Matthew 1:1-2:13

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

1 An account^[a] of the genealogy^[b] of Jesus the Messiah,^[c] the son of David, the son of Abraham.^(A)

² Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,^{(B) 3} and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram,^{(C) 4} and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵ and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse the father of King David.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,^{(D) 7} and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,^{[d](E) 8} and Asaph^[e] the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹ and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰ and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,^[f] and Amos^[g] the father of Josiah,^{(F) 11} and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.^(G)

¹² And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel,^{(H) 13} and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴ and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, who bore Jesus, who is called the Messiah.^[h](I)

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah,^[i] fourteen generations.

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah^[j] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit.^{(J) 19} Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly.^{(K) 20} But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”^{(L) 22} All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

which means, “God is with us.”^{(M) 24} When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife ²⁵ but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son,^[k] and he named him Jesus.^(N)

The Visit of the Magi

2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi^[l] from the east came to Jerusalem,^{(O) 2} asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east^[m] and have come to pay him homage.”^{(P) 3} When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, ⁴ and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah^[n] was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:^(Q)

⁷ Then Herod secretly called for the magi^[p] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸ Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” ⁹ When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east,^[q] until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw that the star had stopped,^[r] they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹ On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.^{(S) 12} And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.^(T)

The Escape to Egypt

¹³ Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”^(U)