Matthew 1:18–19:22
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⌋g 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* 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⌋h and will give birth to a son,
and they will call his name Emmanuel,”i
which is translated, “God with us.”j 24 And Joseph, when he* 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⌋k her until she gave birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
2 Now after* Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its risinga and have come to worship him.” 3 And when* King Herod heard it,* he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and after* calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you will go out a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”b
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and* determined precisely from them the time when* the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and* said, “Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found him, report to me so that I also may come and* worship him.” 9 After* they listened to the king, they went out, and behold, the star which they had seen at its risingc led them until it came and* stood above the place where the child was. 10 Now when they* saw the star, they rejoiced with very great joy. 11 And when they* came into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and* worshiped him. And opening their treasure boxes, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Escape to Egypt
13 Now after they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.” 14 So he got up and* took the child and his mother during the night and went away to Egypt. 15 And he was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was said by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Herod Has Innocent Children Murdered
16 Then Herod, when he* saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent soldiers* and* executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region around it from the age of two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, saying,
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she did not want to be comforted,
because ⌊they exist no longer⌋d.”e
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Return to Nazareth
19 Now after* Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared 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 who were seeking the life of the child are dead.” 21 So he got up and* took the child and his mother and ⌊entered⌋f the land of Israel. 22 But when he* heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee. 23 And he came and* lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled:g “He will be called a Nazarene.”
John the Baptist Begins His Ministry
3 Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Judean wilderness 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” 3 For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.’ ”a
4 Now John himself had his clothing made from camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they* confessed their sins.
7 But when he* saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! 9 And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 10 Already now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John in order to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent* him, saying, “⌊I need⌋b to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and* said to him, “Permit it now, for in this way it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted him. 16 Now after he* was baptized, Jesus immediately went up from the water, and behold, the heavens openedc and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove comingd upon him. 17 And behold, there wase a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
4 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, 2 and after he* had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he was hungry. 3 And the tempter approached and* said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread.” 4 But he answered and* said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ”a
5 Then the devil took him to the holy cityb and placed him on the highest point of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’c
and
‘On their hands they will lift you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”d
7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand it is written, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”e
8 Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down and* worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”f 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began ministering to him.
12 Now when he* heard that John ⌊had been arrested⌋,g he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, he went and* lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 in order that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
⌊toward the sea⌋,h on the other side of the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentilesi—
16 the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
and the ones who sit in the land and shadow of death,
a light has dawned on them.”j
17 From that time on, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
18 Now as he* was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea (for they were fishermen). 19 And he said to them, “⌊Follow me⌋k and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 And immediately they left their nets and* followed him. 21 And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 And immediately they left the boat and their father and* followed him.
Teaching, Preaching, and Healing throughout Galilee
23 And he went around through all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24 And a report about him went out ⌊throughout⌋l Syria, and they brought to him all those ⌊who were sick⌋m with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessedn and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.
The Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes
5 Now when he* saw the crowds, …