Chapter 19: Jesus’ Birth

1And look! A woman was coming down from the mountain, and she said to me, “Man, where are you going?”

2And she said to me, “She is not your wife?”

3And I said to her, “Mary was nurtured in the Temple of the Lord, and it was decided by lot that she would be my wife. Yet she is not my wife, but she has conceived from the Holy Spirit.”

4And Joseph said to her, “Come and see.”

5And the midwife went with him. And they stood in front of the cave, and a bright cloud overshadowed the cave. And the midwife said, “My soul is magnified today, because my eyes have seen something wonderful. Salvation has been born to Israel!”

6And immediately the cloud withdrew from the cave, and a great light appeared in the cave, so that their eyes could not bear it. And a little later, the light withdrew until an infant appeared. And he came and took the breast of his mother, Mary.

7And the midwife cried out and said, “How great this day is for me, because I have seen this new miracle!”

8And the midwife went out from the cave, and Salome met her.

9And she said to her, “Salome, Salome, I have to describe a new sight to you. A virgin has given birth, which is against her nature!”

10And Salome said, “As the Lord my God lives, unless I examine her condition, I will not believe that the virgin has given birth.”