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18 Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,[a] but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. 19 Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,[b] yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:18 Betrothed to Joseph: betrothal was the first part of the marriage, constituting a man and woman as husband and wife. Subsequent infidelity was considered adultery. The betrothal was followed some months later by the husband’s taking his wife into his home, at which time normal married life began.
  2. 1:19 A righteous man: as a devout observer of the Mosaic law, Joseph wished to break his union with someone whom he suspected of gross violation of the law. It is commonly said that the law required him to do so, but the texts usually given in support of that view, e.g., Dt 22:20–21 do not clearly pertain to Joseph’s situation. Unwilling to expose her to shame: the penalty for proved adultery was death by stoning; cf. Dt 22:21–23.

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah[a] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Or Jesus Christ

The Birth of Jesus Christ(A)

18 (B)This was how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately.

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Conception and Birth of Jesus

18 Now the birth of Jesus the [a]Messiah was as follows: when His (A)mother Mary had been [b]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was (B)found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to [c](C)send her away secretly.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 See note v 16
  2. Matthew 1:18 Unlike engagement, a betrothed couple was considered married, but did not yet live together
  3. Matthew 1:19 Or divorce her

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.(A) 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce(B) her quietly.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Or The origin of Jesus the Messiah was like this
  2. Matthew 1:19 Or was a righteous man and