Chapter 9

1The priests desire a new veil for the temple, 3 seven virgins cast lots for making different parts of it, 4 the lot to spin the true purple falls to Mary. 5 Zacharias, the high priest, becomes dumb. 7 Mary takes a pot to draw water, and hears a voice, 8 trembles and begins to work, 9 an angel appears, and salutes her, and tells her she shall conceive by the Holy Ghost, 17 she submits, 19 visits her cousin Elizabeth, whose child in her womb leaps . AND it came to pass, in a council of the priests, it was said, Let us make a new veil for the temple.
2And the high-priest said, Call together to me seven undefiled virgins of the tribe of David.
3And the servants went and brought them into the temple of the Lord, and the high-priest said unto them Cast lots before me now, who of you shall spin the golden thread, who the blue, who the scarlet, who the fine linen, and who the true purple.
4Then the high-priest knew Mary, that she was of the tribe of David; and he called her, and the true purple fell to her lot to spin, and she went away to her own house.
5But from that time Zacharias the high-priest became dumb, and Samuel was placed in his room till Zacharias spoke again.
6But Mary took the true purple, and did spin it.
7And she took a pot, and went out to draw water, and heard a voice saying unto her, Hail thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee; thou art blessed among women.
8And she looked round to the right and to the left (to see) whence that voice came, and then trembling went into her house, and laying down the water-pot she took the purple, and sat down in her seat to work it.
9And behold the angel of the Lord stood by her, and said, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour in the sight of God;
10Which when she heard, she reasoned with herself what that sort of salutation meant.
11And the angel said unto her, The Lord is with thee, and thou shalt conceive:
12To which she replied, What! shall I conceive by the living God, and bring forth as all other women do?
13But the angel returned answer, Not so, O Mary, but the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee;
14Wherefore that which shall be born of thee shall be holy, and shall be called the Son of the Living God, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.
15And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age.
16And this now is the sixth month with her, who was called barren; for nothing is impossible with God.
17And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be unto me according to thy word.
18And when she had wrought her purple, she carried it to the high-priest, and the high-priest blessed her, saying, Mary, the Lord God hath magnified thy name, and thou shalt be blessed in all the ages of the world.
19Then Mary, filled with joy, went away to her cousin Elizabeth, and knocked at the door.
20Which when Elizabeth heard, she ran and opened to her, and blessed her, and said, Whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me?
21For lo! as soon as the voice of thy salutation reached my ears, that which is in me leaped and blessed thee.
22But Mary, being ignorant of all those mysterious things which the archangel Gabriel had spoken to her, lifted up her eyes to heaven, and said, Lord! What am I, that all the generations of the earth should call me blessed?
23But perceiving herself daily to grow big, and being afraid, she went home, and hid herself from the children of Israel; and was fourteen years old when all these things happened.