The Birth of Jesus Christ

¹⁸ Now the birth of ^(A)Jesus Christ^[a] took place in this way. ^(B)When his mother Mary had been betrothed^[b] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child ^(C)from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling ^(D)to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, ^(E)an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and ^(F)you shall call his name Jesus, ^(G)for he will save his people from their sins.” ^22 (H)All this took place ^(I)to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

(which means, God ^(L)with us). ²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And ^(M)he called his name Jesus.

³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(A)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(B)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(C)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(D)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(E)will give to him the throne of ^(F)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(G)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^[a]

³⁵ And the angel answered her, ^(H)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(I)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[b] will be called ^(J)holy—^(K)the Son of God.