ago] in a law that God gave him, that when a woman gave birth to her first son, the parents had to take him [to the Temple] in Jerusalem in order that they might dedicate him (to the Lord/to God). So when the time came for them to do those rituals so that [God would consider] them pure again, Mary and Joseph took Jesus there.
And aftir that the daies of the purgacioun of Marie weren fulfillid, aftir Moyses lawe, thei token hym into Jerusalem, to offre hym to the Lord, as it is writun in the lawe of the Lord,
For euery male kynde openynge the wombe, schal be clepid holi to the Lord; and that thei schulen yyue an offryng,
24 God had commanded in his laws that if the first child [of a couple] was a boy, his parents should offer as a sacrifice to God two turtledoves or two young pigeons. [So Joseph and Mary gave the priest two birds so he could offer them].
aftir that it is seid in the lawe of the Lord, A peire of turturis, or twei culuer briddis.
25 At that time there was an [old] man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He habitually did what was pleasing to God and he obeyed God’s laws. The Holy Spirit was [directing] him as he was waiting for [God] [MTY] [to] encourage the Israeli [people by sending the Messiah].
And lo! a man was in Jerusalem, whos name was Symeon; and this man was iust and vertuous, and aboode the coumfort of Israel; and the Hooli Goost was in hym.
26 It was [previously] revealed by the Holy Spirit {The Holy Spirit [previously] revealed} to him that he would see God’s [promised] Messiah before he died.
And he hadde takun an answere of the Hooli Goost, that he schulde not se deeth, but he sawy first the Crist of the Lord.
27 When Joseph and Mary brought their baby Jesus [to the Temple] in order to perform the rituals that [God had commanded] in his laws, the Spirit led Simeon to enter the Temple [courtyard, and revealed to him that Jesus was the Messiah].
And he cam in spirit into the temple. And whanne his fadir and modir ledden the child Jhesu to do aftir the custom of the lawe for hym,
28 So he took Jesus up in his arms and praised God, saying,
he took hym in to hise armes, and he blesside God,
29 Lord, you promised me that I would see the one [MTY] who would enable you to save people of all people-groups from the guilt of their sins. He will be [MET] like a light that will reveal your truth to non-Jews, and he will cause people to think highly of your people, the Israeli people. Since I [SYN] have now seen this one that you promised to send, now let me die peacefully.
and seide, Lord, now thou leuyst thi seruaunt aftir thi word in pees;
for myn iyen han seyn thin helthe,
which thou hast maad redi bifor the face of alle puplis;
liyt to the schewyng of hethene men, and glorie of thi puple Israel.
33 His parents marveled about what [Simeon] said about [Jesus]. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary,
And his fadir and his modir weren wondrynge on these thingis, that weren seid of hym.
34 “Note what I say: [God] has determined that because of this child, many Israeli people will [turn away from God], and many others will turn to God [MET]. Although he will be like a sign [MET] [to warn people], [many] people will oppose him.
And Symeon blesside hem, and seide to Marie, his modir, Lo! this is set in to the fallyng doun and in to the risyng ayen of many men in Israel, and in to a tokene, to whom it schal be ayenseid.
35 As a result, the [evil] thoughts of many people will be made evident {he will reveal the [evil] thoughts of many people}. [Furthermore, the cruel things that they will do to him] [MET] [will be like] a sword that will pierce your (soul/inner being).”
And a swerd schal passe thorou thin owne soule, that the thouytis ben schewid of many hertis.
36 There was also [in the Temple courtyard] a very old woman named Anna. She was a prophetess. Her father Phanuel was a member of the tribe of Asher. After she had been married seven years, her husband died.
And Anna was a prophetesse, the douytir of Fanuel, of the lynage of Aser. And sche hadde goon forth in many daies, and hadde lyued with hir hosebonde seuene yeer fro hir maydynhode.
37 After that, she lived until she was 84 years old, and she was still a widow. She stayed in the Temple [area] all the time, night and day, worshipping God. She often (abstained from food/fasted) as she prayed.
And this was a widewe to foure scoor yeer and foure; and sche departide not fro the temple, but seruyde to God nyyt and dai in fastyngis and preieris.
38 [While Joseph and Mary and the baby were] still [in the Temple, Anna came to them. She thanked God for the baby]. Then she spoke about Jesus to many people who were expecting [God to send the Messiah] [MTY] to set [the people of] [MTY] Jerusalem free [from their enemies].
And this cam vpon hem in thilk our, and knoulechide to the Lord, and spak of hym to alle that abiden the redempcioun of Israel.
39 After Joseph and Mary had finished performing the rituals that (the Lord/God) required [the parents of a first son] to perform, they returned to their own town, Nazareth, in Galilee [district].
And as thei hadden ful don alle thingis, aftir the lawe of the Lord, thei turneden ayen in to Galilee, in to her citee Nazareth.
40 As Jesus grew up, he became strong and very wise, and God was very pleased with him.
And the child wexe, and was coumfortid, ful of wisdom; and the grace of God was in hym.
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem to [celebrate] the Passover festival.
And his fadir and modir wenten ech yeer in to Jerusalem, in the solempne dai of pask.
42 So when Jesus was twelve years old, they went up [to Jerusalem] as they always did.
And whanne Jhesus was twelue yeer oold, thei wenten vp to Jerusalem, aftir the custom of the feeste dai.
43 When the celebration ended, his parents started to return home, but Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. [His parents] did not realize that [Jesus stayed there].
And whanne the daies weren don, thei turneden ayen; and the child abood in Jerusalem, and his fadir and modir knewen it not.
44 They thought that he was with the other people who were traveling with them. They walked all day. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends.
For thei gessynge that he hadde be in the felowschip, camen a daies iourney, and souyten hym among hise cosyns and hise knouleche.
45 They did not find him, so they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.
And whanne thei founden hym not, thei turneden ayen in to Jerusalem, and souyten hym.
46 Two days later, they found him. He was in the Temple [courtyard], sitting with the [Jewish] religious teachers. He was listening to what they said, and he was asking them questions.
And it bifelle, that aftir the thridde dai thei founden hym in the temple, sittynge in the myddil of the doctours, herynge hem and axynge hem.
47 Everyone who heard what he [said] was amazed at how much he understood and [how well] he answered [the questions that the teachers asked].
And alle men that herden hym, wondriden on the prudence and the answeris of hym.
48 When his parents saw him, they were very surprised. His mother said to him, “My son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been very worried as we [(exc)] have been searching for you!”
And thei seyn, and wondriden. And his modir seide to hym, Sone, what hast thou do to vs thus? Lo! thi fadir and Y sorewynge han souyte thee.
49 He said to them, [speaking about the Temple being God his Father’s house], “(I am surprised that you [(dl)] did [not know] where to find me!/Why did you [not know] where to find me?) [RHQ] (You [(dl)] should have known that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house!/Did you not know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?) [RHQ]”
And he seide to hem, What is it that ye souyten me? wisten ye not that in tho thingis that ben of my fadir, it behoueth me to be?
50 But they did not understand [the meaning of] what he said to them.
And thei vndurstoden not the word, which he spak to hem.
51 Then he returned with them down to Nazareth. He always obeyed them. But his mother kept thinking about all those things.
And he cam doun with hem, and cam to Nazareth, and was suget to hem. And his moder kepte togidir alle these wordis, and bare hem in hir herte.
52 [As the years passed], Jesus continued to become wiser and he grew taller. God and people continued to approve of him more and more.
And Jhesus profitide in wisdom, age, and grace, anentis God and men.
