Matthew 1–2

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1The ^ahistorical record ^bcof Jesus Christ, the Son of David, ^dthe Son of Abraham: ^e

From Abraham to David

²Abraham fathered ^fIsaac,

Isaac fathered Jacob,

Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers, ^g

³Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar,

Perez fathered Hezron,

Hezron fathered Aram, ^h

⁴Aram fathered Amminadab,

Amminadab fathered Nahshon,

Nahshon fathered Salmon,

⁵Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab,

Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth,

Obed fathered Jesse, ⁱ

⁶and Jesse fathered King David.

From David to the Babylonian Exile

Then ^jDavid fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife, ^k

⁷Solomon fathered Rehoboam,

Rehoboam fathered Abijah,

Abijah fathered Asa, ^l

⁸Asa ^mfathered Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, ⁿ

Joram fathered Uzziah, ^o

⁹Uzziah fathered Jotham,

Jotham fathered Ahaz,

Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,

¹⁰Hezekiah fathered Manasseh,

Manasseh fathered Amon, ^p

Amon fathered Josiah, ^q

¹¹and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers

at the time of the exile to Babylon. ^r

From the Exile to the Messiah

¹²Then after the exile to Babylon

Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel,

Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,

¹³Zerubbabel fathered Abiud,

Abiud fathered Eliakim,

Eliakim fathered Azor, ^s

¹⁴Azor fathered Zadok,

Zadok fathered Achim,

Achim fathered Eliud,

¹⁵Eliud fathered Eleazar,

Eleazar fathered Matthan,

Matthan fathered Jacob,

¹⁶and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary,

who gave birth to ^tJesus who is called the Messiah. ^u

¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, 14 generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, 14 generations. ^v

The Nativity of the Messiah

¹⁸The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. ^w19So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, ^xand not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. ^y

²⁰But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. ^z21She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, ^abbecause He will save His people from their sins.” ^c

²²Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

²³See, the virgin will become pregnant

and give birth to a son,

and they will name Him Immanuel, ^d

which is translated “God is with us.” ^e

²⁴When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her ^f25but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. ^gAnd he named Him Jesus. ^h

Wise Men Seek the King

2After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, ⁱ²saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? ^jFor we saw His star in the east ^kland have come to worship Him.” ^m

³When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes ⁿof the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

⁵“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

⁶And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the leaders of Judah:

because out of you will come a leader

who will shepherd My people Israel.” ^op

⁷Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him.” ^qr

⁹After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen in the east! ^sIt led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed beyond measure. ¹¹Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. ^tThen they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ^u12And being warned ^vin a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

The Flight into Egypt

¹³After they were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy Him.” ^w14So he got up, took the child and His mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. ¹⁵He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called My Son. ^xy

The Massacre of the Innocents

¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years ^zold and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men. ^a17Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

¹⁸A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping, ^band great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children;

and she refused to be consoled,

because they were no more. ^cd

The Holy Family in Nazareth

¹⁹After Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ^e20saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, because those who sought the child’s life are dead.” ²¹So he got up, took the child and His mother, and entered the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus ^fwas ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. ^g23Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that He will be called a Nazarene. ^h