¹Now it happened in those days, that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.

¹በዚያም ወራት ዓለሙ ሁሉ እንዲጻፍ ከአውግስጦስ ቄሣር ትእዛዝ ወጣች።

²This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

²ቄሬኔዎስ በሶርያ አገር ገዥ በነበረ ጊዜ ይህ የመጀመሪያ ጽሕፈት ሆነ።

³All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.

³ሁሉም እያንዳንዱ ይጻፍ ዘንድ ወደ ከተማው ሄደ።

⁴Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;

⁴ዮሴፍም ደግሞ ከዳዊት ቤትና ወገን ስለ ነበረ ከገሊላ ከናዝሬት ከተማ ተነሥቶ ቤተ ልሔም ወደምትባል ወደ ዳዊት ከተማ ወደ ይሁዳ፥ ፀንሳ ከነበረች ከእጮኛው ከማርያም ጋር ይጻፍ ዘንድ ወጣ።

⁵to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.

⁶በዚያም ሳሉ የመውለጃዋ ወራት ደረሰ፥

⁶It happened, while they were there, that the day had come that she should give birth.

⁷የበኵር ልጅዋንም ወለደች፥ በመጠቅለያም ጠቀለለችው፤ በእንግዶችም ማደሪያ ስፍራ ስላልነበራቸው በግርግም አስተኛችው።

⁷She brought forth her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸በዚያም ምድር መንጋቸውን በሌሊት ሲጠብቁ በሜዳ ያደሩ እረኞች ነበሩ።

⁸There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.

⁹እነሆም፥ የጌታ መልአክ ወደ እነርሱ ቀረበ የጌታ ክብርም በዙሪያቸው አበራ፥ ታላቅ ፍርሃትም ፈሩ።

⁹Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

¹⁰መልአኩም እንዲህ አላቸው። እነሆ፥ ለሕዝቡ ሁሉ የሚሆን ታላቅ ደስታ የምሥራች እነግራችኋለሁና አትፍሩ፤

¹⁰The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.

¹¹ዛሬ በዳዊት ከተማ መድኃኒት እርሱም ክርስቶስ ጌታ የሆነ ተወልዶላችኋልና።

¹¹For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

¹²ይህም ምልክት ይሆንላችኋል፤ ሕፃን ተጠቅልሎ በግርግምም ተኝቶ ታገኛላችሁ።

¹²This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”

¹³ድንገትም ብዙ የሰማይ ሠራዊት ከመልአኩ ጋር ነበሩ። እግዚአብሔርንም እያመሰገኑ።

¹³Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,

¹⁴ክብር ለእግዚአብሔር በአርያም ይሁን ሰላምም በምድር ለሰውም በጎ ፈቃድ አሉ።

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.”

¹⁵መላእክትም ከእነርሱ ተለይተው ወደ ሰማይ በወጡ ጊዜ፥ እረኞቹ እርስ በርሳቸው። እንግዲህ እስከ ቤተ ልሔም ድረስ እንሂድ እግዚአብሔርም የገለጠልንን ይህን የሆነውን ነገር እንይ ተባባሉ።

¹⁵It happened, when the angels went away from them into the sky, that the shepherds said one to another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

¹⁶ፈጥነውም መጡ ማርያምንና ዮሴፍን ሕፃኑንም በግርግም ተኝቶ አገኙ።

¹⁶They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough.

¹⁷አይተውም ስለዚህ ሕፃን የተነገረላቸውን ነገር ገለጡ።

¹⁷When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child.

¹⁸የሰሙትን ሁሉ እረኞቹ በነገሩአቸው ነገር አደነቁ፤

¹⁸All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.

¹⁹ማርያም ግን ይህን ነገር ሁሉ በልብዋ እያሰበች ትጠብቀው ነበር።

¹⁹But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.

²⁰እረኞችም እንደ ተባለላቸው ስለ ሰሙትና ስላዩት ሁሉ እግዚአብሔርን እያመሰገኑና እያከበሩ ተመለሱ።

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

²¹ሊገርዙት ስምንት ቀን በሞላ ጊዜ፥ በማኅፀን ሳይረገዝ በመልአኩ እንደ ተባለ፥ ስሙ ኢየሱስ ተብሎ ተጠራ።

²¹When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²²እንደ ሙሴም ሕግ የመንጻታቸው ወራት በተፈጸመ ጊዜ፥ በጌታ ሕግ። የእናቱን ማኅፀን የሚከፍት ወንድ ሁሉ ለጌታ የተቀደሰ ይባላል ተብሎ እንደ ተጻፈ በጌታ ፊት ሊያቆሙት፥ በጌታም ሕግ። ሁለት ዋሊያ ወይም ሁለት የርግብ ጫጩቶች እንደ ተባለ፥ መሥዋዕት ሊያቀርቡ ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም ወሰዱት።

²²When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord

²⁵እነሆም፥ በኢየሩሳሌም ስምዖን የሚባል ሰው ነበረ፥ ይህም ሰው የእስራኤልን መጽናናት ይጠባበቅ ነበር፤ ጻድቅና ትጉህም ነበረ፥ መንፈስ ቅዱስም በእርሱ ላይ ነበረ።

²³(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), Exodus 13:2,12

²⁶በጌታም የተቀባውን ሳያይ ሞትን እንዳያይ በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ተረድቶ ነበር።

²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Leviticus 12:8

²⁷በመንፈስም ወደ መቅደስ ወጣ፤ ወላጆቹም እንደ ሕጉ ልማድ ያደርጉለት ዘንድ ሕፃኑን ኢየሱስን በአስገቡት ጊዜ፥

²⁵Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

²⁸እርሱ ደግሞ ተቀብሎ አቀፈው እግዚአብሔርንም እየባረከ እንዲህ አለ።

²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew) both mean “Anointed One”

²⁹ጌታ ሆይ፥ አሁን እንደ ቃልህ ባሪያህን በሰላም ታሰናብተዋለህ፤

²⁷He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,

³⁰ዓይኖቼ በሰዎች ሁሉ ፊት ያዘጋጀኸውን ማዳንህን አይተዋልና፤

²⁸then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

³²ይህም ለአሕዛብ ሁሉን የሚገልጥ ብርሃን ለሕዝብህም ለእስራኤል ክብር ነው።

²⁹“Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace;

³³ዮሴፍና እናቱም ስለ እርሱ በተባለው ነገር ይደነቁ ነበር።

³⁴ስምዖንም ባረካቸው እናቱን ማርያምንም። እነሆ፥ የብዙዎች ልብ አሳብ ይገለጥ ዘንድ፥ ይህ በእስራኤል ላሉት ለብዙዎቹ ለመውደቃቸውና ለመነሣታቸው ለሚቃወሙትም ምልክት ተሾሞአል፥ በአንቺም ደግሞ በነፍስሽ ሰይፍ ያልፋል አላት።

³⁶ከአሴር ወገንም የምትሆን የፋኑኤል ልጅ ሐና የምትባል አንዲት ነቢይት ነበረች፤ እርስዋም ከድንግልናዋ ጀምራ ከባልዋ ጋር ሰባት ዓመት ኖረች፤

³²a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”

³⁷እርስዋም ሰማኒያ አራት ዓመት ያህል መበለት ሆና በጣም አርጅታ ነበር፤ በጾምና በጸሎትም ሌሊትና ቀን እያገለገለች ከመቅደስ አትለይም ነበር።

³³Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him,

³⁸በዚያችም ሰዓት ቀርባ እግዚአብሔርን አመሰገነች፤ የኢየሩሳሌምንም ቤዛ ለሚጠባበቁ ሁሉ ስለ እርሱ ትናገር ነበር።

³⁴and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.

³⁹ሁሉንም እንደ ጌታ ሕግ ከፈጸሙ በኋላ፥ ወደ ገሊላ ወደ ከተማቸው ወደ ናዝሬት ተመለሱ።

³⁵Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

⁴⁰ሕፃኑም አደገ፥ ጥበብም ሞልቶበት በመንፈስ ጠነከረ፤ የእግዚአብሔርም ጸጋ በእርሱ ላይ ነበረ።

³⁶There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,

⁴¹ወላጆቹም በያመቱ በፋሲካ በዓል ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም ይወጡ ነበር።

³⁷and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn’t depart from the temple, worshipping with fastings and petitions night and day.

⁴²የአሥራ ሁለት ዓመት ልጅ በሆነ ጊዜ፥ እንደ በዓሉ ሥርዓት ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም ወጡ፤

³⁸Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.

⁴³ቀኖቹንም ከፈጸሙ በኋላ፥ ሲመለሱ ብላቴናው ኢየሱስ በኢየሩሳሌም ቀርቶ ነበር፥ ዮሴፍም እናቱም አላወቁም ነበር።

³⁹When they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

⁴⁴ከመንገደኞች ጋር የነበረ ስለ መሰላቸው የአንድ ቀን መንገድ ሄዱ፥ ከዘመዶቻቸውም ከሚያውቋቸውም ዘንድ ፈለጉት፤

⁴⁰The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

⁴⁵ባጡትም ጊዜ እየፈለጉት ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም ተመለሱ።

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

⁴⁶ከሦስት ቀንም በኋላ በመምህራን መካከል ተቀምጦ ሲሰማቸውም ሲጠይቃቸውም በመቅደስ አገኙት፤

⁴²When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast,

⁴⁷የሰሙትም ሁሉ በማስተዋሉና በመልሱ ተገረሙ።

⁴³and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Joseph and his mother didn’t know it,

⁴⁸ባዩትም ጊዜ ተገረሙ፥ እናቱም። ልጄ ሆይ፥ ለምን እንዲህ አደረግህብን? እነሆ፥ አባትህና እኔ እየተጨነቅን ስንፈልግህ ነበርን አለችው።

⁴⁴but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey, and they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances.

⁴⁹እርሱም። ስለ ምን ፈለጋችሁኝ? በአባቴ ቤት እሆን ዘንድ እንዲገባኝ አላወቃችሁምን? አላቸው።

⁴⁵When they didn’t find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him.

⁵⁰እነርሱም የተናገራቸውን ነገር አላስተዋሉም።

⁴⁶It happened after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.

⁵¹ከእነርሱም ጋር ወርዶ ወደ ናዝሬት መጣ፥ ይታዘዝላቸውም ነበር። እናቱም ይህን ነገር ሁሉ በልብዋ ትጠብቀው ነበር።

⁴⁷All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

⁵²ኢየሱስም ደግሞ በጥበብና በቁመት በሞገስም በእግዚአብሔርና በሰው ፊት ያድግ ነበር።

⁴⁸When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you.”

⁴⁹He said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

⁵⁰They didn’t understand the saying which he spoke to them.

⁵¹And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

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