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When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
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They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
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After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
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All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,
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but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.
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The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
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Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
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Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
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The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD .”
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So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
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At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him