Matthew 1
J.B. Phillips New Testament
The ancestry of Jesus Christ
1 1-11 This is the record of the ancestry of Jesus Christ who was the descendant of both David and Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob, who was the father of Judah and his brothers, who was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Perez was the father of Hezron, who was the father of Ram, who was the father of Amminadab, who was the father of Nahshon, who was the father of Salmon, who was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth), and Obed was the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David, who was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Uriah’s wife). Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, who was the father of Abijah, who was the father of Asa, who was the father of Jehoshaphat, who was the father of Joram, who was the father of Uzziah, who was the father of Jotham, who was the father of Ahaz, who was the father of Hezekiah, who was the father of Manasseh, who was the father of Amon, who was the father of Josiah, who was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12-16 After the Babylonian exile Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, who was the father of Zerubbabel, who was the father of Abiud, who was the father of Eliakim, who was the father of Azor, who was the father of Sadoc, who was the father of Achim, who was the father of Eliud, who was the father of Eleazar, who was the father of Matthan, who was the father of Jacob, who was the father of Joseph, who was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
17 The genealogy of Jesus Christ may thus be traced for fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the deportation to Babylon, and fourteen from the deportation to Christ himself.
His birth in human history
18-21 The birth of Jesus Christ happened like this. When Mary was engaged to Joseph, just before their marriage, she was discovered to be pregnant—by the Holy Spirit. Whereupon Joseph, her future husband, who was a good man and did not want to see her disgraced, planned to break off the engagement quietly. But while he was turning the matter over in his mind 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! What she has conceived is conceived through the Holy Spirit, and she will give birth to a son, whom you will call Jesus (‘the Saviour’) for it is he who will save his people from their sins.”
22-23 All this happened to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet—‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’. (“Immanuel” means “God with us.”)
24-25 When Joseph woke up he did what the angel had told him. He married Mary, but had no intercourse with her until she had given birth to a son. Then he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 1
English Standard Version
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
1 (A)The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, (B)the son of David, (C)the son of Abraham.
2 (D)Abraham was the father of Isaac, and (E)Isaac the father of Jacob, and (F)Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and (G)Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,[a] 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by (H)Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and (I)Jesse the father of David the king.
And (J)David was the father of Solomon by (K)the wife of Uriah, 7 and (L)Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,[b] 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, (M)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,[c] and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and (N)Josiah the father of (O)Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: (P)Jechoniah was the father of (Q)Shealtiel,[d] and (R)Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 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 (S)Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to (T)the Christ fourteen generations.
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 Now the birth of (U)Jesus Christ[e] took place in this way. (V)When his mother Mary had been betrothed[f] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child (W)from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling (X)to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, (Y)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 (Z)you shall call his name Jesus, (AA)for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 (AB)All this took place (AC)to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 (AD)“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name (AE)Immanuel”
(which means, God (AF)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 (AG)he called his name Jesus.
Footnotes
- Matthew 1:3 Greek Aram; also verse 4
- Matthew 1:7 Asaph is probably an alternate spelling of Asa; some manuscripts Asa; also verse 8
- Matthew 1:10 Amos is probably an alternate spelling of Amon; some manuscripts Amon; twice in this verse
- Matthew 1:12 Greek Salathiel; twice in this verse
- Matthew 1:18 Some manuscripts of the Christ
- Matthew 1:18 That is, legally pledged to be married
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
