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The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement[a] quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[b] for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,[c]
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:19 Greek to divorce her.
  2. 1:21 Jesus means “The Lord saves.”
  3. 1:23 Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10 (Greek version).

The Birth of Jesus(A)

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah[a] happened in this way. When his mother Mary was engaged[b] to Joseph, before they lived together she was discovered to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to disgrace her, decided to divorce her secretly.

20 After he had thought about it, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” he said, “don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[c] because he is the one who will save his people from their sins.”

22 Now all this happened to fulfill what was declared by the Lord through the prophet when he said,

23 “See, a virgin will become pregnant
    and give birth to a son,
        and they will name him Immanuel,”[d]

which means, “God with us.” 24 When Joseph got up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary as[e] his wife. 25 He did not have marital relations with[f] her until she had given birth to a son;[g] and he named him Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Or Christ
  2. Matthew 1:18 Engagement involved a legally binding promise of marriage.
  3. Matthew 1:21 The name Jesus means The Lord saves
  4. Matthew 1:23 Cf. Isa 7:14, citing a statement by the Lord
  5. Matthew 1:24 The Gk. lacks Mary as
  6. Matthew 1:25 Lit. not know
  7. Matthew 1:25 Other mss. read to her firstborn son