Toba 6, 1744

16O LORD, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds.

17I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD.

18I will pay my vows to the LORD Now in the presence of all His people,

19In the courts of the LORD's house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

15So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."

16And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

17Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

18And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

13I will go into Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows,

14Which my lips have uttered And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.

15I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals, With the sweet aroma of rams; I will offer bulls with goats.Selah

40And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

41His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

42And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.

43When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it;

44but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

45So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.

46Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

47And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.

48So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously."

49And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"

50But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

51Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.

52And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

1Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.

2Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!

3For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,

4though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:

5circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;

6concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

7But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

8Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

11if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

12For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

13Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,

14knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.

15Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

16For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

17For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

18And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

19And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;

20knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,

21for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.