Epiphany of the Lord

1Verse 1. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2Verse 2. For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you. 3Verse 3. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4Verse 4. Lift up your eyes and look around: They all gather and come to you; your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be carried on the arm. 5Verse 5. Then you will look and be radiant, and your heart will tremble and swell with joy, because the riches of the sea will be brought to you, and the wealth of the nations will come to you. 6Verse 6. Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah, and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

1Verse 1. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles... 2Verse 2. Surely you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3Verse 3. that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4Verse 4. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5Verse 5. which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6Verse 6. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. 7Verse 7. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power. 8Verse 8. Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9Verse 9. and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10Verse 10. His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11Verse 11. according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12Verse 12. In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.

1Verse 1. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2Verse 2. asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3Verse 3. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4Verse 4. And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5Verse 5. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6Verse 6. ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’ ” 7Verse 7. Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8Verse 8. And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.” 9Verse 9. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was. 10Verse 10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight. 11Verse 11. On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12Verse 12. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.