God

"The Mighty One has done great things for me! Indeed, his name is holy;

and in every generation he has mercy on those who fear him.c

filled the hungry with good things, but sent the rich away empty.

"He has taken the part of his servant Isra'el, mindful of the mercy

which he promised to our fathers, to Avraham and his seed forever."

At that moment, his power of speech returned, and his first words were a b'rakhah to God.

Everyone who heard of them said to himself, "What is this child going to be?" For clearly the hand of ADONAI was with him.

"Praised be ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, because he has visited and made a ransom to liberate his people

It is just as he has spoken through the mouth of the prophets from the very beginning --

"This has happened so that he might show the mercy promised to our fathers -- that he would remember his holy covenant,

to grant us that we, freed from our enemies, would serve him without fear,

You, child, will be called a prophet of Ha`Elyon; you will go before the Lord to prepare his way

by spreading the knowledge among his people that deliverance comes by having sins forgiven

through our God's most tender mercy, which causes the Sunrise to visit us from Heaven,

when an angel of ADONAI appeared to them, and the Sh'khinah of ADONAI shone around them. They were terrified;

Suddenly, along with the angel was a vast army from heaven praising God:

"In the highest heaven, glory to God! And on earth, peace among people of good will!"

No sooner had the angels left them and gone back into heaven than the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go over to Beit-Lechem and see this thing that has happened, that ADONAI has told us about."

Meanwhile, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen; it had been just as they had been told.

(as it is written in the Torah of ADONAI, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to ADONAI")

and also to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons,h as required by the Torah of ADONAI.

It had been revealed to him by the Ruach HaKodesh that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah of ADONAI.

Shim`on took him in his arms, made a b'rakhah to God, and said,

for I have seen with my own eyes your yeshu`ah,

a light that will bring revelation to the Goyim and glory to your people Isra'el."