nkjv Luke:1-2 SEEK
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Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us ,
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just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us ,
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it seemed good to me also ,
having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first ,
to write to you an orderly account ,
most excellent Theophilus ,
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that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed .
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There was in the days of Herod ,
the king of Judea ,
a certain priest named Zacharias ,
of the division of Abijah .
His wife was of the daughters of Aaron ,
and her name was Elizabeth .
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And they were both righteous before God ,
walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless .
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But they had no child ,
because Elizabeth was barren ,
and they were both well advanced in years .
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So it was ,
that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division ,
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according to the custom of the priesthood ,
his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord .
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And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense .
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Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him ,
standing on the right side of the altar of incense .
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And when Zacharias saw him ,
he was troubled ,
and fear fell upon him .
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But the angel said to him , "
Do not be afraid ,
Zacharias ,
for your prayer is heard ;
and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son ,
and you shall call his name John .
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And you will have joy and gladness ,
and many will rejoice at his birth .
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For he will be great in the sight of the Lord ,
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink .
He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit ,
even from his mother '
s womb .
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And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God .
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He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah , "
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children ,'
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ,
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord ."
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And Zacharias said to the angel , "
How shall I know this ?
For I am an old man ,
and my wife is well advanced in years ."
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And the angel answered and said to him , "
I am Gabriel ,
who stands in the presence of God ,
and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings .
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But behold ,
you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place ,
because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time ."
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And the people waited for Zacharias ,
and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple .
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But when he came out ,
he could not speak to them ;
and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple ,
for he beckoned to them and remained speechless .
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So it was ,
as soon as the days of his service were completed ,
that he departed to his own house .
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Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived ;
and she hid herself five months ,
saying ,
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Thus the Lord has dealt with me ,
in the days when He looked on me ,
to take away my reproach among people ."
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Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth ,
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to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph ,
of the house of David .
The virgin '
s name was Mary .
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And having come in ,
the angel said to her , "
Rejoice ,
highly favored one ,
the Lord is with you ;
blessed are you among women !"
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But when she saw him ,
she was troubled at his saying ,
and considered what manner of greeting this was .
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Then the angel said to her , "
Do not be afraid ,
Mary ,
for you have found favor with God .
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And behold ,
you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son ,
and shall call His name JESUS .
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He will be great ,
and will be called the Son of the Highest ;
and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David .
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And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever ,
and of His kingdom there will be no end ."
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Then Mary said to the angel , "
How can this be ,
since I do not know a man ?"
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And the angel answered and said to her , "
The Holy Spirit will come upon you ,
and the power of the Highest will overshadow you ;
therefore ,
also ,
that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God .
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Now indeed ,
Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age ;
and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren .
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For with God nothing will be impossible ."
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Then Mary said , "
Behold the maidservant of the Lord !
Let it be to me according to your word ."
And the angel departed from her .
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Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste ,
to a city of Judah ,
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and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth .
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And it happened ,
when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary ,
that the babe leaped in her womb ;
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit .
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Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said , "
Blessed are you among women ,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb !
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But why is this granted to me ,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me ?
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For indeed ,
as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears ,
the babe leaped in my womb for joy .
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Blessed is she who believed ,
for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord ."
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And Mary said : "
My soul magnifies the Lord ,
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And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior .
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For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant ;
For behold ,
henceforth all generations will call me blessed .
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For He who is mighty has done great things for me ,
And holy is His name .
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And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation .
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He has shown strength with His arm ;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts .
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He has put down the mighty from their thrones ,
And exalted the lowly .
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He has filled the hungry with good things ,
And the rich He has sent away empty .
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He has helped His servant Israel ,
In remembrance of His mercy ,
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As He spoke to our fathers ,
To Abraham and to his seed forever ."
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And Mary remained with her about three months ,
and returned to her house .
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Now Elizabeth '
s full time came for her to be delivered ,
and she brought forth a son .
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When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her ,
they rejoiced with her .
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So it was ,
on the eighth day ,
that they came to circumcise the child ;
and they would have called him by the name of his father ,
Zacharias .
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His mother answered and said , "
No ;
he shall be called John ."
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But they said to her , "
There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name ."
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So they made signs to his father--what he would have him called .
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And he asked for a writing tablet ,
and wrote ,
saying , "
His name is John ."
So they all marveled .
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Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed ,
and he spoke ,
praising God .
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Then fear came on all who dwelt around them ;
and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea .
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And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts ,
saying , "
What kind of child will this be ?"
And the hand of the Lord was with him .
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Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit ,
and prophesied ,
saying :
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Blessed is the Lord God of Israel ,
For He has visited and redeemed His people ,
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And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David ,
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As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets ,
Who have been since the world began ,
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That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us ,
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To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant ,
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The oath which He swore to our father Abraham :
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To grant us that we ,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies ,
Might serve Him without fear ,
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In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life .
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And you ,
child ,
will be called the prophet of the Highest ;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways ,
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To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins ,
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Through the tender mercy of our God ,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us ;
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To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death ,
To guide our feet into the way of peace ."
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So the child grew and became strong in spirit ,
and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel .
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And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered .
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This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria .
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So all went to be registered ,
everyone to his own city .
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Joseph 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 lineage of David ,
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to be registered with Mary ,
his betrothed wife ,
who was with child .
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So it was ,
that while they were there ,
the days were completed for her to be delivered .
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And she brought forth her firstborn Son ,
and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths ,
and laid Him in a manger ,
because there was no room for them in the inn .
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Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields ,
keeping watch over their flock by night .
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And behold ,
an angel of the Lord stood before them ,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them ,
and they were greatly afraid .
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Then the angel said to them , "
Do not be afraid ,
for behold ,
I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people .
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For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior ,
who is Christ the Lord .
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And this will be the sign to you :
You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths ,
lying in a manger ."
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And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying :
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Glory to God in the highest ,
And on earth peace ,
goodwill toward men !"
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So it was ,
when the angels had gone away from them into heaven ,
that the shepherds said to one another , "
Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass ,
which the Lord has made known to us ."
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And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph ,
and the Babe lying in a manger .
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Now when they had seen Him ,
they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child .
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And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds .
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But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart .
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Then the shepherds returned ,
glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen ,
as it was told them .
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And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child ,
His name was called JESUS ,
the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb .
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Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed ,
they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
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as it is written in the law of the Lord , "
Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD "),
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and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord , "
A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons ."
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And behold ,
there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon ,
and this man was just and devout ,
waiting for the Consolation of Israel ,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him .
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And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord '
s Christ .
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So he came by the Spirit into the temple .
And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus ,
to do for Him according to the custom of the law ,
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he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said :
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Lord ,
now You are letting Your servant depart in peace ,
According to Your word ;
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For my eyes have seen Your salvation
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Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples ,
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A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles ,
And the glory of Your people Israel ."
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And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him .
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Then Simeon blessed them ,
and said to Mary His mother , "
Behold ,
this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel ,
and for a sign which will be spoken against
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yes ,
a sword will pierce through your own soul also ),
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed ."
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Now there was one ,
Anna ,
a prophetess ,
the daughter of Phanuel ,
of the tribe of Asher .
She was of a great age ,
and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity ;
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and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years ,
who did not depart from the temple ,
but served God with fastings and prayers night and day .
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And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord ,
and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem .
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So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord ,
they returned to Galilee ,
to their own city ,
Nazareth .
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And the Child grew and became strong in spirit ,
filled with wisdom ;
and the grace of God was upon Him .
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His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover .
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And when He was twelve years old ,
they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast .
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When they had finished the days ,
as they returned ,
the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem .
And Joseph and His mother did not know it ;
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but supposing Him to have been in the company ,
they went a day '
s journey ,
and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances .
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So when they did not find Him ,
they returned to Jerusalem ,
seeking Him .
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Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple ,
sitting in the midst of the teachers ,
both listening to them and asking them questions .
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And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers .
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So when they saw Him ,
they were amazed ;
and His mother said to Him , "
Son ,
why have You done this to us ?
Look ,
Your father and I have sought You anxiously ."
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And He said to them , "
Why did you seek Me ?
Did you not know that I must be about My Father '
s business ?"
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But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them .
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Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth ,
and was subject to them ,
but His mother kept all these things in her heart .
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And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature ,
and in favor with God and men .
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Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar ,
Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea ,
Herod being tetrarch of Galilee ,
his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis ,
and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene ,