Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close EASY

Matthew 1-4
EasyEnglish Bible

The ancestors of Jesus Christ

1 This is a list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ. Jesus was from the family of King David. David was from the family of Abraham.[a]

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. Tamar was their mother.
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz. Rahab was his mother.
Boaz was the father of Obed. Ruth was his mother.
Obed was the father of Jesse.
6 Jesse was the father of King David.
David was Solomon's father. Solomon's mother was the wife of Uriah.
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers.

This was at the time when the Israelites' enemies took them away to Babylon.

12 Here is a list of Jesus' ancestors who lived after that time:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph.

Joseph married Mary. Mary was the mother of Jesus. Jesus is the one who is called Christ, the Messiah.[b]

17 So then, there were 14 generations from Abraham to David. There were another 14 generations from David to the time they took the Israelite people away to Babylon. Then there were 14 generations from that time until Jesus, the Messiah, was born.[c]

Jesus is born

18 This is how Jesus Christ was born. His mother's name was Mary. She had promised to marry a man called Joseph. Then she discovered that she was pregnant. This happened before they started to live together. It was the Holy Spirit that caused this to happen to her. 19 Joseph was a good man. He wanted to do what was right. He did not want her to become ashamed in front of people. So he decided to stop their marriage secretly.[d] 20 He thought about what he should do. Then an angel came from the Lord God to see him. The angel came to Joseph while he was dreaming. The angel said, ‘Joseph, you who are from the family of King David, take Mary home as your wife. Do not be afraid to do that. The baby that is growing inside her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 Mary's baby will be a boy. He will save his people from their sins.[e] Because of that, you must give him the name “Jesus”.’

22 The Lord God had given a message about this to one of his prophets long ago. Now that message would become true. 23 The prophet had said, ‘A young woman who has never had sex will have a baby boy. People will call her son Immanuel.’ This name means ‘God is with us’.

24 Then Joseph woke up from his sleep. He did what God's angel had said to him. He married Mary and he took her to his home. 25 Joseph did not have sex with Mary until after the baby boy was born. He said that the boy's name should be Jesus.

Some men come to visit Jesus

2 Jesus was born in a town called Bethlehem, in Judea. King Herod ruled Judea at that time.[f] After Jesus was born, some wise men came to Jerusalem from a country in the east. 2 When they arrived there, they asked people, ‘Where is the baby who has been born as the king of the Jews? We saw his special star when it first appeared in the sky. So now we have come here to worship him.’

3 When King Herod heard what the men said, he was very upset. All the people in Jerusalem were afraid too. 4 Then Herod asked all the leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law to meet with him. He asked them, ‘Where will God's Messiah be born?’ 5 They replied, ‘The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem in Judea. This is what the prophet wrote about it:

6 “People who live in Bethlehem,
your town is a very important town in Judea.
A person born in your town will become a leader of my people Israel.
He will lead my people like a shepherd leads his sheep.” ’

7 Then Herod secretly told the wise men to come to meet with him. They told him the time that the star had appeared. 8 Herod sent the men to Bethlehem. He said to them, ‘Go and look everywhere for this child. When you find him, come back here and tell me where he is. Then I can also go and worship him.’

9-10 After the men had heard the king, they left to go to Bethlehem. They could see the same star that they had seen before. They were very happy when they saw the star. It moved along in front of them. Then it stopped above the place where the child was staying. 11 The men went into the house and they saw the child. He was with Mary, his mother. They went down on their knees in front of the child and they worshipped him. Then they opened their bags. They took out valuable gifts and they gave them to the child. The gifts were gold, incense called frankincense, and also myrrh.[g] 12 After that, God said to them in a dream, ‘Do not go back to see Herod again.’ So the men followed a different road to return to their own country.

Mary, Joseph and Jesus go to Egypt

13 After the men had gone away, Joseph had a dream. In the dream, he saw one of the Lord God's angels. The angel said to him, ‘Herod will look for the child, so that his soldiers can kill him. You must get up and take the child and his mother with you. Go immediately to Egypt. I will tell you when you can return again. You must remain there until then.’

14 So Joseph got up and he took the child and his mother with him. They started on the journey to Egypt that night. 15 They all remained in Egypt until Herod died. This happened so that the words of the prophet would become true. The Lord God had said by his prophet, ‘I have called my son to come out of Egypt.’[h]

Herod's soldiers kill the baby boys in Bethlehem

16 When the wise men did not return to Herod, he was very angry. He knew that they had deceived him. So he sent his men to Bethlehem. He said to them, ‘Kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem. Kill the boys who live near there too. Kill all the boys who are two years old or younger than that.’ The wise men had told Herod how long ago they had first seen the special star. So he decided to kill the baby boys of that age. 17 In this way, these words that God's prophet Jeremiah spoke long ago became true:[i]

18 ‘People heard a sad noise in Ramah.
    Someone is weeping with a loud voice.
It is Rachel and she is weeping for her children.
    Nobody can help her to stop weeping,
    because her children are dead.’

Joseph, Mary and Jesus return to Israel

19 After Herod died, Joseph had a dream in Egypt. In the dream he saw one of the Lord God's angels. 20 The angel said to Joseph, ‘Get up. The people who wanted to kill the child are dead. Take the child and his mother. You can now return with them to Israel.’

21 So Joseph got up. He took the child and his mother and they travelled to Israel. 22 But then Joseph heard that Herod's son, Archelaus, was now king of Judea instead of his father. So Joseph was afraid to go to Judea. In another dream God showed Joseph that he should go to Galilee instead. 23 So Joseph went there and he lived in a town called Nazareth. Long ago God's prophets had said about God's Messiah, ‘He will be called a person from Nazareth.’ Now this had become true.

John the Baptist prepares a way for Jesus

3 While Jesus still lived in Nazareth, a man called John the Baptist was speaking a message from God. He was doing this in the wilderness in Judea.[j] 2 He told people, ‘You have done many wrong things. You must turn away from them and change how you live. Do this now, because the kingdom of heaven has come very near.’

3 God's prophet Isaiah spoke about this man John long ago. He said:

‘Somebody's voice is shouting in the wilderness,
“The Lord will come soon, so prepare a way for him to follow.
Make the paths straight for him.” ’[k]

4 John wore clothes made from the hair of a camel. He also wore a belt made from leather. His usual food was locusts and honey from the wilderness.[l]

5 Many people went to listen to John. They lived in Jerusalem and all over the country called Judea and many other places near the Jordan River. 6 The people told God about all the wrong things that they had done. Then John baptized them in the Jordan River.[m]

7 Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to John.[n] They wanted John to baptize them. He said to them, ‘You are like dangerous snakes. God is angry. You are trying to run away from him. But he will soon punish people like you. 8 You have to show that you are sorry. Change how you live. Stop doing things that God does not like. 9 Do not say to yourselves, “We are in the family of Abraham. God will surely not punish us.” Listen! God can take these stones and make children for Abraham out of them! 10 You are like trees that have bad fruit. God has an axe ready to use. He will cut down every tree that does not make good fruit. He will throw those trees into the fire.

11 I baptize you with water. This shows that you want to change the way that you live. But another person will come soon.[o] He is greater than I am. I am not good enough even to carry his shoes for him. This other person will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 He is like a farmer that brings the wheat home from his field. He uses a special tool to throw the wheat up in the air. He does this to make the wheat seeds separate from what remains. Then he cleans his yard. He carefully stores all the seeds to keep them safe. But he burns everything else in a great fire that nobody can put out.’

John baptizes Jesus

13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River. He wanted John to baptize him. 14 But John tried to stop him. He said to Jesus, ‘I should ask you to baptize me. You should not ask me to baptize you.’

15 Jesus replied, ‘This time, do what I ask you to do. We must do everything correctly, as God wants it.’ So John did what Jesus asked him to do.

16 When John baptized him, Jesus came up out of the water. At that moment, the skies opened. Jesus saw God's Spirit coming down. He came down like a dove and he stayed on Jesus. 17 Then a voice spoke from heaven, which said, ‘This man is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy.’

The Devil tries to cause Jesus to do wrong things

4 Then the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While he was there, the Devil came to him. He tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things.[p] 2 Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this time, he was very hungry.

3 Then the Devil came to Jesus and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, speak to these stones. Tell them to become bread.’ 4 But Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible says that food alone cannot cause people to live. They need to hear every word that God speaks. That is what gives them true life.’[q]

5 Then the Devil led Jesus to Jerusalem. He made him stand on the highest part of the temple. 6 He said to Jesus, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump down from here to the ground. You know that the Bible says:

“God will tell his angels to keep you safe.
They will hold you safely in their hands.
They will not let you hurt your foot on a stone”.’[r]

7 Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible also says, “Do not test the Lord God, to see if he will save you”.’[s]

8 Then the Devil led Jesus up a very high mountain. He showed Jesus all the countries in the whole world. They were very great and beautiful. 9 The Devil said, ‘I will give you power over all these countries. Just go down on your knees in front of me. Worship me and I will give it all to you.’

10 Jesus then said to him, ‘Satan, go away from me! The Bible says, “Only worship your Lord God. He is the only one that you should obey”.’

11 Then the Devil left Jesus alone. Immediately angels came to Jesus and they took care of him.

Jesus starts his work in Galilee

12 Then Jesus heard that Herod had put John the Baptist in prison. So Jesus returned to Galilee.

13 But he did not stay in Nazareth. He went to live in Capernaum, which is a town on the shore of Lake Galilee. It was in the part of Israel called Zebulun and Naphtali.[t]

14 This caused God's message to become true. Long ago God had said through his prophet Isaiah:[u]

15 ‘I am speaking to you people who live in Zebulun and Naphtali.[v]
    Your part of this country is on the way to Lake Galilee.
    It is across the Jordan River in the part of the country called Galilee.
    Some people who are not Jews live there.
16 They are like people who are living in the dark.
    They live in the shadow which death brings.
    God will send a light to shine on them.’

17 Then Jesus began to speak God's message to people. He said, ‘You have done many wrong things. You must turn away from them and change how you live. Do this now, because the kingdom of heaven has come very near.’

Jesus asks some men to become his disciples

18 One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two men who were brothers. One man was called Simon, and he was also called Peter. His brother's name was Andrew.[w] Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their nets into the lake to catch fish. 19 Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me and be my disciples. Then I will teach you how to catch people, instead of fish.’[x]

20 Simon and Andrew immediately put their nets down and they went with Jesus.

21 They continued to walk along the shore. Soon Jesus saw two more men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were in their boat with their father, Zebedee. They were mending their nets. Jesus said to James and John, ‘Come with me.’ 22 The brothers immediately left the boat and their father behind. They went with Jesus to be his disciples.

Jesus teaches about God and he makes sick people well again

23 Jesus travelled everywhere in Galilee. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He told them the good news about God's kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their different pains and illnesses. 24 More and more people in all parts of Syria heard about Jesus. So they brought all the sick people to see him. These people had many different illnesses, and some of them had strong pains. Bad spirits were living inside some of them. Some people could not control their bodies, and some people could not walk. Jesus caused all these people to become well again. 25 Because of this, large crowds of people followed him. They came from Galilee and from the region called ‘The ten cities’. Some of them came from Jerusalem, and other parts of Judea. And some came from the other side of the Jordan River.[y]

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Jesus was a descendant of Abraham. Abraham was the ancestor of all the Israelite people. We can read about Abraham in Genesis 12—25. Jesus was also a descendant of Judah, one of Jacob's sons. Later, the descendants of Judah were called Jews. Jesus was also a descendant of King David. We can read about King David in 1 Samuel 16—31 and in 2 Samuel.
  2. 1:16 ‘Christ’ and ‘Messiah’ both mean someone that God has chosen to be a special king. ‘Christ’ is the Greek word. ‘Messiah’ is the Hebrew word.
  3. 1:17 The names of all their ancestors were very important to the Jews. Then they knew that they were Jews. The list shows that Jesus was in the same family as Abraham, Judah, Joshua and David. They were his ancestors. Matthew records Jesus' ancestors as far as Joseph. Jesus was Mary's son, but he was not Joseph's son. Matthew explains this in the next verses. But, when Joseph married Mary, he became the father of Jesus by the law.
  4. 1:19 Joseph thought that Mary had had sex with another man. When two Jewish people had promised to marry each other, it was not easy to stop the marriage. Joseph could have told people in a public place that Mary had done something wrong. This would stop the marriage. The law said that they should then kill Mary. But Joseph wanted to be kind to Mary. Then the angel told him that Mary had not done anything wrong, so he should marry her.
  5. 1:21 Jesus saves people from God's punishment for the wrong things that they have done.
  6. 2:1 This King Herod was called Herod the Great. He was king in Judea during the years from 37 BC to 4 BC. Judea was a region of Israel.
  7. 2:11 Gold is a very valuable metal. People would give gold to a king.
  8. 2:15 See Hosea 11:1
  9. 2:17 See Jeremiah 31:15
  10. 3:1 Judea was part of Israel.
  11. 3:3 See Isaiah 40:3. Isaiah was telling people about a man called John. John told the people to get ready for Jesus to come. People mend roads before a king travels along them. Isaiah used this as a picture. It helped the people to understand how to prepare themselves for Jesus.
  12. 3:4 A camel is a large animal that lives in the wilderness. It can carry heavy things on its back like a horse. The insects that John ate were called locusts. An insect called a bee makes honey. It is sweet like sugar.
  13. 3:6 John baptized people who wanted to stop doing wrong things. These people told God that they were sorry. They were sorry about the wrong things that they had done. God then forgave them.
  14. 3:7 The Pharisees were a group of Jews. They thought that they obeyed all God's rules. They thought that they did not do any wrong things. Sadducees were an important group of Jewish leaders at the time of Jesus.
  15. 3:11 Jesus is the important person who is coming. John is using a story to teach the people about the work that Jesus will do.
  16. 4:1 The Devil is a bad angel. He was once a good angel but he refused to obey God. Now he is the leader of all the bad spirits. He is also called Satan. He tries to cause people to do wrong things. Jesus was alone when the Devil came to him. He told his friends about it later.
  17. 4:4 Jesus was very hungry. The Devil knew that Jesus could make stones become bread. He also knew that Jesus was God's Son. God had not told Jesus to make bread, so he did not obey the Devil. Jesus used God's word from Deuteronomy 8:3 to answer the Devil.
  18. 4:6 The Devil was using the words from Psalms 91:12. But the Devil was using the words in a wrong way.
  19. 4:7 Jesus was remembering God's words in Deuteronomy. Jesus was standing on the highest part of the temple. This place was 600 metres above the ground. God had not told Jesus to jump down. We must not do dangerous things if we do not need to. We must obey God. Then he will take care of us.
  20. 4:13 Zebulun and Naphtali were the names of parts of Galilee. They were also the names of two of Jacob's sons. They lived in this land many years before.
  21. 4:14 See Isaiah 9:1-2
  22. 4:15 These people did not know God or his book very well. Isaiah said that they were like people who are walking in the dark. God promised to send his Son Jesus to them. He would be like a light to show them what God was like.
  23. 4:18 Simon and his brother lived in a town called Capernaum. This town is on the shore of Lake Galilee. Jesus had taught there. He had caused many people to become well again from their illnesses. So they knew that Jesus was a very powerful person.
  24. 4:19 Jesus did not mean that Simon and Andrew would really catch people. He would teach Simon and Andrew how to tell other people the good news about himself. They had brought fish out of the water. But now they would bring people to Jesus, so that they could believe in him. These people would then be his disciples.
  25. 4:25 Syria was a part of Israel that was on the east side of Galilee. ‘The Decapolis’ means 10 towns. The Decapolis was another part of Israel.
Listen to Matthew 1-4
Close NIV

Matthew 1-4
New International Version

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah(A)(B)(C)

1 This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David,(D) the son of Abraham:(E)

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,(F)

Isaac the father of Jacob,(G)

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,(H)

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,(I)

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,(J)

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David.(K)

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,(L)

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,(M)

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.(N)

12 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,(O)

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,(P)

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,(Q) and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.(R)

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: 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.(S) 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce(T) her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel(U) of the Lord appeared to him in a dream(V) and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f](W) because he will save his people from their sins.”(X)

22 All this took place to fulfill(Y) what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g](Z) (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel(AA) of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.(AB)

The Magi Visit the Messiah

2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,(AC) during the time of King Herod,(AD) Magi[h] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?(AE) We saw his star(AF) when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem(AG) in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’[i]”(AH)

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.(AI) Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts(AJ) of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned(AK) in a dream(AL) not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

13 When they had gone, an angel(AM) of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.(AN) “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”(AO)

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled(AP) what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[j](AQ)

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:(AR)

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel(AS) weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”[k](AT)

The Return to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, an angel(AU) of the Lord appeared in a dream(AV) to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”(AW)

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream,(AX) he withdrew to the district of Galilee,(AY) 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.(AZ) So was fulfilled(BA) what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.(BB)

John the Baptist Prepares the Way(BC)

3 In those days John the Baptist(BD) came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(BE) has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”[l](BF)

4 John’s(BG) clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.(BH) His food was locusts(BI) and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized(BJ) by him in the Jordan River.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers!(BK) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(BL) 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.(BM) 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(BN) I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(BO)

11 “I baptize you with[m] water for repentance.(BP) But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[n] the Holy Spirit(BQ) and fire.(BR) 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”(BS)

The Baptism of Jesus(BT)

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.(BU) 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened,(BV) and he saw the Spirit of God(BW) descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven(BX) said, “This is my Son,(BY) whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”(BZ)

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness(CA)

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[o](CB) by the devil.(CC) 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights,(CD) he was hungry. 3 The tempter(CE) came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God,(CF) tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[p]”(CG)

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city(CH) and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,”(CI) he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[q]”(CJ)

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[r]”(CK)

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan!(CL) For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[s]”(CM)

11 Then the devil left him,(CN) and angels came and attended him.(CO)

Jesus Begins to Preach

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison,(CP) he withdrew to Galilee.(CQ) 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum,(CR) which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill(CS) what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
    a light has dawned.”[t](CT)

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(CU) has come near.”

Jesus Calls His First Disciples(CV)

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee,(CW) he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter(CX) and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,”(CY) Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.(CZ)

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.(DA) They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.(DB)

Jesus Heals the Sick

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee,(DC) teaching in their synagogues,(DD) proclaiming the good news(DE) of the kingdom,(DF) and healing every disease and sickness among the people.(DG) 24 News about him spread all over Syria,(DH) and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed,(DI) those having seizures,(DJ) and the paralyzed;(DK) and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[u] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.(DL)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:1 Or is an account of the origin
  2. Matthew 1:1 Or Jesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean Anointed One; also in verse 18.
  3. Matthew 1:11 That is, Jehoiachin; also in verse 12
  4. Matthew 1:18 Or The origin of Jesus the Messiah was like this
  5. Matthew 1:19 Or was a righteous man and
  6. Matthew 1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves.
  7. Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14
  8. Matthew 2:1 Traditionally wise men
  9. Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2,4
  10. Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
  11. Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15
  12. Matthew 3:3 Isaiah 40:3
  13. Matthew 3:11 Or in
  14. Matthew 3:11 Or in
  15. Matthew 4:1 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
  16. Matthew 4:4 Deut. 8:3
  17. Matthew 4:6 Psalm 91:11,12
  18. Matthew 4:7 Deut. 6:16
  19. Matthew 4:10 Deut. 6:13
  20. Matthew 4:16 Isaiah 9:1,2
  21. Matthew 4:25 That is, the Ten Cities
Next
Malachi 4
Matthew 5
Next
dropdown
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)

EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV