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Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men [astrologers] from the east came to Jerusalem, asking,

Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east [a]at its rising and have come to worship Him.(A)

When Herod the king heard this, he was disturbed and troubled, and the whole of Jerusalem with him.

So he called together all the chief priests and learned men (scribes) of the people and [b]anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born.

They replied to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are not in any way least or insignificant among the [c]chief cities of Judah; for from you shall come a Ruler ([d]Leader) Who will govern and [e]shepherd My people Israel.(B)

Then Herod sent for the wise men [astrologers] secretly, and [f]accurately to the last point ascertained from them the time of the appearing of the star [that is, [g]how long the star had made itself visible since its rising in the east].

Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search for the Child carefully and diligently, and when you have found [h]Him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him.

When they had listened to the king, they went their way, and behold, the star which had been seen in the east [i]in its rising went before them until it came and stood over the place where the young Child was.

10 When they saw the star, they were thrilled with ecstatic joy.

11 And on going into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then opening their treasure bags, they presented to Him gifts—gold and frankincense and myrrh.

12 And [j]receiving an answer to their asking, they were divinely instructed and warned in a dream not to go back to Herod; so they departed to their own country by a different way.

13 Now after they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Get up! [[k]Tenderly] take unto you the young Child and His mother and flee to Egypt; and remain there till I tell you [otherwise], for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him.

14 And having risen, he took the Child and His mother by night and withdrew to Egypt

15 And remained there until Herod’s death. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, Out of Egypt have I called My Son.(C)

16 Then Herod, when he realized that he had been misled by the wise men, was furiously enraged, and he sent and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that territory who were two years old and under, reckoning according to the date which he had investigated diligently and had learned exactly from the wise men.

17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

18 A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.(D)

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt

20 And said, Rise, [[l]tenderly] take unto you the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.

21 Then he awoke and arose and [[m]tenderly] took the Child and His mother and came into the land of Israel.

22 But because he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being divinely warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.

23 He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: He shall be called a Nazarene [Branch, Separated One].(E)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:2 Alternate translation.
  2. Matthew 2:4 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation in the Language of the People.
  3. Matthew 2:6 Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
  4. Matthew 2:6 James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament.
  5. Matthew 2:6 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  6. Matthew 2:7 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  7. Matthew 2:7 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  8. Matthew 2:8 Capitalized because of what He is, the spotless Son of God, not what the speaker may have thought He was.
  9. Matthew 2:9 Alternate translation.
  10. Matthew 2:12 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  11. Matthew 2:13 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation.
  12. Matthew 2:20 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation.
  13. Matthew 2:21 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation.

Now the serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?(A)

And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden,

Except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die,(B)

For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate.

Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apronlike girdles.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?

10 He said, I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate.

13 And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled (cheated, outwitted, and deceived) me, and I ate.

14 And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all [domestic] animals and above every [wild] living thing of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust [and what it contains] all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her [a]Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel.(C)

16 To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your grief and your suffering in pregnancy and the pangs of childbearing; with spasms of distress you will bring forth children. Yet your desire and craving will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

17 And to Adam He said, Because you have listened and given heed to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, the ground is under a curse because of you; in sorrow and toil shall you eat [of the fruits] of it all the days of your life.

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return.

20 The man called his wife’s name Eve [life spring], because she was the mother of all the living.

21 For Adam also and for his wife the Lord God made long coats (tunics) of skins and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us [the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit], to know [how to distinguish between] good and evil and blessing and calamity; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live [b]forever—

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.

24 So [God] drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the [c]cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep and guard the way to the tree of life.(D)

And Adam knew Eve as his wife, and she became pregnant and bore Cain; and she said, I have gotten and gained a man with the help of the Lord.

And [next] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.

And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions. And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering,(E)

But for [d]Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard. So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and he looked sad and depressed.

And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected?

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.

And Cain said to his brother, [e]Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.(F)

And the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?

10 And [the Lord] said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.

11 And now you are cursed by reason of the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand.

12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth [in perpetual exile, a degraded outcast].

13 Then Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is [f]greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, You have driven me out this day from the face of the land, and from Your face I will be hidden; and I will be a fugitive and a vagabond and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.

15 And the Lord said to him, [g]Therefore, if anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a [h]mark or sign upon Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

16 So Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod [wandering], east of Eden.

17 And Cain’s wife [one of Adam’s offspring] became pregnant and bore Enoch; and Cain built a [i]city and named it after his son Enoch.

18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methusael, and Methusael the father of Lamech.

19 And Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Adah and of the other was Zillah.

20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle and purchase possessions.

21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.

22 Zillah bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all [cutting] instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say; for I have slain a man [merely] for wounding me, and a young man [only] for striking and bruising me.

24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech [will be avenged] seventy-sevenfold.

25 And Adam’s wife again became pregnant, and she bore a son and called his name Seth. For God, she said, has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, for Cain slew him.

26 And to Seth also a son was born, whom he named Enosh. At that time men began to call [upon God] by the name of the Lord.

This is the book (the written record, the history) of the generations of the offspring of Adam. When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.

He created them male and female and blessed them and named them [both] Adam [Man] at the time they were created.

When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, after his image; and he named him Seth.

After he had Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

So altogether Adam lived 930 years, and he died.

When Seth was 105 years old, Enosh was born.

Seth lived after the birth of Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters.

So Seth lived 912 years, and he died.

When Enosh was 90 years old, Kenan was born to him.

10 Enosh lived after the birth of Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters.

11 So Enosh lived 905 years, and he died.

12 When Kenan was 70 years old, Mahalalel was born.

13 Kenan lived after the birth of Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 So Kenan lived 910 years, and he died.

15 When Mahalalel was 65 years old, Jared was born.

16 Mahalalel lived after the birth of Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters.

17 So Mahalalel lived 895 years, and he died.

18 When Jared was 162 years old, Enoch was born.

19 Jared lived after the birth of Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 So Jared lived 962 years, and he died.

21 When Enoch was 65 years old, Methuselah was born.

22 Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

23 So all the days of Enoch were 365 years.

24 And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him].(G)

25 When Methuselah was 187 years old, Lamech was born to him.

26 Methuselah lived after the birth of Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters.

27 So Methuselah lived 969 years, and he died.

28 When Lamech was 182 years old, a son was born.

29 He named him Noah, saying, This one shall bring us relief and comfort from our work and the [grievous] toil of our hands due to the ground being cursed by the Lord.

30 Lamech lived after the birth of Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters.

31 So all the days of [j]Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:15 Christ fulfills through his victory over Satan the wonderful promise here spoken. See also Isa. 9:6; Matt. 1:23; Luke 1:31; Rom. 16:20; Gal. 4:4; Rev. 12:17.
  2. Genesis 3:22 This sentence is left unfinished, as if to hasten to avert the tragedy suggested of men living on forever in their now fallen state.
  3. Genesis 3:24 Cherubim are ministering spirits manifesting God’s invisible presence and symbolizing His action (E.F. Harrison et al., eds., Baker’s Dictionary of Theology).
  4. Genesis 4:5 In bringing the offering he did, Cain denied that he was a sinful creature under the sentence of divine condemnation. He insisted on approaching God on the ground of personal worthiness. Instead of accepting God’s way, he offered to God the fruits of the ground which God had cursed. He presented the product of his own toil, the work of his own hands, and God refused to receive it (Arthur W. Pink, Gleanings in Genesis).
  5. Genesis 4:8 The Hebrew omits this clause, but various other texts show that it was originally included.
  6. Genesis 4:13 Some ancient versions read, “too great to be forgiven!”
  7. Genesis 4:15 Some versions read, “Not so!”
  8. Genesis 4:15 Many commentators believe this sign not to have been like a brand on the forehead, but something awesome about Cain’s appearance that made people dread and avoid him.
  9. Genesis 4:17 C.H. Dodd (cited by Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with A Commentary) shows that it would have been possible for Adam and Eve, in the more than 100 years he estimates may have elapsed since their union, to have had over 32,000 descendants at the time Cain went to Nod, all of them having sprung from Cain and Abel, who married their sisters.
  10. Genesis 5:31 It is now well known that the age of mankind cannot be reckoned in years from the facts listed in genealogies, for there are numerous known intentional gaps in them. For example, as B. B. Warfield (Studies in Theology) points out, the genealogy in Matt. 1:1-17 omits the three kings, Ahaziah, Jehoash, and Amaziah, and indicates that Joram (Matt. 1:8) begat Uzziah, who was his great-great-grandson. The mistaking of compressed genealogies as bases for chronology has been very misleading. So far, the dates in years of very early Old Testament events are altogether speculative and relative, and the tendency is to put them farther and farther back into antiquity.

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