The Christmas Story - Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-12 - English/Français

Jul 17, 2026

A bilingual retelling of the Nativity events, presenting the birth of Jesus in coordinated English and French narrative. The account explains Mary’s conception by the Holy Spirit, Joseph’s decision to handle the situation discreetly, and an angelic message confirming Jesus’ saving purpose and the name Emmanuel. It then connects the family’s movement to Bethlehem with the Roman census ordered under Emperor Augustus, situating the story across Luke 2 and Matthew 1 and highlighting biblical fulfillment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time37 min

Birth of Jesus

Mary’s conception and Joseph’s plans (Matthew 1:18-19)

The angel’s message and Jesus’ naming (Matthew 1:20-25)

The census and the journey (Luke 2:1-3)

Journey to Bethlehem (Galilee to Judea)

The Christmas Story L’histoire de Noël English, Français Spiritual The Christmas Story L’histoire de Noël The Christmas Story Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-12 Images by MBANJI Bawe Ernest. English, Français Copyright © 1998, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)[ ](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)[You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may](You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may)[ ](You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may)adapt and add to this work, but you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. You must keep the copyright and credits for authors, illustrators, etc. Images by MBANJI Bawe Ernest , © 1998 SIL Cameroon. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The Christmas Story L’histoire de Noël This was the way that Jesus Christ was born. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a man who always did what was right; but he did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he made plans to break off his engagement secretly. (Matthew 1:18–19) Voici comment Jésus-Christ est né . Marie, samère, était fiancée à Joseph; mais avant qu’ilsaient vécu ensemble, elle se trouva enceinte par la puissance du Saint-Esprit. Joseph, son fiancé, était un homme pieux et ne voulait pas la dénoncer publiquement; il décida de rompresecrètement ses fiançailles. (Matthieu 1:18-19) Comme il y pensait, un ange du Seigneur lui apparut dans un rêve et lui dit: « Joseph, descendant de David, ne crains pas de prendre Marie comme épouse, car c’est par lapuissance du Saint-Esprit qu’elle attend un enfant. While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,“Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus—because he will save his people from their sins.” Elle mettra au monde un fils, que tu appelleras Jésus, car il sauvera son peuple de sespéchés. » Now all this happened in order to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet,“The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and he will be called Emmanuel”(which means,“God is with us”) . So when Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord told him to do and married Mary. But he had no sexual relations with her before the birth of her son. And Joseph named him Jesus. (Matthew 1:20–25) Tout cela arriva afin que se réalise ce que le Seigneur avait dit par le prophète: « La viergesera enceinte et mettra au monde un fils, quel’on appellera Emmanuel. » (Ce nom signifie « Dieu est avec nous ».) Quand Joseph se réveilla, il agit comme l’angedu Seigneur le lui avait ordonné et prit Marie comme épouse. Mais il n’eut pas de relations avec elle jusqu’à ce qu’elle ait mis au monde son fils, que Joseph appela Jésus. (Matthieu 1:20-25) At that time the Emperor Augustus sent out an order for all the citizens of the Empire to register themselves for the census. When this first census took place, Quirinius was the governor of Syria. Everyone, then, went to register himself, each to his own town. (Luke 2:1–3) En ce temps-là, l’empereur Auguste donna l’ordre de faire le recensement de tous les habitants de l’empire romain. Ce recensement, le premier, eut lieu alors que Quirinius était gouverneur de la province de Syrie. Tous les gens allaient se faire inscrire, en se rendantchacun dans sa propre ville. (Luc 2:1-3) Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the town named Bethlehem, where King David was born. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David. Joseph partit de la ville de Nazareth en Galilée, pour aller en Judée dans la vi

FAQs

What does the story say about Mary’s pregnancy before Mary and Joseph married?

Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

What message does the angel give Joseph in a dream?

The angel tells Joseph not to fear taking Mary as his wife, explains that her child is conceived by the Holy Spirit, and instructs that the son should be named Jesus.

How does the Roman census connect to the story’s events?

An order from Emperor Augustus leads citizens to register for the census, with Quirinius governing Syria during the first census, and everyone goes to their own town.

Jul 17, 2026

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