Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz
1 hIn the days of iAhaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, jRezin the king of Syria and kPekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with1 Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz2 and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub3 your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the lWasher’s Field. 4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it4 for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God:
“‘It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within sixty-five years
mEphraim will be shattered from being a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you5 are not firm in nfaith,
you will not be firm at all.’”
The Sign of Immanuel
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz:
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, umighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah
Greeting
1 Paul, a servant1 of Christ Jesus, acalled to be an apostle, bset apart for the cgospel of God, 2 which he dpromised beforehand ethrough his prophets fin the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was gdescended from David2 according to the flesh 4 and was hdeclared to be the iSon of God jin power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 kthrough whom we have received grace and lapostleship to bring about the mobedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are ncalled to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and ocalled to be psaints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 qNow the birth of Jesus Christ1 took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been rbetrothed2 to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child sfrom the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to tdivorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an uangel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall vcall his name Jesus, for he will wsave his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place xto fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 y“Behold, the zvirgin ashall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name bImmanuel”
(which means, cGod dwith us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but eknew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
