Matthew 1–13

The Ancestors of Jesus Christ

1This is the list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, who was a descendant of Abraham.

^2–5From Abraham to King David, the following ancestors are listed: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers; then Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David.

^6–11From David to the time when the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon, the following ancestors are listed: David, Solomon (his mother was the woman who had been Uriah’s wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.

^12–16From the time after the exile in Babylon to the birth of Jesus, the following ancestors are listed: Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and Joseph, who married Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was called the Messiah.

¹⁷So then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, and fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from then to the birth of the Messiah.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

^18*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. ¹⁹Joseph 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. ²⁰While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. ^21*She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus—because he will save his people from their sins.”

²²Now all this happened in order to make what the Lord had said through the prophet come true, ^23*“A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel” (which means, “God is with us”).

²⁴So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to do. ^25*But he had no sexual relations with her before she gave birth to her son. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Visitors from the East

2Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterwards, some men who studied the stars came from the east to Jerusalem ²and asked, “Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

³When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. ⁴He called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”

⁵“In the town of Bethlehem in Judea,” they answered. “For this is what the prophet wrote:

^6*‘Bethlehem in the land of Judah,

you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah;

for from you will come a leader

who will guide my people Israel.’ ”

⁷So Herod called the visitors from the east to a secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem with these instructions: “Go and make a careful search for the child, and when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him.”

^9–10And so they left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the east. When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹¹They went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshipped him. They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to him.

¹²Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.

The Escape to Egypt

¹³After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave.”

¹⁴Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left during the night for Egypt, ^15*where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make what the Lord had said through the prophet come true, “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

The Killing of the Children

¹⁶When Herod realized that the visitors from the east had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old and younger—this was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared.

¹⁷In this way what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true:

^18*“A sound is heard in Ramah,

the sound of bitter weeping.

Rachel is crying for her children;

she refuses to be comforted,

for they are dead.”

The Return from Egypt

¹⁹After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel, because those who tried to kill the child are dead.” ²¹So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went back to Israel.

²²But when Joseph heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. He was given more instructions in a dream, so he went to the province of Galilee ^23*and made his home in a town named Nazareth. And so what the prophets had said came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

The Preaching of John the Baptist

3At that time John the Baptist came to the desert of Judea and started preaching. ^2*“Turn away from your sins,” he said, “because the Kingdom of heaven is near!” ^3*John was the man the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said:

“Someone is shouting in the desert,

‘Prepare a road for the Lord;

make a straight path for him to travel!’ ”

^4*John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair; he wore a leather belt round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵People came to him from Jerusalem, from the whole province of Judea, and from all the country near the River Jordan. ⁶They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan.

^7*When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You snakes—who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? ⁸Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. ^9*And don’t think you can escape punishment by saying that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these stones and make descendants for Abraham! ^10*The axe is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire. ¹¹I baptize you with water to show that you have repented, but the one who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He is much greater than I am; and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. ¹²He has his winnowing shovel with him to thresh out all the grain. He will gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.”

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³At that time Jesus arrived from Galilee and came to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴But John tried to make him change his mind. “I ought to be baptized by you,” John said, “and yet you have come to me!”

¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires.” So John agreed.

¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and alighting on him. ^17*Then a voice said from heaven, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

4^*Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. ²After spending 40 days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry. ³Then the Devil came to him and said, “If you are God’s Son, order these stones to turn into bread.” ^4*But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’ ”

⁵Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, the Holy City, set him on the highest point of the Temple, ^6*and said to him, “If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says:

‘God will give orders to his angels about you;

they will hold you up with their hands,

so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’ ”

^7*Jesus answered, “But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

⁸Then the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. ⁹“All this I will give you,” the Devil said, “if you kneel down and worship me.”

^10*Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan! The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’ ”

¹¹Then the Devil left Jesus; and angels came and helped him.

Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee

^12*When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went away to Galilee. ^13*He did not stay in Nazareth, but went to live in Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴This was done to make what the prophet Isaiah had said come true:

^15*“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

on the road to the sea, on the other side of the Jordan,

Galilee, land of the Gentiles!

^16*The people who live in darkness

will see a great light.

On those who live in the dark land of death

the light will shine.”

^17*From that time Jesus began to preach his message: “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!”

Jesus Calls Four Fishermen

¹⁸As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers who were fishermen, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew, catching fish in the lake with a net. ¹⁹Jesus said to them, “Come with me, and I will…