Chapter 8: Mary Turns Twelve
(1) And her parents went down, marveling and praising and glorifying the Lord God that the child hadn’t turned back. And Mary was in the Temple of the Lord. She was nurtured like a dove, and received food from the hand of an angel.
(2) ********************And when she became twelve years old, there was a council of the priests, saying, “Look, Mary has been in the Temple of the Lord twelve years********************. What should we do about her so that she won’t pollute the sanctuary of the Lord our God?” And they said to the chief priest, “You stand at the altar of the Lord. Go in and pray about her, and if the Lord God reveals anything to you, we’ll do it.”
(3) And the chief priest went in, taking the robe with twelve bells into the Holy of Holies, and prayed about her. And look! An angel of the Lord stood nearby, saying, “Zechariah, Zechariah, go out and assemble the widowers of the people, and let them each bear a staff. And whomever the Lord God points out with a sign, she’ll be his wife.”
And the heralds went down through the whole surrounding area of Judea, and sounded the trumpet of the Lord. And look! All the men rushed in.
Chapter 9: Joseph Protects Mary
(1) And Joseph threw down his axe, and went to their meeting. And when they had all gathered, they went to the priest with their staffs. And having taken all their staffs, he went into the Temple and prayed. And when he had finished the prayer, he took the staffs, went out, and gave them back. But there wasn’t a sign among them. And Joseph took his staff last, and look! A dove went from the staff, and flew upon Joseph’s head. And the priest said to Joseph, “You’ve been chosen to welcome the virgin of the Lord into your own care.”
(2) ***********************But Joseph refused, saying, “I have sons and am an old man, but she’s young. I won’t be a laughingstock among the people of Israel.”*********************
And the priest said, “Joseph, fear the Lord your God, and remember what God did to Dathan, Abiron, and Kore; how the earth opened and swallowed them all because of their rebellion. And now fear, Joseph, so that these things won’t happen in your house.”
(3) And being afraid, Joseph welcomed her into his care, and said to her, “Mary, I’ve taken you from the Temple of the Lord, and now I bring you to my house. I’m going away to build houses, but I’ll come back to you. The Lord will protect you."
https://www.gospels.net/infancyjames