And in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken of all the inhabited earth.

This was the  ¹first census that took place when Quirinius governed Syria.

And all went to be registered, each to his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to David's city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the  ¹house and family of David,

To be registered with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant.

And while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to bear,

And she  ¹bore her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a  ²manger because there was no place for them in the inn.

And there were  ¹shepherds in the same region, spending their nights in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they feared greatly.

And the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I announce to you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people,

Because today a Savior has been born to you in David's city, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be the  ¹sign to you: you will find a  ²baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army,  ¹praising God and saying,

Glory in the highest places to God, and on earth  ¹peace among  ²men of His good pleasure.

And when the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds spoke to one another, Let us go then to Bethlehem and see this  ¹thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.

And they came in haste and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.

And when they had seen this, they made known the word which was spoken to them concerning this little child.

And all those who heard marveled at the things spoken to them by the shepherds.

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

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things which they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken to them.

These are the statutes and the ordinances that you shall be certain to do in the land which Jehovah, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth.

You shall completely  ¹destroy all the places where the nations whom you will dispossess have served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every flourishing tree.

And you shall tear down their altars and crush their pillars; and their Asherahs you shall burn with fire, and the idols of their gods you shall cut down; and you shall destroy their name from that place.

You shall not do so to Jehovah your God.

But to the place which Jehovah your God will  ¹choose out of all your tribes to put His  ¹name, to His  ¹habitation, shall you seek, and there shall you go.

And there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices and your tithes and the heave offering of your hand and your vows and your freewill offerings and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock;

And there you shall eat before Jehovah your God, and you and your households shall rejoice in all your undertakings, in which Jehovah your God has blessed you.

You shall not do according to all that we do here today, each man doing all that is right in his own eyes;

For until now you have not come to the rest and to the inheritance that Jehovah your God is giving you.

But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which Jehovah your God is giving you as an inheritance, and when He gives you rest from all your enemies surrounding you so that you dwell securely;

Then to the place where Jehovah your God will choose to cause His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I am commanding you, your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the heave offering of your hand and all your choice vows which you vow to Jehovah.

And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, you and your sons and daughters, and your male servants and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you.

Be careful that you do not offer up your burnt offerings in every place that you see;

But in the place which Jehovah will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer up your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.

Yet you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, in all that your soul desires, according to the blessing of Jehovah your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat it as the gazelle and the deer are eaten.

However, you shall not eat the  ¹blood; you shall pour it out upon the earth like water.

You may not  ¹eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or of your new wine or of your fresh oil, nor the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vows which you vow or of your freewill offerings or of the heave offering of your hand;

But you shall eat them before Jehovah your God in the place which Jehovah your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male servant and female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God in all your undertakings.

Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite all your days upon the earth.

When Jehovah your God enlarges your territory, as He has promised you, and you say, I will eat meat, because your soul desires to eat meat, you may eat meat according to all that your soul desires.

If the place where Jehovah your God will choose to put His name is too far away from you, you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock, which Jehovah has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates according to all that your soul desires;

Indeed, as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat it; the unclean and the clean may eat it alike.

But make sure that you do not eat the  ¹blood; for the blood is the  ²life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.

You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out upon the earth like water.

You shall not eat it, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of Jehovah.

But you shall take your holy things which you have and your vows, and go to the place which Jehovah will choose;

And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of Jehovah your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of Jehovah your God, and you shall eat the flesh.

Keep and listen to all these words which I am commanding you so that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of Jehovah your God.

When Jehovah your God cuts off the nations before you, which you are entering to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,

Be careful that you are not ensnared in following them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not seek after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods, so that I also may do likewise?

You shall not do so for Jehovah your God, for every abomination to Jehovah, which He hates, they have done to their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burned with fire to their gods.

The whole thing that I am commanding you, you shall be certain to do; you shall not add to it, nor shall you take away from it.

If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams stands up in your midst and gives you a sign or wonder,

And the sign or the wonder occurs, about which he spoke to you, saying,  ¹Let us go after other gods whom you have not known, and let us serve them;

You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams; for Jehovah your God is testing you in order to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

You shall follow Jehovah your God; and you shall fear Him, keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and hold fast to Him.

But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has advocated apostasy from Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and ransomed you from the slave house, in order to force you out of the way in which Jehovah your God has commanded you to walk. Thus you shall  ¹utterly remove the evil from your midst.

If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is like your own soul to you entice you secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods (which neither you nor your fathers have known,

Of the gods of the peoples who are surrounding you, those who are near you or those who are far from you, from one end of the earth to the other);

You shall not yield to him nor listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him; neither shall you spare him nor conceal him;

But you must slay him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.

And you shall stone him with stones so that he dies, because he sought to force you away from Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the slave house.

And all Israel will hear and will fear and will never do anything like this evil thing in your midst again.

If you hear in one of your cities, which Jehovah your God is giving you to dwell in, someone saying that

Some worthless men have gone out from your midst and have forced the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods (which you have not known);

Then you shall investigate and examine carefully and inquire thoroughly. And if indeed the thing is true and certain — this abomination has been done in your midst —

You must slay the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its animals with the edge of the sword.

And all its spoil you shall gather at the middle of its open square, and you shall burn the city and all its spoil with fire wholly to Jehovah your God. And it shall be a mound only forever; it shall not be built again.

And nothing of what has been cursed shall cling to your hand, in order that Jehovah may turn from His burning anger and show you tenderness and be compassionate to you and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,

When you listen to the voice of Jehovah your God and keep all His commandments, which I am commanding you today, and do what is right in the sight of Jehovah your God.