The Genealogy of Jesus Christ^(A)

1 The book of the ^(B)genealogy^[a] of Jesus Christ, ^(C)the Son of David, ^(D)the Son of Abraham:

^2 (E)Abraham begot Isaac, ^(F)Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot ^(G)Judah and his brothers. ^3 (H)Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, ^(I)Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. ⁴ Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. ⁵ Salmon begot ^(J)Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and ^(K)Jesse begot David the king.

^(L)David the king begot Solomon by her ^[b]who had been the wife of Uriah. ^7 (M)Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot ^(N)Abijah, and Abijah begot ^[c]Asa. ⁸ Asa begot ^(O)Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot ^(P)Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot ^(Q)Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. ^10 (R)Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot ^[d]Amon, and Amon begot ^(S)Josiah. ^11 (T)Josiah begot ^[e]Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were ^(U)carried away to Babylon.

¹² And after they were brought to Babylon, ^(V)Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot ^(W)Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. ¹⁴ Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. ¹⁶ And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of ^(X)Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

Christ Born of Mary^(Y)

¹⁸ Now the ^(Z)birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child ^(AA)of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being ^[f]a just man, and not wanting ^(AB)to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about 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 to you Mary your wife, ^(AC)for that which is ^[g]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ^21 (AD)And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name ^[h]Jesus, ^(AE)for He will save His people from their sins.”

²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ^23 (AF)“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

²⁴ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, ²⁵ and ^[i]did not know her till she had brought forth ^(AG)her^[j] firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

Marriage and Divorce^(A)

19 Now it came to pass, ^(B)when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ^2 (C)And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

³ The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴ And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who ^[a]made them at the beginning ^(D)‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ and said, ^(E)‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^(F)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

⁷ They said to Him, ^(G)“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

⁸ He said to them, “Moses, because of the ^(H)hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your ^(I)wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ^9 (J)And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for ^[b]sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

¹⁰ His disciples said to Him, ^(K)“If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

Jesus Teaches on Celibacy

¹¹ But He said to them, ^(L)“All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: ¹² For there are ^[c]eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and ^(M)there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children^(N)

^13 (O)Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for ^(P)of such is the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler^(Q)

^16 (R)Now behold, one came and said to Him, ^(S)“Good^[d] Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

¹⁷ So He said to him, ^[e]“Why do you call Me good? ^[f]No one is ^(T)good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, ^(U)keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, ^(V)“‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ^19 (W)‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^(X)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰ The young man said to Him, “All these things I have ^(Y)kept ^[g]from my youth. What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, ^(Z)go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²² But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

With God All Things Are Possible^(AA)

²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that ^(AB)it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but ^(AC)with God all things are possible.”

²⁷ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, ^(AD)we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, ^(AE)you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ^29 (AF)And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother ^[h]or wife or children or ^[i]lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. ^30 (AG)But many who are first will be last, and the last first.