Beginning
Forefathers of Yeshua the Messiah
1 The book of the genealogy[a] of Yeshua ha-Mashiach, Ben-David,[b] Ben-Avraham: 2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar,[c] Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, 4 Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth,[d] Obed fathered Jesse, 6 and Jesse fathered David the king.
David fathered Solomon by the wife of Uriah, [e] 7 Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa, 8 Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah, 9 Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah, 11 and Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the Babylonian exile Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor, 14 Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud, 15 Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob, 16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Miriam, from whom was born Yeshua who is called the Messiah. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the Babylonian exile are fourteen generations, and from the Babylonian exile until the Messiah are fourteen generations.
The Miraculous Birth of Yeshua
18 Now the birth of Yeshua the Messiah happened this way. When His mother Miriam was engaged to Joseph but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Ruach ha-Kodesh. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, made up his mind to dismiss her secretly. 20 But while he considered these things, behold, an angel of Adonai appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Miriam as your wife, for the Child conceived in her is from the Ruach ha-Kodesh. 21 She will give birth to a son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by Adonai through the prophet, saying, 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”[f]
24 When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did as the angel of Adonai commanded him and took Miriam as his wife. 25 But he did not know her intimately until she had given birth to a Son. And he called His name Yeshua.
Wise Men Follow His Star
2 Now after Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”[g]
3 When King Herod heard, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had called together all the ruling kohanim and Torah scholars, he began to inquire of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 So they told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd My people Israel.’”[h]
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child. And when you have found Him, bring word back to me so that I may come and worship Him as well.”
9 After listening to the king, they went their way. And behold, the star they had seen in the east went on before them, until it came to rest over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great gladness. 11 And when they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Miriam; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. [i] 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another way.
The Angel of Adonai Appears
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of Adonai appears to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the Child, to kill Him.”[j]
14 So he got up, took the Child and His mother during the night, and went to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod’s death. This was to fulfill what was spoken by Adonai through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My son.”[k]
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became furious. And he sent and killed all boys in Bethlehem and in all its surrounding area, from two years old and under, according to the time he had determined from the magi. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud wailing,
Rachel sobbing for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”[l]
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of Adonai appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are dead.”
21 So he got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But hearing that Archelaus was king of Judea in place of his father Herod, he became afraid to go there. Then after being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of the Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Natzeret,[m] to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that Yeshua shall be called a Natzrati.
John’s Witness to Israel’s Leaders
3 In those days, John the Immerser came proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Turn away from your sins, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” [n] 3 For he is the one Isaiah the prophet spoke about, saying,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of Adonai, and make His paths straight.’”[o]
4 Now John wore clothing from camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts[p] and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were being immersed by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance; 9 and do not think that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’! For I tell you that from these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 Already the axe is laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire!
11 “As for me, I immerse you in water for repentance. But the One coming after me is mightier than I am; I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will immerse you in the Ruach ha-Kodesh and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He shall clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn; but the chaff He shall burn up with inextinguishable fire.”[q]
The Heavens Open at Yeshua’s Mikveh
13 Then Yeshua came from the Galilee to John, to be immersed by him in the Jordan. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be immersed by You, and You are coming to me?”
15 But Yeshua responded, “Let it happen now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” So John yielded to Him.
16 After being immersed, Yeshua rose up out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Ruach Elohim[r] descending like a dove and coming upon Him. 17 And behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased!”[s]
Overcoming Temptation with God’s Word
4 Then Yeshua was led by the Ruach into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. 3 And when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are Ben-Elohim, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 But He replied, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”[t]
5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on the highest point of the Temple. 6 “If You are Ben-Elohim,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written,
‘He shall command His angels concerning you,’[u]
and ‘upon their hands they shall lift you up,
so that you may not strike your foot against a stone.’”[v]
7 Yeshua said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put Adonai your God to the test.’”[w]
8 Again, the devil takes Him to a very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Yeshua says to him, “Go away, satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship Adonai your God, and Him only shall you serve.’” [x] 11 Then the devil leaves Him. And behold, angels came and began to take care of Him.
Yeshua Withdraws to Seek God
12 Now when Yeshua heard that John had been handed over, He withdrew to the Galilee. 13 Leaving Natzeret, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the nations—
16 the people sitting in darkness have seen a great light,
and those sitting in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”[y]
17 From then on, Yeshua began to proclaim, “Turn away from your sins, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Raising Up Fishers of Men
18 Now as Yeshua was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter and Andrew his brother. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, Jacob the son of Zebedee and John his brother. They were in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
23 Yeshua was going throughout all the Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about Him spread throughout all Syria. And they brought to Him all the sick—those tormented by various diseases and afflictions, those plagued by demons, the epileptics, the paralyzed—and He healed them. 25 And large crowds followed Him from the Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.