Birth of Isaac.^* 1The LORD took note of Sarah as he had said he would; the LORD did for her as he had promised.^a 2Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated.^b 3Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him.^c 4When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded.^d 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6Sarah then said, “God has given me cause to laugh,^* and all who hear of it will laugh with me.^e 7Who would ever have told Abraham,” she added, “that Sarah would nurse children! Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” 8The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great banquet on the day of the child’s weaning.

1^* But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah^a

least among the clans of Judah,

From you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel;

Whose origin is from of old,

from ancient times.

2Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time

when she who is to give birth has borne,^*

Then the rest of his kindred shall return

to the children of Israel.^b

3He shall take his place as shepherd

by the strength of the LORD,

by the majestic name of the LORD, his God;

And they shall dwell securely, for now his greatness

shall reach to the ends of the earth:

4he shall be peace.^*

If Assyria invades our country

and treads upon our land,

We shall raise against it seven shepherds,

eight of royal standing;

5They shall tend the land of Assyria with the sword,

and the land of Nimrod^* with the drawn sword;

They will deliver us from Assyria,

when it invades our land,

when it treads upon our borders.

6The remnant of Jacob shall be

in the midst of many peoples,

Like dew coming from the LORD,

like showers on the grass,

Which wait for no one,

delay for no human being.

1What was from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our eyes,

what we looked upon

and touched with our hands

concerns the Word of life—^a

2for the life was made visible;

we have seen it and testify to it

and proclaim to you the eternal life

that was with the Father and was made visible to us—^b

3what we have seen and heard

we proclaim now to you,

so that you too may have fellowship with us;

for our fellowship is with the Father

and with his Son, Jesus Christ.^c

4We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.^d

God Is Light. 5Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light,^* and in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth.^e 7But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.^f 8If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves,^* and the truth is not in us.^g 9If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.^h 10If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.ⁱ

The Visit of the Magi.^* 1When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod,^* behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star^* at its rising and have come to do him homage.”^a 3When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.^* 5^b They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:

6‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

since from you shall come a ruler,

who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

7Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” 9After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 11^{* c} and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.