For God never said to any of his angels, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." Nor did God say about any angel, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son."

I was born before the oceans, when there were no springs of water.

I was born before the mountains, before the hills were set in place,

The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.

No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.

Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers.

Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things.

He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body's life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things.

And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him.

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world. He loves us, and by his sacrificial death he has freed us from our sins

"Nations, you must praise the LORD's people--- he punishes all who kill them. He takes revenge on his enemies and forgives the sins of his people."

Everyone who worships idols is put to shame; all the gods bow down before the LORD.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid,

This very day in David's town your Savior was born---Christ the Lord!

Suddenly a great army of heaven's angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:

who has gone to heaven and is at the right side of God, ruling over all angels and heavenly authorities and powers.

They sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to break open its seals. For you were killed, and by your sacrificial death you bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race.

Again I looked, and I heard angels, thousands and millions of them! They stood around the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders,