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The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
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Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
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Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,
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Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,
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and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
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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.
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Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: 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.
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Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
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But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream 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.
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She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
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“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
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But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
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The Magi Visit the Messiah
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
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and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
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When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
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“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
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“‘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.’”
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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.”
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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.
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On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
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And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
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The Escape to Egypt
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “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.”
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where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
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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.
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“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
