Births of the Savior and the Herald

CHAPTER 5

Elizabet gives birth to Yochanan. On the eighth day, Zekaryah once again is able to speak and he is filled with the Celestine light of Elohim as he prophesizes the calling of his son to be the prophet of the most high, giving knowledge of salvation to his people for the forgiveness of their sins. Miryam gives birth to Yeshua in their humble abode in Nazareth of Galilee. Shepherds witness an awesome symphony of heavenly lights and melodies and hear in their heads a voice proclaiming, “The Messiah is born,” and immediately afterward go to Miryam and Yosef to reveal all that they had witnessed. A devout and righteous man name Shim’on and a prophetess named Anna both proclaim Yeshua to be the Light of Salvation.

 1 Now the time came for Elizabet to deliver and she gave birth to the son that had been foretold by the angel, and her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her and they rejoiced with her.

 2 On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they desired to name him Zekaryah after his father but his mother said, “Not so, for he shall be called Yochanan.”

 3 And they were baffled and said to her, “None of your kindred is called by this name.”

 4 Assuming that Zekaryah was also deaf, they made signs to him, inquiring what he would have him called, and he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is Yochanan,” and they all marveled.

 5 Immediately thereafter, the mouth of Zekaryah was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he spoke, blessing God, and awe came upon all their kinsfolk and neighbors.

 6 And all these things were talked about with amazement through all the hill country of Judea, and many who heard of it saw the hand of God in his birth and wondered, “Who then will this child be?”

 7 Upon the birth of his son, Zekaryah was filled with the Holy Spirit of the Celestine Light and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be Elohim, the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets of old that we should be saved from our sins and from the hands of all who hate us to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our lives, as we honor and obey him.”

 8 Then holding his babe above his head for all to see, Zekaryah said, “You, child, will be called the prophet of the most high, for you will go before the Lord of Celestine Light to prepare his way, to give knowledge of salvation to his people for the forgiveness of their sins and through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

 9 Now Miryam and Yosef were very poor, and when the time came for Miryam to bring the babe she carried into the world, she gave birth to her firstborn son in their humble two-room abode in Nazareth of Galilee. And they wrapped the baby in the swaddling cloths of his father and laid him on a fresh bed of straw in a simple cradle made by Yosef of cast-off wood.

 10 On that night in the region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock, when suddenly there was a flash of brilliant light in the heavens, and for a moment, it was as bright as midday.

 11 And though the night was clear and cloudless, they heard a mighty thunder rolling across the heavens and a soft voice spoke in their head, saying, “Be not afraid, for behold good news of great joy, for this day in the city of Nazareth, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a cradle, the Anointed of Israel and the Messiah of all the world is born!”

 12 Suddenly, the very heavens began to resound in a most strange and melodious harmony; stars of brightness fell from the sky and flew over their heads with great tails of light so much so that the shepherds fell to their knees in awe and wonder and praised God.

 13 And when the stars that flew had disappeared and the heavenly sounds had faded, there was a great silence in the night and the shepherds whispered one to another, “Let us go into Nazareth and see for ourselves this wonder that has happened, which God has made known to us.”

 14 They went then with haste and found Miryam and Yosef and the babe lying in a cradle and many of the people of the town gathered round.

 15 And when they saw them, they related the events which they had witnessed concerning the child, and all who heard it praised God at what the shepherds told them.

 16 And Miryam thought about all these things, pondering them in her heart, remembering everything that had taken place since the day when the angel had first appeared to her. And she was greatly humbled.

 17 After each had seen the babe and said a prayer unto God, the shepherds returned to their fields, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard.

 18 At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, the babe was called Yeshua, the name given by the angel before he was placed within the womb.

 19 When three and thirty days had passed after the blood of Miryam’s purification, according to the law of Moses, they brought Yeshua up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.”

 20 At this time of significance, they made an offer by sacrifice to fulfill the law. It was the custom that the sacrifice should be of a young lamb and a turtledove, but due to their poverty they gave a sacrifice of two young turtledoves instead, as the law allowed.

 21 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Shim’on, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

 22 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah, and moved by the Spirit, he came into the temple.

 23 When Yosef and Miryam brought in Yeshua, to do with him according to the custom of the law, Shim’on asked to take him up in his arms and, giving praise to God, said, “Lord, now you can let your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation unto the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

 24 Yosef and Miryam marveled at what was said about Yeshua, and Shim’on blessed them and said to Miryam, “Behold, this child is the keystone for the fall and rising of many in Israel.”

 25 And there was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan’u-el of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity and as a widow till she was eighty-four.

 26 Now in her old age, Anna knew the time of final sleep was soon upon her, and she did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day that she might be in harmony with God.

 27 When Yosef and Miryam came upon her, she bowed her head to Yeshua and gave thanks to God and exhorted all who were looking for the redemption of Israel to see the child before them, and the very Celestine Light of God come into their midst.

 28 And some of the people considered that she was enfeebled of the mind in her old age; others thought she was seeing Heaven as she prepared to pass from life and therefore saw earthly things in heavenly ways. But Miryam and Yosef praised Elohim unto themselves, for they knew God had given a witness of the truth unto her.

 29 When Yosef and Miryam had performed everything according to the laws of the temple, they returned to Galilee to their own city, Nazareth.