The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant[a] by the Holy Spirit. 19 So Joseph her husband, being righteous and not wanting to disgrace her, intended to divorce her secretly. 20 But as[b] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name ‘Jesus,’ because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

23 “Behold, the virgin will become pregnant[c] and will give birth to a son,
and they will call his name Emmanuel,”[d]

which is translated, “God with us.”[e] 24 And Joseph, when he[f] woke up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife 25 and did not have sexual relations with[g] her until she gave birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Literally “to have in the womb”
  2. Matthew 1:20 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“considering”)
  3. Matthew 1:23 Literally “will have in the womb”
  4. Matthew 1:23 A quotation from Isa 7:14
  5. Matthew 1:23 An allusion to Isa 8:8, 10 in the Greek OT (LXX)
  6. Matthew 1:24 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“woke up”) which is understood as temporal
  7. Matthew 1:25 Literally “did not know”

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).