The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant[a] by the Holy Spirit. 19 So Joseph her husband, being righteous and not wanting to disgrace her, intended to divorce her secretly. 20 But as[b] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name ‘Jesus,’ because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

23 “Behold, the virgin will become pregnant[c] and will give birth to a son,
and they will call his name Emmanuel,”[d]

which is translated, “God with us.”[e] 24 And Joseph, when he[f] woke up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife 25 and did not have sexual relations with[g] her until she gave birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Literally “to have in the womb”
  2. Matthew 1:20 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“considering”)
  3. Matthew 1:23 Literally “will have in the womb”
  4. Matthew 1:23 A quotation from Isa 7:14
  5. Matthew 1:23 An allusion to Isa 8:8, 10 in the Greek OT (LXX)
  6. Matthew 1:24 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“woke up”) which is understood as temporal
  7. Matthew 1:25 Literally “did not know”

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.(A) 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce(B) her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel(C) of the Lord appeared to him in a dream(D) and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c](E) because he will save his people from their sins.”(F)

22 All this took place to fulfill(G) what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d](H) (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel(I) of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.(J)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Or The origin of Jesus the Messiah was like this
  2. Matthew 1:19 Or was a righteous man and
  3. Matthew 1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves.
  4. Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14